The FCC Must Raise the Broadcast Cap
Millions of Americans watch local television stations. In this age of smartphones and tablets it may seem impossible, but it’s true. Local stations are often the only way Americans get information about their communities, and right now, those local stations are under threat. Without action from the Trump administration, they may not exist for much longer.
Local television stations used to be Americans' only sources for news and information. They were so important that the Federal Communications Commission wanted to ensure that one company could not dominate America’s media sphere by owning them all—or too many of them. To accomplish that, in the mid-1950s the Eisenhower administration created a rule: one company could not own more than seven television stations.
By the 1980s, those stations were still critical, but times had changed. The Reagan administration, seeking to strike a balance between deregulatory action and protection against monopoly, adopted a new rule: no single company could “reach more than 25 percent of the nation’s viewers” by way of locally-owned stations. In 2004, that cap was raised to 39 percent.
Now, the Trump administration, including Chairman Brendan Carr of the Federal Communications Commission, is considering lifting the cap or even getting rid of it entirely. The move has gotten fierce resistance from Democrats, who have somehow sought to turn it into a First Amendment issue.
Chairman Carr should ignore the protests and plow ahead by raising, or even eliminating, the cap.
It’s important to underline when these rules came into effect: the 1950s. They were not new in 2004, when the cap was raised; the notion of limiting station ownership came about when Dwight Eisenhower was in office.
When the Eisenhower-era rules were first put into place, less than half of all American households even had televisions. The creation of the internet was decades away, and its widespread use was over five decades into the future. When Americans had few other media options, the rules made sense. But now that Americans are cutting the cord and turning to alternative sources of media, like social media and streaming services, they are simply nonsensical.
After all, these alternative sources of media can reach every single American household. If you have an internet connected device in your home, you likely have access to X, or YouTube, or Instagram. These sites reach 100 percent of households, but yet we are expecting local stations – which can legally reach only 39 percent – to possibly be able to survive in this new era of media? All while competing against multi-trillion-dollar Big Tech companies for advertising?
The rules are strangling local television stations. By being grouped together, there can be a way forward for them in the digital age; but if stations are forced to remain separate, they’ll simply wither and die.
Some have sought to argue that the FCC does not have the legal authority to make this change, pointing out that Congress set the cap to 39 percent in 2004. But, many experts have pointed out, this is a faulty argument: the text of the law simply demanded a one-off modification of the rule. It did not demand that change be permanent. Chairman Carr and the commissioners should not be cowed by threats of lawsuits.
In another world, Congress could act to raise or eliminate the cap, but that move is unlikely in today’s environment.
Fortunately, the FCC does not have to wait for Congress to act. They can use their powers to bring America out of the Eisenhower era and, finally, into the twenty-first century – and in doing so, can give local television stations a fighting chance.
