It was regarded by some Inside the Beltway pundits and industry observers as the Christmas lump of coal from FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and her Democrat colleagues at the Commission. Under a federal court order, the 2018 Quadrennial Order finally arrived, on a party-line 3-2 vote that tightened television industry local ownership rules while keeping the FCC’s radio rules intact.
While this was hardly a surprise and the 2022 Quadrennial Order is still far from completion, the NAB has expressed its disappointment, saying the FCC has missed an opportunity to update “outdated, decades-old rules.”
In its member newsletter distributed Friday (1/5), the NAB noted how broadcasters were “deeply disappointed, though not surprised, that the FCC missed the opportunity to update the decades-old rules that hurt local stations’ ability to provide diverse and essential content to our communities” with the December 26 release of its 2018 Quadrennial Order.
At issue were the local radio rules, and the both the local TV rule and dual network rule.
The FCC made no changes to the long-standing numerical limits on the ownership of AM and FM stations in local markets.
The FCC also retained without change the current dual network rule, which prohibits combinations among the ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC networks.
The FCC retained the local TV ownership restrictions, which prohibit ownership of more than two full-power commercial TV stations in any local market and the ownership of more than one top-four rated full-power commercial TV station in any local market.
But, to the frustration of many across the broadcast media landscape, the FCC tightened the top-four rule to prohibit a broadcaster from acquiring a network affiliation and placing it on a low power TV or Class A station or on a multicast programming stream, if the broadcaster would be otherwise prevented by the top-four restriction from placing that affiliation on a separate full power station.
This latter act could result in a lawsuit from the NAB and television broadcasting companies, some in Washington suggest, which would block the enactment of this new rule. If that were to occur, however, it could further delay the 2022 Quadrennial Order, already 12 months late.
While NAB’s team led by Rick Kaplan continues to examine the details “of this lengthy order,” the association tells its members, “It is clear that the FCC fails to grasp the deep challenges local broadcasters face in the wake of unprecedented competition with Big Tech behemoths.”
And, the NAB reiterated its statement that broadcast stations remain “a critical source of information in every community across the country.” Plus, the NAB noted, “It takes significant resources to provide up-to-the minute news, emergency journalism and other services. No other medium has the responsibility, the ability or incentive to serve the public’s needs. To continue offering free, over-the-air service, broadcasters must be able to compete on a level playing field.”
