FCC Pai Moves To Ease TV Station Ownership Rules

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is moving forward with a controversial proposal to ease restrictions on the ownership of broadcast TV stations, reports The Hill.

In a statement Tuesday, Pai said he is seeking comments on raising the cap on how much of the nation's TV audience a single broadcaster can reach and on reinstating the so-called UHF discount, which allows owners to surpass that cap in some circumstances.

The UHF discount, originally created in 1985, allows broadcasters to exceed a cap which mandates that no single broadcasting company can have an audience reach above 39 percent of U.S. television households.

Pai wants both rules reconsidered.

The move is certain to spark opposition from consumer groups and Democrats and comes as Pai's FCC is already moving ahead to kill the Obama-era net neutrality rules in December.

The FCC, under former President Barack Obama, deemed the UHF discount outdated as broadcast television moved to digital frequencies.

Pai began the process of reinstating the rule in April. Opening the UHF discount for public comment is the next step in advancing the proposal toward becoming a regulation again.

When it was originally created, the UHF discount allowed broadcasters to exceed the 39 percent cap under the premise that UHF bands were weaker than VHF bands, and should not be treated the same.

Accordingly, UHF bands’ reach were only counted as half of their actual reach, when determining a broadcasters’ total potential audience.

Critics of Pai say that bringing back the UFH discount and raising the national cap will lead to more consolidation in broadcast ownership. They worry that will lead to less minority ownership and less diversity of viewpoints on the airwaves. They add that no one company should be able to gain too much access to American audiences.