TV Execs Call for Deregulation

TV EXECS CALL FOR DEREGULATION
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Allison Romano]
No, Virginia, the media ownership debate hasn't gone away; it is just heating up. As local broadcasters strive to increase revenues and improve margins, top executives from several major station groups renewed their calls Thursday for deregulation and the revamping of the TV-ownership rules. Under the current guidelines, a company can own stations reaching no more than 39% of the country. Calling the formula “ludicrous,” NBC Universal Television Stations President Jay Ireland said, “We are now at 31% [of the country]. New York City is 6%, and that is if every viewer watched WNBC every day. Come on. We know what our ratings are, and we are a sliver. The broadcast industry is getting left in the dust.” Former NBC executive Brandon Burgess, now CEO of Ion Media Networks (formerly Paxson Communications), says regulation is stymieing broadcaster innovations. “If some of the artificial and nonsensical limitations are eliminated, then our industry will be less punished,” Burgess said. “This is a mature industry, and mature industries consolidate,” said Nexstar Broadcasting CEO Perry Sook. “Hence the need for deregulation.”
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