The Federal Communications Commission has issued a public notice that starts the process of reforming the agency’s rules regarding the ownership of licensed broadcast radio and television stations.
In a statement released on Wednesday, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the evolving media landscape was the primary reason why the agency should revisit its broadcast ownership rules.
Under current federal law, the FCC is tasked with setting certain rules that limit the ownership of broadcast radio and TV stations. The FCC’s existing rules limit the reach of commercial broadcasters to no more than 39 percent of the American TV viewing audience, and TV broadcasters are restrained from owning two of a region’s top four-performing stations based on Nielsen ratings. Similar rules exist for licensed AM and FM radio stations.
“Over the decades, as the media landscape has evolved, the Commission has revisited these rules to account for new competitors and advances in technology,” Carr wrote in a statement issued late Wednesday evening. “Those changes have only accelerated in recent years with the advent of online offerings. Broadcasters now compete for eyeballs with YouTube stars, social media platforms, and streaming services like Hulu and Netflix, not to mention traditional cable and satellite offerings.”
Carr took issue with some current and former FCC commissioner who suggested the agency lacked the authority to modify or eliminate its broadcast ownership rules, noting that Congress gave explicit authority to the agency to do just that.
“The suggestion by some that the FCC now lacks authority to do exactly what my colleagues said the Commission could do in 2016 is curious, to say the least,” Carr exclaimed, without naming the dissenters.
“Today’s Notice asks simply whether my colleagues got it right in 2016 when they determined that the FCC has authority to modify the cap,” Carr said. “So far, I have not seen anything that convinces me they got it wrong. But I look forward to reviewing the record as it develops in this proceeding.”
Earlier this year, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) encouraged Carr and the FCC to eliminate the ownership cap — something that is technically within the agency’s ability. The NAB and other advocacy groups said the ownership rules were an undue restraint that limited the ability of TV and radio station owners to compete against large tech firms like Google and Netflix, which have robust advertising businesses and streaming services that face fewer regulations.
Carr has previously expressed interest in revisiting the ownership rules, but has not endorsed the idea of eliminating them. Still, late Wednesday evening, the NAB issued a press release that suggested the lobbying group was encouraged by Carr’s plan to publish a public notice seeking comment on the matter.
“NAB thanks Chairman Carr for taking this important step towards modernizing a decades-old rule that limits television broadcasters’ ability to compete in today’s media marketplace,” NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt said in a statement. “We appreciate Chairman Carr’s willingness to tackle this critical issue, which will allow us to better serve our communities with trusted news and information. We look forward to working together to bring outdated ownership rules into the 21st century and give local stations a fair chance to compete with Big Tech.”
The NAB and other groups have asserted that eliminating the ownership cap will allow broadcasters to boost investments in local journalism (even though some broadcasters have done the precise opposite over the past few years).
In anticipation of the FCC’s public notice, the NAB launched paid campaigns on social media platforms earlier this month that encouraged Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) users to lobby the FCC in support of eliminating the broadcast ownership cap. Comments on Facebook posts reviewed by The Desk indicated most users were swayed by the campaigns.
Carr, too, appears to be persuaded that modifying the ownership cap will lead to more investments in local news, according to one FCC source, though there is strong evidence that points to the contrary.
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Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story said the FCC would seek public comment through a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking based on information provided by a source. The source later clarified that the agency will issue a public notice, not a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The story was updated late Wednesday evening after Carr’s office released a statement on the public notice.
