House Dems Support FCC JSA Crackdown

Key House Democrats Wednesday panned a GOP-backed legislative proposal to derail an FCC plan to crack down on joint sales agreements, raising doubts about the ability of broadcasters to win a legislative reprieve for the station combinations, according to TV NewsCheck.

“I support the FCC’s tightening its attribution rules to address joint sales agreements between television stations,” said Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), during a hearing before the House Communications and Telecommunications Subcommittee Wednesday.

“I’m also concerned by [the] provision that would effectively bar the FCC from modifying its rules to close a loophole that broadcasters have been exploiting to circumvent the FCC’s media ownership rules,” added Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) during the hearing.

Marci Burdick

The FCC is slated to vote on Wheeler’s proposed JSA crackdown on March 31, blocking the formation of new JSAs and giving broadcasters up to two years to unwind existing ones — unless broadcasters can somehow persuade the FCC that the joint combos warrant a special waiver on public interest grounds.

“We strongly oppose the extraordinarily regulatory path the FCC is taking,” said Marci Burdick, SVP of Radio/TV Operator Schurz Communications and chairman of the National Association of Broadcasters TV board, in her testimony during the subcommittee hearing, adding that the FCC’s plan to require existing JSAs to unwind was “unprecedented and amazingly disruptive.”

“While often misunderstood, these [JSA] agreements benefit the public, particularly in small and medium markets where Schurz operates, through improved public service and enhanced transmission facilities,” Burdick said.

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