Comments
As of TUESDAY morning (4/30), 882 sets of comments have been filed in the FCC's Quadrennial Review of broadcast ownership rules. Many of the comments are copy-and-paste filings with identical one-paragraph submissions from musicians offering general opposition to loosening the rules, warning that, "If the commission changes the rules, many locally-owned stations are going to disappear."
Among the comments from larger entities, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCASTERS took its previously-stated position that changes in the marketplace -- the competition from new media -- should lead the Commission to redefine the competitive market and allow for companies to own more stations - up to eight commercial FMs in the top 75 markets, up to 10 with participation in an incubator program, no caps on AM ownership whatsoever -- to compete for advertising. Also in the NAB's comments are proposals to make the interim contour-overlap methodology for unrated market definition permanent and revision of the embedded-market rules to count stations local to the embedded market as separate from those in the parent market.
Meanwhile, the MULTICULTURAL MEDIA, TELECOM AND INTERNET COUNCIL pointed to the "embarrassingly low" level of minority and female ownership of broadcast licenses and opposed the loosening of ownership caps, contending that doing so would "spell the end of the incubator program before it has a chance to succeed," and suggested examining whether the cable procurement rule (encouraging cable companies to do business with minority and female owned businesses) can be extended to broadcasting. CRAWFORD BROADCASTING CO. also opposed loosening the caps, calling the industry "generally healthy" and warning that changes in the subcaps may harm the business, especially the values of AM stations. SAUL LEVINE's MOUNT WILSON FM BROADCASTERS, INC. also opposed the proposal to loosen the ownership caps, contending that even the present rules have "allowed group owners to freeze out competition from operators of single AM or FM stations."
WEST VIRGINIA RADIO CORP.'s comments called for the removal of all broadcast ownership limits in smaller and undefined markets; CONNOISSEUR MEDIA concentrated on the embedded market issue, asking the Commission to either change its policy or permanently adopt the presumptive waiver standard so as not to count stations home to those markets as part of the larger market as well; and SINCLAIR TELECABLE suggested that an alternative rule could determine ownership caps based on market advertising revenue or population growth.
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