Noncommerical Broadcasters Will Ask New FCC to Revisit Reporting Requirements

Public broadcasters are looking to the new Republican Federal Communications Commission for help after the FCC's Media Bureau this week rejected their petition to reconsider boosting their ownership reporting requirements in a way they argue is pointless and in no one's best interest. America's Public Television Stations (APTS) president Patrick Butler signaled that his members—noncommercial TV stations nationwide—would be taking up the suggestion of the Republican commissioners, Ajit Pai and Michael O'Rielly, that they ask the FCC, under new management, to revisit the question.

"America's Public Television Stations are most grateful to Commissioners Pai and O'Rielly for their statement in opposition to the Media Bureau order requiring non-commercial educational television stations to provide 'ownership' information to the Commission," said Butler. "We intend to request a review and a reversal of this order by the full Commission, and we are encouraged by the commitment of Commissioners Pai and O'Rielly to pursue this course." A phalanx of noncommercial broadcasting entities asked the FCC to reconsider and reverse the January 2016 order that was billed as improving the data collected from broadcasters to help the commission analyze ownership and diversity issues. The bottom line, said the FCC back in January, was that the moves would improve the reliability and comprehensiveness of its media ownership data, including on diversity and noncommercial station reporting to more closely square with commercial.