As Federal funding to public broadcasters faces serious challenge in a Washington looking to cut the budget for all but the most essential government services, and where voluntary contributions to all noncommercial broadcasters have been constrained by the economic issues faced by the entire nation, more and more noncommercial broadcasters are facing tough questions about the future. We’ve seen colleges and municipalities sell stations that have been community fixtures for decades, and noncommercial groups (including some religious broadcasters) deciding to call it a day and liquidate their holdings. At the same time, the ratings success of many noncommercial broadcasters (both public broadcasters and those owned by religious or other community organizations), especially in the radio world, are showing much success in developing a large listening audience. With noncommercial stations, by law restricted to raising funds without commercial advertising, many are looking for new ways of operating. How are FCC regulations and interpretations reacting to these new realities?
The FCC’s Future of Media Study (and the resulting Report on the Information Needs of Communities that we summarized here) recognized the importance of the diversity provided to communities by noncommercial broadcasters and, without detailing any proposals, indicated support for the development of new funding sources for those stations. Similar general statements were echoed in the hearing on the report recently held by the FCC in Arizona. But the options of the FCC in pursuing solutions are limited. In a recent decision, a noncommercial entity that operated a number of stations in small rural markets asked for a waiver of the FCC’s underwriting rules to allow it to air a limited amount of advertising for commercial entities, restricted to the top of the hour, and presented so as to not break up normal programming. The applicant justified the request on the current financial climate that made donations and grants hard to come by, especially in the rural areas where this group operates its stations. While the Commission’s staff expressed sympathy for the applicant’s financial plight, it stated that it was powerless to waive the Communications Act, which prohibits noncommercial stations from broadcasting "any advertising." Faced with this prohibition, and a fear of opening the floodgates to similar requests, the FCC denied the waiver.Continue Reading Financial Challenges to Noncommercial Broadcast Funding – What Is the FCC Doing?