FCC loosens local media ownership rules

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has voted to eliminate the boundaries that traditionally limited ownership of a combination of local media properties, including television, radio and newspaper, by a single entity. “For too long, the Commission has failed to acknowledge the pace of change in the media marketplace by maintaining analog broadcast ownership rules that do not reflect today’s digital age,” a Friday press release from the FCC said. Congress requires it to review broadcast ownership rules every four years, it said. On Friday, it announced the elimination of what the industry calls “cross-ownership” restrictions. In effect, in the same local market, it does away with the rule prohibiting common ownership of a “full-power broadcast station (AM, FM or TV) and a daily newspaper” if, among other characteristics, the station’s contour “completely encompasses the newspaper’s city of publication,” a fact sheet read. For radio and television, the new cross-ownership rules eliminate the restriction of a “single entity owning more than two television stations and one radio station in the same market, unless the market meets a certain size criteria.” However, TV and radio stations will still be governed by rules that limit the number of radio and television stations one entity can own in a market, the fact sheet said. “These two rules are outdated considering the explosive growth of the number and variety of sources of local news and information in the modern marketplace,” the release said, adding it will allow broadcasters and local newspapers to compete more effectively in the digital age. The FCC also voted to eliminate the requirement that at least eight independently-owned TV stations remain in a market post-consolidation of two TV stations in that market. In a Friday blog post, advocacy organization Free Press said the FCC “removed the last barrier preventing one voice from monopolizing every aspect of news production in America’s smaller communities, ensuring future generations will remain ignorant of the corruption taking place around them.” Additionally, the commission is asking for comment on how it should implement and structure a new incubator program that would leverage capital and technical expertise to help bring new entrants and small businesses in the market, in what it calls an effort to create more diversity in the broadcast industry.

FCC loosens local media ownership rules

Brief | November 17, 2017

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FCC loosens local media ownership rules

Brief | November 17, 2017

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