FCC starts second round of media consolidation wars

The Federal Communications Commission is fueling the war over media consolidation by opening the door to another deregulatory spree targeting rules that stop local broadcasters from merging. The FCC voted recently to begin a legally-mandated review of the agency’s media ownership rules. That includes asking whether the current rule — which bans a company from owning more than one of the top four stations in a market — “continues to foster competition, the stated primary goal of the rule, and thus should be retained or whether the promotion of localism or viewpoint diversity also provides justification for retaining the rule.” (Right now, you can own two stations in a market — but only one of the top four, unless the FCC waives the prohibition.) It also asks for input on the necessity of a rule that two of the nation’s top four networks — NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox — can’t merge at the local level. “We’re getting to a point where if they weaken it even further in small markets you could have one media voice across the board,” said Benton Senior Fellow Gigi Sohn.