Perhaps it's past time to get real. Abolish both the UHF discount and the
national cap. The UHF discount has no semblance to reality, and the national
cap has long outlived its use, assuming it ever had one. (Local caps should
still apply, IMO. Most of the time, the reasons given to retain the national
cap seem to describe the need for the local cap.)
Retaining this UHF discount pretense is hardly "wiping the slate clean." It is
instead using one artifact (pretend that UHF is at a disadvantage) to counter
another artifact (pretend that the national cap has anything to do with making
more voices heard).
Commissioner Clyburn does support LPTV, and LPTV stations can piggy-back on
full power stations after the repack. That's not bad to help out the smaller
broadcasters.
Bert
---------------------------------------------
http://www.tvtechnology.com/news/0002/uhf-discounted-ownership-cap-targeted/280901
UHF Discounted, Ownership Cap Targeted
Non-coms can fundraise for others, and board members can keep data private
April 20, 2017
By Deborah D. McAdams
WASHINGTON-The UHF discount is back, the national audience reach cap is on the
table, noncommercial TV stations can do third-party fundraisers and the members
of their governing boards can keep their private data to themselves. So
unfolded today's Federal Communications Commission monthly open meeting, but
not without an ear-scorching rebuke from the commission's only Democrat over
reinstatement of the UHF discount, which counts just half the population
covered by a UHF TV signal toward the 39 percent national audience cap.
"Welcome to industry consolidation month at the FCC," Commissioner Mignon
Clyburn said in her dissent. "The UHF discount-a rule that everyone, including
the majority, admits has no place in a post-digital transition era [has been]
snatched from the regulatory crypt, outdated and divorced from the technical
realities of broadcast television in the digital age... Inertia is not the
culprit, but rather an overzealous, misguided willingness to ignore the
realities of today's marketplace, much to the detriment of the viewing public."
The UHF discount is a relic of analog broadcasting, when transmitting in the
UHF band was less efficient than in VHF. Such is not the case with digital
transmission. A docket was opened in 2013 under Clyburn's interim tenure as
chair to eliminate the discount. Former Chairman Tom Wheeler took up the issue
in an item circulated last summer and it was eliminated last fall. Republican
Commissioner Michael O'Rielly kept it brief, saying that he didn't "believe the
commission has the authority to alter the UHF discount, and certainly not
separate from the national ownership rule."
Reinstatement allows ownership of more TV stations under the 39 percent
national audience cap, which current Chairman Ajit Pai said is on the table
after a litany of pop-culture references to that which is "inextricably linked"
such as Kanye West and Kim Kardashian.
"Back in 2013, when the commission began this proceeding, I had a simple
request," Pai said. "I asked my colleagues to seek comment on both eliminating
the UHF discount and adjusting the national ownership cap. I specifically
argued we cannot do one without the other."
"Today, the FCC is wiping the slate clean, and later this year, we will begin a
new proceeding to review comprehensively the future of the national cap,
including the UHF discount," he said, pledging to "everything in my power to
ensure that this review does not similarly take three years to complete."
The National Association of Broadcasters high-fived the 3-2 vote to reinstate
the discount. "NAB supports today's FCC action reinstating the UHF TV station
ownership discount and commends Chairman Pai for his leadership on this issue.
This represents a rational first step in media ownership reform policy allowing
free and local broadcasters to remain competitive with multi-national pay TV
giants and broadband providers."
Former Democratic Commissioner Michael Copps, who is now with the public
interest think tank Common Cause, called the UHF discount a "huge handout to
big broadcasting" that would lead to higher cable rates.
In other actions, the commission voted unanimously to let non-commercial
educational stations engage in fundraising for third parties. Stations
receiving funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting were excluded
from the order that allows NCEs to "devote up to 1 percent of their annual
airtime to fundraising for third-party organizations that qualify as tax-exempt
non-profits... without having to first seek a waiver fro the FCC."
Additionally, the members of NCE governing board will no longer have to reveal
personal data on ownership reports, but will instead use a "special use"
registration number. Clyburn also dissented on this one because she considered
it detrimental to media diversity.
Citing a Government Accountability Office report, Clyburn said it "specifically
affirms data from NCE stations is needed to have a comprehensive picture of
ownership diversity, including representation from women and minorities."
She was outvoted by her GOP colleagues, much to the delight of the America's
Public Television Stations, a nonprofit representing NCEs in D.C.
"We are grateful that the FCC has resolved these two long-standing proceedings
and has adopted final orders in a manner that recognizes the distinction of NCE
television and radio stations from other broadcasters in terms of structure,
governance and finances," said Lonna Thompson, the organization's executive
vice president, chief operating officer and general counsel.
The commission also voted to propose rules making it easier for broadband
providers to navigate municipal access rules, and to deregulate the business
data services market, which was met with "mixed reviews," according to B&C's
John Eggerton.
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