WASHINGTON, D.C.—NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt will be highlighting a number of issues needing Congressional and FCC action when he testifies today, Sept. 13, at a House Communications and Technology Subcommittee hearing titled “Lights, Camera, Subscriptions: State of the Video Marketplace.”
In his oral and written testimony, the NAB said that LeGeyt will urge congressional action that would enable broadcasters to fairly compete and expand viewer and listener access to their services by passing the AM Radio For Every Vehicle Act and legislation reinstating the Diversity Tax Certificate program.
LeGeyt will also discuss why the FCC urgently needs to modernize broadcast ownership rules, create a more transparent, fair and predictable process for broadcaster transactions, refresh the record in its vMVPD proceeding and encourage the rollout of NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0.
The hearing follows a recent blog post by LeGeyt detailing important areas where FCC action is necessary to keep broadcasting strong and enable vital local news. The blog was published after the confirmation of Anna Gomez to the FCC, with LeGeyt writing that an "FCC fully seated with all five commissioners can be the catalyst to keep broadcasting strong for the millions who depend on our free, locally-focused service."
In written testimony to the Subcommittee released by the NAB prior to the hearing, LeGeyt noted that as “we celebrate broadcasting’s centennial anniversary,...[b]roadcasters’ critical role as first informers, emergency lifelines and entertainment media has never been more important as misinformation runs rampant online. Yet significant shifts in the media and advertising marketplace pose challenges to this uniquely free and local model, absent needed congressional and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) attention.”
“In today’s hyper-competitive media landscape, broadcasting remains the most popular source of news, entertainment programming, sports and investigative journalism in communities across America,” LeGeyt said. “More than 181 million adults watch broadcast TV on a monthly basis, and more than 227 million listeners tune into broadcast radio each week. For the 2022-23 TV season, 79 of the top 100 series in primetime were aired by broadcasters.”
Unfortunately, broadcasters are currently forced to compete for audiences and ad dollars in a media landscape where they are forced to “operate under a set of outdated rules and restrictions....while other media and big tech platforms operate without restraint,” he said.
“These challenges are exacerbated by Big Tech’s market power and largely unregulated practices in both the marketplace for digital advertising and as gatekeepers to digital content, including the local broadcast news that is accessed online (or in the automobile).” he said. “These collective pressures divert local advertising revenue away from broadcasters, making our uniquely free and local service that much more difficult to support. It also devalues our product when it is accessed online.”
To address those challenges LeGeyt urged congress to pass the AM Radio For Every Vehicle Act (H.R. 3414) and to pass legislation to reinstate the Diversity Tax Certificate program, which would help diversify ownership of broadcast companies.
LeGeyt also urged Congress to encourage the FCC to make several reforms that will enable broadcasters to compete on a level playing field.
These include:
- “Modernize its local and national broadcast ownership rules to account for the rise, and increasing dominance, of digital media,” he said. “Modernizing these decades-old rules would allow broadcasters to continue to serve local viewers in a way no other platform can. It would allow broadcasters to compete for audiences, advertising and investment against digital platforms operated by tech giants with market caps in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Such reform would safeguard the viability of local broadcast journalism, as broadcasters could leverage local economies of scale and spread the significant cost of news production across more outlets. A recent survey confirms that larger market broadcast stations, and those stations with the resources to hire more staff, produce more hours of local news than small market stations and those with smaller news staffs.24 Modernizing ownership regulations also makes broadcasting more desirable for potential investors and new entrants, ensuring continued investment and encouraging greater diversity in local broadcasting and content.
- “Create a more transparent, fair and predictable process for broadcaster transactions. Mergers and acquisitions enable stations to achieve the economies of scale and scope that are necessary for broadcasters to thrive and serve their local audiences. If the FCC’s procedure governing transactions is fair and provides more business certainty, companies may be encouraged to pursue mergers that could help them better compete and invest in the critical local journalism they provide. A more transparent, just and predictable process allows broadcasters a legitimate chance to compete in the marketplace and continue serving the public.”
- “Refresh the record in its vMVPD proceeding. In 2014, the FCC initiated a proceeding to consider modernizing the definition of multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) to include virtual streaming services that offer linear programming. Nearly a decade later, the media landscape has completely transformed, yet the FCC’s languishing record does not reflect that drastic change and its impact on consumer access to local broadcast stations. There is simply no reason the FCC should not at least refresh its record in this proceeding to better reflect current marketplace realities.”
- “Continue to support the rollout of NextGen TV. Television broadcasters are transitioning our over-the-air broadcasts to a Next Generation Television standard, also known as ATSC 3.0. NextGen TV will enable local television broadcast stations to deliver a higher quality picture, immersive audio, more diverse programming, interactive content, and advanced emergency services. We appreciate the Commission’s support of the Future of Television Initiative, a partnership helping to bring the reality of NextGen TV to viewers across the country and unlock cutting-edge services that benefit public safety, close the digital divide and revolutionize broadcast TV. Ongoing oversight is critical to ensure a successful nationwide rollout.”
