NAB, NASA to lead challenge on ownership limits
By Bill McConnell -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/29/2003 4:00:00 AM
The National Association of Broadcasters will take the lead challenging new Federal Communications Commission limits on local TV duopolies and radio ownership in court, the group's board decided Monday.
Despite greatly expanded opportunities for owners to control two TV stations in a market, the NAB said the FCC didn't go far enough.
A restriction barring duopolies among a market's four top-rated stations effectively bans TV pairs in many of the small markets where scarce ad revenue jeopardizes the profitability of the third- and fourth-place stations.
THe NAB also opposes a new radio-market measurement that reduces the number of stations an owner may control in some small markets.
TV affiliates' court fight to reinstate the 35% cap, which the NAB supports, will be led by attorneys for the Network Affiliated Stations Alliance.
Lawsuits challenging the FCC's June 2 broadcast-ownership deregulation are expected to be filed from all sides of the issue, not just broadcasters.
Federal appeals judges in Washington, D.C., are expected to take up the cases after the FCC rules on petitions to reconsider its vote.
Legislation to rewrite the FCC's decision is moving independently of the reconsideration petitions and court challenges.
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