Broadcasters are having a blockbuster year at the FCC

A big year of wins for the broadcasting industry is about to get even bigger with a pair of votes at the Federal Communications Commission on Nov 16. One proposal would lift rules that say one company can't own a television station and a newspaper in the same market and a similar rule for owning both radio and television stations in a market. It would also allow the FCC to waive a prohibition against owning two of the top television stations in a market on a case-by-case basis. A second proposal will approve a new technical standard that allows broadcasters to track their viewers in much the same way web services like Google or Facebook track users, and use that information to target them with ads. It'll be an early holiday gift for an industry that's already having a pretty good year in Washington. Local television affiliates remain a popular way for many Americans to get their news. Deregulation has ushered in a new era of consolidation for those stations through the controversial Sinclair-Tribune deal and is good news for the broadcasting giants left standing. Broadcasters also want to take advantage of new technology to target viewers with ads to better compete with Facebook and Google.