The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has asked the FCC to put on hold its review of the proposed Charter-Time Warner Cable-Bright House merger until the Commission has completed its 2010 and 2014 quadrennial reviews of broadcast ownership rules.
“By ignoring both its duty to ‘determine’ whether its rules remain necessary and the competitive transformation of the video marketplace, the Commission has unlawfully retained its industry-wide broadcast TV ownership restrictions, including a local television rule originating in the World War II era,” NAB wrote in a petition filed with the FCC.
NAB alleges the rules governing broadcast ownership have held back over-the-air TV providers while MVPDs including cable, satellite and telcos have benefitted from consolidation and the economies of scale that come with joining forces.
NAB also says the lopsided rules have created an advantage for MVPDs in advertising. Two TV stations are essentially forbidden from the joint sale of TV advertising in the same market while MVPDs have been allowed to create single platforms for local and national advertising.
If the FCC does not reform broadcast ownership rules, than it should deny the merger, says NAB.
“The creation of yet another pay-TV behemoth would further competitively disadvantage local broadcast stations kept by outdated ownership rules from achieving a fraction of the vital economies of scale and scope that MVPDs enjoy and, as the FCC has recognized, can advance the public interest,” NAB wrote.
