FCC ruling on TV station ownership slips through
Despite the opposition of majorities in both the US House and Senate, the FCC's plan to loosen ownership rules was slipped into a last-minute budget bill and got passed. While most Americans and many politicians from each party opposed further concentration in media ownership, legislative maneuvering overrode their wills. Soon companies will be able to own more stations and newspaper chain will be allowed to own more stations in the cities they already serve. This means, inevitably, more concentration in the industry.
In the table below, the percent of households reached is a rather arbitrary measure that is used to measure the concentration. After all, stations in major metropolitan areas are far more influential than those in rural areas.
Until now, companies were allowed to own stations that reached only up to 35%. The FCC has been easy about extending permission to media giants Viacom (CBS) and News Corp (Fox) to reach a few percent more, without having to without having to divest any channels. The new limit, 45%, will enable those companies and the eight others listed here to expand their operations. These include three newspaper companies (Gannett, Hearst, and Tribune), four media giants (Disney/ABC, News Corp., Viacom, and GE/NBC), and three smaller broadcast companies (Paxson, Univision, Trinity). With station ownership one of the most profitable sector in the media industry, all of these companies are likely to do very well out of the FCC ruling. (And we're unlikely to hear criticism of the FCC from any of their outlets.)
US Station ownership
| Owner |
# of Stations |
% of US households |
| Viacom |
39 |
38.8 |
| Fox TV |
35 |
37.8 |
| NBC |
29 |
33.6 |
| Paxson |
61 |
30.9 |
| Tribune Co. |
27 |
30.0 |
| ABC |
10 |
23.6 |
| Univision |
36 |
21.7 |
| Gannett |
22 |
17.5 |
| Hearst-Argyll |
34 |
16.0 |
| Trinity Broadcasting |
23 |
15.7 |
Source: USA Today
8:45:03 PM 
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