FCC votes in favor of lifting limits on TV station ownership

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Set us as preferred The Federal Communications Commission voted 2-1 in favor of allowing TV station ownership groups to own more outlets, easing the way for more consolidation.The Thursday vote that favored the change means companies can own local stations that cover more than 39% of the U.S.They could also own more than two stations in a single market.The measure supported by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr will allow the agency to approve deals that put station ownership groups over the cap if the agency determines that they are promoting the public interest.

Carr has said the agency would consider such issues as commitment to local journalism and “viewpoint diversity.”“In my view, if you care about trusted sources of local news and information, you have to care about the future of local TV stations,” Carr said.“They are the economic engines that produce the paychecks for so many of the local journalists that remain in the business.

So how can the FCC maximize the odds that those institutions continue to survive and hopefully thrive into the future? To start, we should stop hamstringing this one segment of the broader market with outdated restrictions.”The station groups say the ability of tech companies such as Google and Netflix to reach every consumer in the U.S.puts them at a disadvantage.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.Television stations are also seeing their share of carriage fees from cable and satellite companies shrink due to cord-cutting.Declining viewership and revenue have also made it more challenging to sustain multiple local TV news operations in a single market.Anna Gomez, the lone Democrat on the commission, opposed the measure, saying the rule change will only help big firms get bigger and ...