A long-awaited federal court ruling on the FCC’s 2018 Quadrennial Review of broadcast media rules has opened the door for potential future challenges to radio ownership restrictions, even as the agency’s current rules remain largely unchanged for now.
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a mixed decision Tuesday in a consolidated case brought by Zimmer Radio of Mid-Missouri, Beasley Media Group, the NAB, and other broadcast stakeholders. The petitioners challenged the FCC’s 2023 Order, which upheld longstanding limits on local radio ownership.
The court upheld the FCC’s authority to define the audio marketplace, noting that the Commission “acknowledged the rise of non-broadcast audio” but “declined to consider it as meaningful competition,” citing radio’s unique status as free, subscription-less, and available without internet.
Petitioners had argued that failing to account for digital competition in the radio market analysis violates the Telecommunications Act’s directive to modernize rules “in the public interest as the result of competition.”
Although those provisions survived judicial review under the deferential “arbitrary and capricious” standard, the court made clear that the FCC’s justifications remain open to future scrutiny, especially as the 2022 Quadrennial Review remains unresolved.
Meanwhile, the court struck down two major components of the FCC’s television ownership rules: the Top-Four Prohibition, which limited TV consolidation in local markets, and a related expansion of “Note 11,” which sought to block workarounds via low-power or multicast signals. Though those provisions were specific to television, the court’s rationale faulting the FCC for relying on outdated data and ignoring changing market dynamics may bolster future arguments for reforming radio’s caps as digital disruption continues.
In a statment, NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt said, “We are disappointed that the court stopped short of addressing the decades-old radio ownership restrictions that defy economic reality and weaken broadcasters’ ability to compete, invest in local journalism, and serve their communities. Fortunately, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has long been a champion for empowering local stations, and we look forward to working with this FCC to modernize its local radio ownership rules and ensure local broadcasters can thrive in the communities they serve across the nation.”
