Broadcast television station owners aren't supposed to own more than one "top-rated" station in a market, but many are buying multiple stations in small markets, prompting complaints to federal regulators from cable and satellite companies. Examples include Parkersburg, West Virginia, and Greenville, Mississippi.
The move is possible because the Federal Communications Commission's anti-competition rules don't apply to low-power stations or multicast digital stations, Margaret Harding McGill reports for Axios. Broadcasters who buy up multiple local TV stations, and sometimes the local newspaper, say it's the only way they can survive.
"Broadcasters have long faced unique regulatory limits on their reach, but now digital competition has shrunk their share of the ad pie. Consolidation, they argue, is how they can compete with digital giants as well as cable and satellite companies while still providing local broadcasts," McGill reports. "Cable companies, which pay broadcasters to retransmit TV signals to their customers, say the local TV market consolidation raises their costs and harms consumers. But broadcasters, who scoff at the notion they have more leverage than giants like AT&T and Comcast, argue the arrangements provide rural Americans with network programming and more local news."
The FCC is seeking comments on a possible update to media ownership rules that could limit or prevent broadcasters from buying multiple low-power or multicast channels in one market.
The move is possible because the Federal Communications Commission's anti-competition rules don't apply to low-power stations or multicast digital stations, Margaret Harding McGill reports for Axios. Broadcasters who buy up multiple local TV stations, and sometimes the local newspaper, say it's the only way they can survive.
"Broadcasters have long faced unique regulatory limits on their reach, but now digital competition has shrunk their share of the ad pie. Consolidation, they argue, is how they can compete with digital giants as well as cable and satellite companies while still providing local broadcasts," McGill reports. "Cable companies, which pay broadcasters to retransmit TV signals to their customers, say the local TV market consolidation raises their costs and harms consumers. But broadcasters, who scoff at the notion they have more leverage than giants like AT&T and Comcast, argue the arrangements provide rural Americans with network programming and more local news."
The FCC is seeking comments on a possible update to media ownership rules that could limit or prevent broadcasters from buying multiple low-power or multicast channels in one market.
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