NAB is asking the federal appeals court in Philadelphia to deny the FCC’s request to lift the stay from its new radio ownership rules, part of the new media ownership rules passed by the commission last June and now blocked from implementation.
NAB says it its filing that the local radio ownership rules “remain in a state of flux. This court’s decision affirming the shift to Arbitron is subject to further review and possible reversal by the U.S. Supreme Court.”
The FCC had asked the court to allow the agency to implement its new radio market definition using Arbitron Radio Metro areas rather than the current contour-overlap methodology, reasoning that the new system would give a more realistic picture of how many radio signals are in a market.
NAB says lifting the stay on the definition while its still being reviewed will cause “needless chaos” in the marketplace and irreparably harm smaller stations.
The court required the FCC to change or further justify its numerical radio ownership limits, the tiered system that allows for one company to own up to 8 stations in a market. The FCC said in its petition that this is illogical because the limits wouldn’t change if the new rules went into affect.
NAB disagrees, and says those also, were sent back to the commission so the agency could better justify how it came up with the numbers.
NAB to Appeals Court: Don’t Lift Stay From New Radio Rules
NAB to Appeals Court: Don't Lift Stay From New Radio Rules