National Association of Broadcasters to FCC: COVID-19 Challenges Emphasize Need for Deregulation

Broadcasters are telling the Federal Communications Commission that the current pandemic provides even more argument for loosening broadcast ownership regulations. They are telling the FCC it needs to declare the video and audio markets more competitive than they have ever been, arguing that both FCC ownership limits — which the FCC under Chairman Ajit Pai has tried to loosen —and Department of Justice merger reviews are "premised on the view that local TV and radio stations exist in markets hermetically sealed against the vast array of choices available to audiences and advertisers." Hardly, said the National Association of Broadcasters. "What is certain is that the pandemic will exacerbate existing challenges for local TV stations competing with much larger, better capitalized, and less regulated digital companies for advertising revenue, even as broadcast stations outperform other outlets in serving their local communities," NAB told the FCC.