July 8, 2011
Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey says "Our goal is to become the industry's premier consolidator." For now that goal will have to be achieved under the current ownership rules in each local market. Yesterday, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals voted to uphold the FCC's decision in late 2007 -- following its 2006 quadrennial rules review -- to retain the radio and TV ownership caps and subcaps. It's no secret the Cumulus team would like to see the government ownership rules loosened, and Dickey told Radio Ink last night ?The market for audio entertainment is more competitive than ever before with the addition of live streaming, satellite and podcasts. We remain optimistic that the rules governing ownership will evolve over time to more accurately reflect the new competitive landscape.?
CBS Broadcasting, Gannet and Clear Channel brought a suit arguing that the 2007 decision didn?t go far enough in eroding the cross-ownership ban and the FCC?s local media ownership rules. The Court sided against these parties, upholding the FCC?s existing local ownership limits on radio and TV stations.
The reaction from the NAB was tepid which indicates this is not a major priority for the trade organization. "There have been sweeping changes in the media landscape since most of the broadcast ownership rules were adopted decades ago," NAB EVP/Communications Dennis Wharton said in a statement. "NAB believes that modest reform of rules to allow free and local broadcasters to compete successfully in a universe of national pay TV and radio platforms is warranted." Many in radio would argue the opposite which is why the NAB statement is supportive of more deregulation by not overly critical of the court ruling.
The court also rejected a loosening of the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership ban approved by the commission,.saying then-FCC Chairman Kevin Martin did not allow enough time for public comment. The commission voted on the proposal about a month after Martin announced it in a New York Times editorial. The rule change would have allowed broadcast-newspaper combinations in the largest markets if certain conditions were met, but the new regulation was stayed by the Third Circuit shortly after it was adopted. The court has now remanded the matter back to the FCC.
"The commission is currently engaged in a statutorily mandated further review of its media ownership rules," FCC General Counsel Austin Schlick said in a statement. "With an updated record and this supportive decision, the agency should be able to take appropriate steps to ensure that the nation's media marketplace remains healthy and vibrant."
The FCC is required by law to review media-ownership rules every four years. The 2010 review is still underway.
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