FCC Opens Review of Media Ownership Rules

The FCC’s Media Bureau has commenced the 2022 Quadrennial Review of the Commission’s media ownership rules and is seeking comment, as required by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, on whether the media ownership rules remain “necessary in the public interest as the result of competition.”

FCC noted that the Commission has not yet adopted final rules in the 2018 Quadrennial Review, which has been delayed by extensive litigation, but stressed that the agency remains “cognizant of the statutory obligation to review the broadcast ownership rules every four years. Just as the previous (2018) quadrennial review was initiated in December of 2018, we seek to commence this subsequent (2022) review before the end of the 2022 calendar year….Accordingly, the Media Bureau finds that initiating the 2022 Quadrennial Review despite the pendency of the 2018 Quadrennial Review is appropriate in this instance.”

According to tvtechnology.com, the FCC noted that it would examine the media ownership rules in light of the media landscape of 2022 and beyond. Although these rules remain subject to the ongoing 2018 Quadrennial Review proceeding, the FCC noted that “the three rules currently in place and subject to this review are the Local Radio Ownership Rule and the Local Television Ownership Rule—which limit ownership by a single entity of broadcast radio or television stations in local markets respectively—and the Dual Network Rule, which effectively prohibits mergers among the Big Four broadcast television networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC).”

In its examination of these rules, the FCC said it was seeking “information regarding the media marketplace, including ongoing trends or developments (e.g., consolidation, technological innovation, or the emergence of new video or audio options for consumers), that commenters find relevant to the Commission’s review of its media ownership rules.”