NAB's Rehr Spells Out Ownership Priorities

[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
National Association of Broadcasters President David Rehr has sent a letter to the FCC outlining the association's wish list for reforms to rules he says "impair broadcasters' ability to compete in a digital multi-channel marketplace." Topping the list, and reiterating NAB's long-held position, is "reforming" the broadcast/newspaper crossownership ban -- which currently does not allow even one station to be co-owned with a newspaper in the same market, save for some 70 or 80 grandfathered combos--and allowing duopolies (ownership of two stations by one entity) in medium and smaller markets. They are already allowed in large markets. NAB argues that the expense of the DTV transition (which the NAB has advocated for for many, many years), reductions in network compensation to stations, and increased competition from cable and satellite have created financial pressures on smaller stations that could be ameliorated if they were allowed to combine resources with other media outlets.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6306059?display=Breaking+News...
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See NAB letter: http://www.nab.org/newsroom/pressrel/Filings/MartinLetterOwnership2-8-06...