ABC parent company Walt Disney Co. announced Aug. 5 that the network had overcome policy differences with the NAB and rejoined the broadcast trade association.
Previously, ABC complained that broadcasters used the NAB to lobby “for strict ownership regulations on the networks while working to ease limits on local TV station ownership,” according to a Disney statement.
ABC withdrew from the NAB in mid-2003 following a policy dispute over proposed deregulation of FCC network television station ownership rules. Congress has since passed legislation capping at 39 percent the national audience reach of a single broadcast company. At one time, the networked had weighed the possibility of creating a coalition with other networks.
ABC, which is the only one of the big four television networks to be an NAB member, owns 10 television outlets and 70 radio stations.
For more information, visit www.mickeynews.com and www.nab.org.
