ATVA Tells 8th-Floor Staff of TV-Station Ownership Concerns
The FCC should eliminate “loopholes” that let broadcasters create duopolies, triopolies and quadropolies that would otherwise not be allowed under ownership rules, said the American Television Alliance in calls last week with aides to acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioners…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks, per filings in docket 18-349. Studies by broadcasters such as Gray that show such consolidation leads to increased local news “seem contrary to our understanding of the marketplace,” ATVA said. Examine any increased costs associated with local news, “particularly if those costs caused MVPD households to drop their subscriptions or led MVPDs to cease carrying stations, and especially if such subscribers are in rural areas located outside of a station’s signal contour,” ATVA urged.