By Gavin Boyle
As the FCC enters a regulation review period, it seeks to consider changing its broadcasting rules to help TV better compete with streaming and other new forms of media.
“Our primary goal is to promote investment in local broadcasters who provide trusted news and information vital to the communities they serve,” said FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. “We will also consider whether public safety, national security and other public interest goals should be part of this review. If we determine that any rule no longer serves the public interest, we will fulfill our statutory duty to modify or eliminate those rules.”
“In recent years, numerous online audio and video streaming services have emerged, fundamentally changing how broadcast radio and television compete in the media marketplace,” he added. “Our broadcast ownership rules should reflect those changes.”
Related: Why Did Comcast Spin Off Its Cable Channels?
These comments come as broadcast TV has lost a significant portion of viewer share since the organization last reviewed its rules in 2021. Streaming has gained significant popularity in that time, causing tens of millions of Americans to cut their cable subscriptions.
The rules that are currently under the most scrutiny are those that limit companies from owning more than two major stations in the same market, mergers between any two of the four major broadcasting networks and a regulation that limits broadcast groups from owning stations that reach more than 39% of American households.
These potential rule changes come at a crucial time in the history of broadcast television as many legacy companies are spinning off their television assets into separate companies so they can focus on streaming while not being weighed down by the failing linear TV business. Comcast and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) have both announced they are making this move within the past year, opening the door for major mergers to take place.
However, these current FCC rules would make any mergers between these spun off companies tricky given the reach these assets have within the marketplace. Changes to these rules could potentially lead to a consolidation into one or two main broadcasting groups.
Streaming services, however, may stop these mergers from even having a chance by acquiring the legacy studios themselves, rather than allowing them to band together. Netflix recently submitted a bid to acquire WBD, for example, after Paramount expressed its own interest in taking over the studio.
According to Dylan Byers from Puck News, a reliable source told him that “a well-placed Hollywood source called to suggest… that Netflix was also considering a bid for David Zaslav’s [WBD CEO and president] assets.”
As the entertainment industry continues to evolve, this upcoming review from the FCC has the potential to completely change the course of the future. However, it remains to be seen if the organization will make changes that enable linear TV to remain competitive, or if streaming will see some big wins with little to no regulatory changes.
Read Next: Is Netflix Going to Snag Warner Bros. Discovery?
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