Comment Dates Set for Media Ownership NPRM
The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing changes to the media ownership rules as part of the 2010 Quadrennial Review proceeding was published in the Federal Register on January 19, 2012.
Comments are due Monday, March 5, 2012.
Reply Comments are due Tuesday, April 3, 2012.
A more detailed explanation of the NPRM appeared in a previous Client Alert and can be found here. Notably, the FCC is proposing to presumptively permit waivers of the newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership ban for certain combinations in the 20 largest television markets, to eliminate the radio/television cross-ownership rule and to leave the local television and radio ownership and dual network rules largely intact. It also seeks comment on issues related to the ownership of broadcast stations by women and minorities and on whether it should consider Local News Service (LNS) agreements and/or Shared Services Agreements (SSAs) to be attributable for purposes of applying its media ownership rules.
If you would like more information, or if you are interested in filing comments, please contact the Wiley Rein attorney who regularly handles your FCC matters or one of the attorneys listed below.
