FCC will vote on lifting TV ownership cap next month

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Set us as preferred TV station ownership groups may finally get their wish to own more outlets.Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr announced Wednesday that the agency will vote next month to end the rule that allows companies to own no more than two TV stations in a single market.The cap also limits the national coverage of any station owner to 39% limit of the U.S.Carr said the agency will consider a “case by case” review on station merger and acquisition deals that would result in exceeding the current limits.

The commission, which has two Republicans and one Democrat, will vote on August 6.“Previously, the cap operated as a blanket prohibition on any and all deals that would combine stations in access of the 39% limit — regardless of whether it was a good deal or bad deal for the country,” Carr wrote on the right-wing web site Breitbart.

“Our new proposal would allow the FCC to approve deals that exceed the 39% cap, but only if doing so would promote the public interest.”TV station owners and its lobbying group the National Assn.of Broadcasters have been clamoring for a change in the rule, citing the changes in technology that have occurred since the ownership limit.

The 39% threshold set in 2004 when streaming video was still a nascent business.The stations groups say the ability of tech companies such as Google and Netflix to reach every consumer in the U.S.puts them at a disadvantage.

At the same time, streaming now accounts for more than 40% of all viewing according to Nielsen, pulling consumers away from traditional TV.TV stations are also seeing their share of carriage fees from cable and satellite companies shrink due to cord-cutting.The station groups also argue that declining viewership and revenues make it more challenging to support multiple local TV.news operations in a sing...