4-16-14
In dismissing the NAB's proposal to loosen ownership caps to enable radio to compete more with digital and other delivery methods, the Commission says those other "non-broadcast sources" of audio programming are not yet meaningful substitutes for radio, whether it's listeners or advertisers. "Broadcast radio remains the dominant radio technology." The Commission also concluded that Satellite radio still serves only a small portion of the population and Internet-delivered audio programming is not yet a meaningful substitute for broadcast radio listening for most listeners. The conclusion of the FCC was that the competitive conditions radio faces are relatively unchanged since the 2006 Quadrennial Review.
The NAB and other broadcasters argued that broadcast radio stations compete for listeners and advertising revenue with non-broadcast sources of audio programming, such as satellite radio and Internet-based audio services. For that reason they wanted the FCC to loosen or eliminate the local radio ownership limits to take account of this competition.
The FCC says its research from 2012 shows that in local markets, the largest commercial radio companies enjoy substantial advantages in revenue. "The largest firm in each Arbitron Metro market has a 45 percent share of the market?s total radio advertising revenue, with the largest two firms accounting for 73 percent of the revenue. In more than a third of all Arbitron Metro markets, the top two commercial station owners control at least 80 percent of the radio advertising revenue. With respect to ratings, the top-four firms continue to dominate audience share. Therefore, we do not believe the public interest would be served by relaxing the existing numerical limits."
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