GOP Senators Urge 'Swift' Revamp of FCC Broadcast Ownership Rules
Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas and 21 other Republican senators are urging the FCC to “modernize [its] broadcast ownership rules to enable broadcasters to compete with today's media giants.” Broadcasters doubled down in late April on calls for station ownership deregulation as part of the FCC’s “Delete” docket (see 2504290054).
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“The fast-evolving media marketplace has made broadcast ownership regulations in urgent need of modernization,” the Republican senators said in a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr that circulated Thursday. “Despite modest tweaks, these rules fail to account for the rise of digital platforms, streaming services, smartphones, and social media.” Local broadcasters “now vie for audience, content, and advertising not just with each other, but with the world's largest tech companies,” they said. “The regulations, designed for a bygone era, no longer reflect this reality."
“Now is the time for swift FCC action to level the playing field for local broadcasters by modernizing the broadcast ownership rules,” the letter said. “Without the opportunity to combine or expand operations, broadcasters struggle to invest in journalism, retain sufficient newsroom staff, and strain to compete against their unregulated global Big Tech competitors. By modernizing broadcast ownership restrictions, the FCC can empower broadcasters to fulfill their essential role in American democracy, foster local journalism, and benefit local communities and the public interest.”
NAB praised Moran “and his colleagues for their leadership in urging the FCC to modernize decades-old broadcast ownership rules that impede local stations’ ability to invest in our newsrooms, innovate and serve our communities,” said CEO Curtis LeGeyt. “Local broadcasters compete every day with trillion-dollar tech companies, yet we remain shackled by ownership restrictions that are premised on the outdated notion that broadcasters compete only with one another for audience and advertising. We urge [Carr and the FCC] to act expeditiously to empower local stations.”