BOCA RATON, FLA. — When it comes to the FCC’s current broadcast media ownership rules, unanimity over regulatory “modernization” is deficient. NABOB, which represents Black-owned broadcast media, is very clear that it doesn’t want a loosening, or outright elimination, of limits the NAB seeks to erase in total.
An even bigger issue for some involves the FCC’s ability to amend rules codified by Congress in the early 2000s. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) understands this is a concern. That’s why he’s scheduled, as has been rumored, a Senate Commerce Committee hearing that will focus its magnifying glass on one rule in particular — setting up perhaps broadcast TV’s biggest moment in Washington in a generation.
Who’s testifying is already raising eyebrows, as one witness may lack standing on the matter, depending on their point of view.
A full Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing is on the calendar for Tuesday, November 10, starting at 10am Eastern in Room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building. The hearing bears the name “We Interrupt This Program: Media Ownership in the Digital Age.”
That said, Cruz made it very clear that while the hearing will examine the Commission’s current broadcast media ownership rules, the session will focus on the rule put in place by Congress in early 2004 through a consolidated appropriations act signed into law by President George W. Bush. That law limits a single broadcaster from reaching beyond 39% of U.S. television households nationwide, and represented a compromise.
In Summer 2003, the FCC proposed a 45% ownership reach limit, raising it from 35%. Then came the lobbyists who worked hard to prevent that 45% change from ever taking place. Congressional action then went into play, placing limits on the FCC’s ability to raise the limit at all until the compromise legislation was passed into law.
The crux of the Capitol Hill action is that it neutered the FCC’s power to amend the ownership rule it enforced. Today, the Carr Commission believes it is within its rights to change those rules — even as Loper Bright and SEC v. Jarkesy brought Supreme Court decisions that ended “Chevron deference” and greatly reduced agency abilities to levy fines. Judicial review and a right to jury trial for individuals including pirate radio operators are now a possibility.
Should the Carr Commission vote to greatly amend or eliminate the national local TV reach cap, Congressional Republicans want to be ready to act should it be necessary for legislators to do what the Commission may not be empowered to do.
“As more Americans consume video content through streaming services and social media, the original intent of media ownership rules—to promote competition and diversity by limiting the number of media outlets a single entity may own—warrants review,” Senator Cruz said in a prepared statement. “Some telecommunications experts contend, however, that the current 39% cap is statutory, meaning it can only be changed by an act of Congress and not through regulation. Other critics worry possible changes to media ownership rules will result in fewer conservative voices on broadcast television.”
Among those other critics is Boca Raton-based Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy. Ruddy has emerged as an outspoken critic of loosening the current 39% cap. Yet, some industry leaders who requested anonymity have questioned to RBR+TVBR whether or not Ruddy has standing. As the owner of a MVPD-distributed channel with a digital footprint and the syndicator of The Rob Carson Show to broadcast radio stations across the U.S., Ruddy has no stake in an over-the-air television station ownership group.
But, these leaders note, Ruddy does have the ear of President Trump and, as such, his warnings against loosening the 39% ownership rule could play a significant role in how Congress proceeds.
For Cruz, “The media market is changing rapidly, leading many to wonder if broadcast media ownership rules should reflect this new reality.”
As such, Tuesday’s hearing, which will see RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson cover in-person from Capitol Hill, is seen by the leading GOP figure on Capitol Hill as “an important opportunity to discuss whether existing rules are legally sound, antiquated, or need to be updated to promote competition and protect against corporate censorship against conservatives.”
Also announced as a witness is NAB President/CEO Curtis LeGeyt, who is expected to reiterate previously offered written statements expressing the association’s desire to do away with all ownership restrictions on the basis that 2026 is much different than in 2003 when it comes to how Americans consume their visual media. If unregulated over-the-top platforms are the main way consumers get their “television,” why should broadcast TV be encumbered by outdated rules, the NAB posits.
Additional witnesses will be forthcoming, Cruz said.
The hearing will be available for live video streaming on the Senate Commerce Committee web site and YouTube.
