FCC Recirculates NASA Petition

FCC RECIRCULATES NASA PETITION
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The FCC may be finally ready to grant a petition by network-affiliated TV stations to get more control over their airtime. An FCC source says that one of the dozens of items circulated for commissioner's perusal this week is the long-standing Network Affiliated Stations Alliance (NASA) petition calling for changes to the network-affiliate relationship. An industry source says it looks like the FCC gave stations "virtually everything." The NASA petition, which has been kicking around the commission for years, got new life back in 2004 after the Janet Jackson reveal brought new legs to the issue of affiliates' ability to preempt network programming. At Hill hearings on the Jackson incident, some station owners argued that they did not have sufficient notice or freedom to preempt network shows for content concerns and asked for the FCC's help in giving them more control over their airtime.
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