NAB Asks FCC To Dump Newspaper-Broadcast Cross-Ownership Ban, Loosen Restrictions On TV Duopolies

Ex Parte Letter

The NAB has filed ex parte comments with the FCC urging changes to what it termed the "inequitable" broadcast ownership rules.

Specifically, the NAB called for the elimination of the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership prohibition, citing the Third Circuit's statement that the ban remains in place "even though the FCC determined more than a decade ago that it is no longer in the public interest"; the organization noted that the ban, in an age when newspapers are withering away and news is expected to be produced for many platforms in a media landscape with many new competitors, "affirmatively harms localism," exacerbates the peril of print newspapers, and is unnecessary.

The NAB also called for reform of the local TV ownership rules to loosen the restrictions on duopolies by eliminating the eight-voices test and top-four station restriction.

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