It’s officially “OEA Working Paper 54,” but for the media industry, it is the Kim Makuch-authored “Television Station Ownership Diversity” report produced for the FCC’s Office of Economics and Analytics.
It offers the conclusions of a Commission study that examines the ownership of commercial full-power television stations. What was the big conclusion? For close industry-watchers, they’re hardly surprising.
Makuch’s report finds that since 2013, there has been a decrease in the number of female-, Asian-, and American Indian/Alaska Native-owned stations.
In contrast, there is an increase in Black/African-American- and Hispanic/Latino-owned
stations.
Given the activities of media mogul Byron Allen and Indianapolis-based DuJuan McCoy, the African American rise is obvious.
Then, there’s the female and Asian American statistic — one TEGNA and Standard General will be sure to include in their arguments designed to win FCC regulatory approval for their privatization effort. If the deal closes, which could come in February 2023, Soohyung Kim‘s Standard General would be the controlling interest holder while Deb McDermott would serve as CEO.
While ownership of stations is one statistic the FCC reviewed, what about the ability of U.S. consumers to receive these UHF and VHF facilities?
As of 2019, Makuch says. most TV households did not have access to stations identified as
majority-owned by women or people of color. “Less than 20% of TV households resided in a
market with a female-owned station, just over 5% of TV households resided in a market with a Black/African-American-owned station, about 7% of TV households resided in a market with an Asian-owned station, and about 25% of TV households resided in a market with a Hispanic/Latino-owned station,” Makuck finds.
The research also finds that stations owned by women were more likely to be affiliated with the major broadcast networks than stations owned by men. Stations owned by racial minorities and Hispanic/Latino individuals, however, were less likely to be affiliated with the major broadcast networks than stations owned by white individuals and not Hispanic/Latino individuals, respectively. Further, women, racial minorities, and Hispanic/Latino individuals owned major network-affiliated stations in smaller markets compared to men, white individuals, and not Hispanic/Latino individuals, respectively. In addition, stations owned by women, racial minorities, and Hispanic/Latino individuals earned less advertising revenue, on average, compared to stations owned by men, white individuals, and not Hispanic/Latino individuals. However, once network affiliation, market size, and other station characteristics are taken into account, there is no effect of gender, race, or ethnicity on advertising revenue, Makuck says.
Makuck notes that women, racial minorities, and Hispanic/Latino individuals owned smaller station groups, on average, than men, white individuals, and not Hispanic/Latino individuals, respectively. Entities with no majority interest in gender, race, or ethnicity owned by far the largest station groups, on average.
Lastly, Makuck’s report concludes that “most stations classified as having no majority interest in gender, race, or ethnicity had very little attributable voting share at all, making it impossible to ascribe majority ownership to an individual or group of individuals in any single gender, racial, or ethnic group.”
To view the report in full, please click here to download it in PDF format.
