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The Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday along party lines to repeal the national ratings cap that has historically restricted the number of households with television access that a single station could reach.
The president of the FCC, Brendan Carrled the vote that overturned two decades of precedent in favor of a new case-by-case approach, setting the stage for a legal matter that will almost certainly reach a federal appeals court.
Carr has argued that the relaxation of regulations is necessary to help broadcasters remain competitive in a media landscape increasingly dominated by large technology companies and to promote local news coverage.
“He Congress “He never imagined that local television stations would become mere undifferentiated repeaters of national programming produced in Hollywood and New York,” he said. “But if the FCC does not change course, this could become a reality in many towns, cities and counties.
The Democratic commissioner of the FCC, Anna Gomez, He cast the lone dissenting vote, arguing that his agency does not have the authority to remove the cap. The measures adopted by the Congress to implement the cap were “deliberate, explicit and binding,” he said. “He Congress set the limit, and only the Congress can modify it.”
Deregulation, long awaited by the broadcasting industry, is key to the acquisition of the rival group Tegna Inc.. on the part of Nexstar Media Group Inc. This merger would cover approximately 80% of American households, far exceeding the previous, long-standing limit of 39%. The FCC exceptionally suspended the rule by approving the transaction earlier this year.
Although the rule did not prevent the agreement between nexstar and Tegnacould be a key factor in the legal battle that arises from it. A bipartisan group of state attorneys general, along with the satellite television company DirecTV Inc.managed to get a court to order a suspension of integration efforts while they pursue antitrust lawsuits. The trial is scheduled to begin next summer.
The parties could also directly challenge the change in regulations of the FCC before him Court of DC Circuit Appealsasking a panel to decide whether the FCC you can modify the limit or if only the Congress can do it. Public interest groups, labor organizations and the cable television channel operator Newsmax Inc. They have opposed the relaxation of limits.
