FCC Media Study No. 9: A Theoretical Analysis of the Impact of Local Market Structure on the Range of Viewpoints Supplied
2 Background
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) has authority over the allocation of radio spectrum granted by the 1934 Communications Act. The FCC’s charge is to ensures that the ownership of a license to use spectrum is held in the “public interest, convenience and necessity.” The FCC’s definition of public interest, convenience and necessity includes three elements: competition, diversity, and localism. The FCC reviews transactions conveying the control of a license to ensure that such transactions fit in with its goals. Beyond the mere review of mergers the FCC at the behest of Congress has developed several specific rules that limit the holding of these licenses by entities in the United States. The rules are generally referred to as the “media ownership rules”. There are six such rules. These rules broadly fall into three categories; first national rules limiting national ownership of a particular class of broadcast license (TV or radio), second local rules restricting the...