39% national cap

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The NAB last week submitted a letter asking the FCC to quickly repeal the 39% cap on national ownership of television stations.  This cap precludes the ownership by one company or individual of an attributable interest in television stations capable of reaching more than 39% of the television households in the United States.  The rule has been in place since 2004.  When adopted, over-the-air television was still analog, so the cap included a UHF discount as, at the time, UHF stations were deemed inferior to those that transmitted on VHF channels.  While the transition to digital reversed that relationship as UHF is now seen as preferable, the discount remains, counting UHF stations as reaching only half the households reached by VHF stations.  So, were an owner to have exclusively UHF stations, it could theoretically own stations reaching 78% of TV households.

Yet even 78% is not 100%, and any cable or satellite channel, or even any broadcast program provider like a network or syndicator, and any online video provider, has no limit to the number of households that it can be theoretically reach.  The NAB argues that this is fundamentally unfair and impedes competition in today’s video marketplace.  While some might argue that most of these other services are not free, requiring a subscription to an MVPD or a connection to the internet, practically speaking, in today’s world, many of these competitive channels have as much practical reach as do local broadcast TV stations.  Only the delivery method is different.Continue Reading NAB Requests the End of the 39% Cap on Nationwide Television Station Ownership – Looking at the Issues

Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.

  • On the eve of its national convention in Las Vegas, the National Association of Broadcasters filed a letter with the
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It’s a new year, and it’s time to look ahead at what Washington may have in store for broadcasters this year.  The FCC may be slow to tackle some of the big issues on its agenda (like the completion of 2018 Quadrennial Review or any other significant partisan issue) as it still has only four Commissioners – two Democrats and two Republicans.  On controversial issues like changes to the ownership rules, there tends to be a partisan divide.  As the nomination of Gigi Sohn expired at the end of the last Congress in December, the Biden administration was faced with the question of whether to renominate her and hope that the confirmation process moves more quickly this time, or to come up with a new nominee whose credentials will be reviewed by the Senate.  It was announced this week that the administration has decided to renominate her, meaning that her confirmation process will begin anew.  How long that process takes and when the fifth commissioner is seated may well set the tone for what actions the FCC takes in broadcast regulation this year.

Perhaps the most significant issue at the FCC facing broadcasters is the resolution of the 2018 Quadrennial Review to assess the current local ownership rules and determine if they are still in the public interest.  As we wrote last week, the FCC has already started the 2022 review, as required by Congress, even though it has not resolved the issues raised in the 2018 review.  For the radio industry, those issues include the potential relaxation of the local radio ownership rules.  As we have written, some broadcasters and the NAB have pushed the FCC to recognize that the radio industry has significantly changed since the ownership limits were adopted in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and local radio operators need a bigger platform from which to compete with the new digital companies that compete for audience and advertising in local markets.  Other companies have been reluctant to endorse changes – but even many of them recognize that relief from the ownership limits on AM stations would be appropriate.Continue Reading Looking Into the Crystal Ball – What’s Coming in Broadcast Regulation in 2023 From the FCC