Sources: Chairman Proposes Making Some JSAs Attributable

Apparently, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski wants at least some same-market joint sales agreements (JSAs) between TV stations -- likely ones that meet some minimum threshold of sales -- to count toward local ownership caps for the stations providing those services. Multiple sources confirmed that attribution for "certain JSAs" was part of the quadrennial review order circulated by Chairman Genachowski among the other commissioners for a vote, though those sources had not done a deep dive into the details. The FCC in 2003 voted to make radio JSAs attributable, but did not extend that to TV. The following year, it tentatively concluded that it should. In releasing its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the quadrennial review in December of last year, the FCC again asked whether it was time to extend it to TV, but said it had reached no conclusion. Even some opponents of adding TV JSAs to the attribution roster have wondered why the FCC hadn't dropped that other shoe before now.