WASHINGTON—In a wide-ranging filing with the Federal Communications Commission, Sinclair applauded the agency’s push towards deregulation while arguing that it must address a ““toxic combination of a rapidly changing competitive environment” and the “ossified regulatory burdens” that are harming broadcasters and consumers.
“While there are a number of deregulatory steps the Commission can take to level the playing field and allow broadcasters to compete, by far the most important actions the Commission can take are the elimination of the local and national ownership caps and an expeditious proceeding setting a sunset date for ATSC 1.0,” the April 14 filing argued.
Sinclair also warned that “If broadcasters are artificially constrained by a head-in-the-sand regulatory approach that ignores competitive realities, they will inevitably be forced to cut local news budgets just as overregulation forced many newspapers to shut down—leaving local communities with less local journalism and fewer options.”
“if the Commission wants to preserve local journalism and ensure that viewers have options beyond Big Media national news and Big Tech algorithms, the Commission must act promptly to unshackle the broadcast television industry before it is too late,” the brief added. “We urge the Commission to move swiftly to eliminate ownership restrictions, set a hard date for a sunset of ATSC 1.0, and adopt other regulatory relief as discussed in more detail below.”
In the brief, Sinclair also reported that it currently invests about $300 million in local news. That funds the production of more than 2,500 hours per week of local news programming in the communities it serves. In addition, during 2024-2025, Sinclair produced or aired more than 1,400 hours of professionally produced high school sports.
In terms of NextGen TV, Sinclair said it supports the National Association of Broadcasters’ (NAB) petition asking the Commission to establish a clear timeline to complete the transition to ATSC 3.0 in the top 55 markets by February 2028 and all other markets by February 2030.
It also argued that the Commission should eliminate the simulcast and “substantially similar” requirements as well as other rules to “greatly reduce regulatory burdens and facilitate a timely transition.”
Those other rules include:
- Relax Section 73.3801(c) Coverage Requirements for ATSC 1.0 Simulcast Signal
- Reduce Section 73.3801(f)(5) Expedited Processing Threshold from 95% Coverage to 75% Coverage
- Eliminate Section 73.3801(i)(4) Requirement to Post and Update Hosting Arrangements Exhibit.
- Shorten Section 73.3801(h) MVPD Notice Period to 30 Days.
In the filing, Sinclair also called on the FCC to eliminate children’s programming reporting requirements; reduce public file and political file obligations; relax EEO program requirements and reduce other regulatory burdens. The complete filing can be found here.
TV Tech’s complete coverage of the FCC is available here; our coverage of NextGen TV is available here.
