Ari Meltzer Speaks on Panel About Broadcast Regulatory Outlook

June 16, 2017

Ari Meltzer, an associate in Wiley Rein’s Telecom, Media & Technology Practice, was a featured speaker on a panel at the S&P Global Market Intelligence’s “34th Annual TV & Radio Finance Summit: Solutions For An Evolving Landscape” on June 15. Wiley Rein was a Gold Sponsor of the Summit, which focused on TV station operations, retransmission fee expansion, ATSC 3.0, and broadcast deals and finance. Mr. Meltzer’s comments were cited in a June 16 Communications Daily article that summarized key points from the summit.

The loosening of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) broadcast ownership regulations and the elimination or raising of the national television ownership cap were among the topics discussed. Mr. Meltzer said polarization and gridlock in the nation’s capital may have made it difficult for Congress to pass legislation. He pointed out that while the majority of FCC commissioners don’t believe the FCC has the authority to alter the cap, they disagree on whether and how to do so. He noted that the FCC rollback of local ownership rules faces fewer obstacles because of the consensus among Republican commissioners.