Third Circuit Strike Down FCC’s Media Changes, Radio Incubator.

Story by Inside Radio

In a major blow to the Federal Communications Commission efforts to relax media ownership rules, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals today struck down a series of changes adopted by the FCC in Nov. 2017 that, among other things, abolished the newspaper-broadcast and TV-radio cross-ownership bans. It also struck down the decision to create a radio incubator program. The judges concluded the Commission “did not adequately consider the effect its sweeping rule changes will have on ownership of broadcast media by women and racial minorities.” The Third Circuit also agreed with Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) and National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB) which appealed the format of the incubator reward system. The Third Circuit agreed, concluding the program was “badly designed” and its definition of “comparable markets” for the reward waivers was “unlawfully adopted and would create perverse incentives.”

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in a statement signaled the Commission will appeal the decision. “For more than 20 years, Congress has instructed the Federal Communications Commission to review its media ownership regulations and revise or repeal those rules that are no longer necessary. But for the last 15 years, a majority of the same Third Circuit panel has taken that authority for themselves, blocking any attempt to modernize these regulations to match the obvious realities of the modern media marketplace,” Pai said. “It’s become quite clear that there is no evidence or reasoning—newspapers going out of business, broadcast radio struggling, broadcast TV facing stiffer competition than ever—that will persuade them to change their minds. We intend to seek further review of today's decision and are optimistic that the views set forth today in Judge Scirica’s well-reasoned opinion ultimately will carry the day.”