Disney: FCC may find itself looking for ways to incent, rather than restrict, broadcast ownership

Disney, which has pretty much stayed out of the debate on media ownership rules, continued in that tradition this time around, while still giving a shout-out to a more holistic view of potential regulatory relief for broadcasters. It did not file initial comments in the Federal Communications Commission's review of its rules per congressional and court mandates, and in reply comments pointed out that fact, but did give the FCC some advice.

Disney pointed out that it had fewer TV stations and radio stations than it did almost six years ago, when it filed comments in response to a previous ownership rulemaking. In those earlier comments, Disney didn't advocate for any rule changes, but said the FCC may find itself looking for ways to incent, rather than restrict, broadcast ownership. In its reply comments filed this week, Disney said it wanted to reiterate that earlier point, and even put an exclamation point on it. "Given the realities of today's marketplace," it said, "it seems misplaced for the FCC to focus narrowly on the continuing relevance of and need for the Broadcast Ownership Rules." Instead, said the company, "We believe that the FCC would be better served to broaden its inquiry to consider the full panoply of challenges facing broadcasters, ways to incent ownership of over-the-air broadcast stations, and whether some elements of the overall regulatory regime have become outdated."