Calling the prohibition on newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership outdated, NAB supports amending the cross-ownership ban.
It urged the commission also to consider the continued relaxation of local radio limitations set by Congress over a decade a ago “in a less competitive and diverse media marketplace.”
Chairman Martin has said he does not intend to change the radio local ownership caps when the agency takes up the relaxation of the cross-ownership ban next week.
However in comments filed with the agency, NAB responded to parties who urged the FCC to further tighten levels of common ownership permitted in local radio markets. As NAB has said before, it believes the commission’s own studies support continued relaxation.
In addition to promoting diverse and targeted programming, the common ownership of stations in local markets “has no statistically significant effect on advertising prices,” said NAB, quoting from a study on ad rates.
