The letter, led by Heritage Action, is signed by leaders from the National Taxpayers Union, Americans for Tax Reform, Bull Moose Project, the James Madison Institute, and others.
The FCC states that “there is no limit on the number of television stations a single entity may own nationwide as long as the station group collectively reaches no more than 39 percent of all U.S. TV households.” The groups argue the repeal of that 39% national television cap is necessary to allow local broadcasters to compete in an evolving media environment.
“Americans across the political spectrum agree that burdensome, arbitrary regulations are limiting local TV and radio stations’ ability to compete with Big Tech in the modern media landscape,” National Association of Broadcasters President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt told the Washington Examiner. “We are grateful for the wide-ranging support to modernize these outdated broadcast ownership rules and echo the call for the FCC to level the playing field so local broadcasters can provide the most-trusted news, live sports and entertainment to every listener and viewer.”
“While these rules may have served the public interest in last century’s marketplace, they have long since become antiquated and harmful by stifling investment and innovation in broadcasting,” the groups wrote. “We encourage the Commission to expeditiously repeal these regulations, specifically the 39% national television cap, local TV duopoly rules, and local radio ownership caps.”
The letter follows the backing of 22 Republican senators in their own May 6 letter to Carr and a bipartisan letter from more than 73 House legislators on March 28.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, the Administration is unleashing a new wave of economic opportunity by ending the regulatory onslaught from Washington,” Carr said in a March statement. “For too long, administrative agencies have added new regulatory requirements in excess of their authority or kept lawful regulations in place long after their shelf life had expired.”
“The FCC is committed to ending all of the rules and regulations that are no longer necessary,” he added.
“Local broadcasters compete directly with Big Tech, streaming services, and social media platforms in the marketplace of consumer content,” the groups wrote. “Yet, unlike their competitors such as YouTube and Facebook, broadcasters are limited by the ownership rules in how many households and consumers they can reach. This is an inherent disadvantage. Local broadcasters provide a service in the national interest impossible for their competitors to replace. In times of crisis and emergency, local broadcasters play a central role in delivering timely, localized and often lifesaving information.”
They wrote that without reform, “valued local broadcast radio and television services could disappear entirely.”
“By eliminating the national television cap, local TV duopoly restrictions, and local radio ownership caps, broadcasters can better achieve the scale and efficiencies necessary to compete — and to attract vital investment — in a fragmented and rapidly evolving information market,” the letter adds.
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The cap, approved by Congress over two decades ago, limits any one broadcast group from reaching more than 39% of the U.S. audience. Back then, there was opposition to raising the cap because it was thought that it would give big networks too much power over local programming. But now streaming services and platforms like YouTube reach an unlimited audience.
A 2017 FCC docket sought to investigate whether the cap should be raised, but it was left unresolved.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
