Local TV Station Owners Have Reason to Back FCC Chair on Kimmel

(Bloomberg)-A meeting storm on the TV comedy late gave the local station owners the chance to do good with the Federal Communication Commission under the control of the Republican-controlled Federal Communication Commission, which should be blessed and approved by the merger plans.

FCC Chariman Brendan Carr, which appeared in a conservative podcast on Wednesday, encouraged local stations to leave the assassination of the ABC server’s political activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Later, two of the country’s largest TV station owners are Nexstar Media Group Inc. and Sinclair Inc. competed to announce that they would withdraw Kimmel’s program from their lines.

“Mr. Kimmel’s comments on the death of Mr. Kirk’s death in our national political discourse at a critical time in our national political discourse.

Sinclair, the biggest owner of the ABC subsidiaries, went further by connecting Kimmel status to greater goals.

“This incident emphasizes the critical need for the FCC to immediately regulate the control of local broadcasters by the Great National Networks,” said Vice President Jason Smith. He said.

Unusual maneuvers – station groups often do not criticize their national partners so clearly – underlining the degree of reaching an important point in the livelihood of the industry. For years, local station groups have been able to compress higher wages than cable and satellite-TV providers, but as consumers canceled subscriptions, this fund source is forced. Networks also require higher wages to distribute their programs.

Local TV executives see consolidation as the antidote of their problems. Having more stations even more stations will allow them to reduce costs by sharing local news rooms and advertising sales personnel among various stations in a market. In addition, it will give more influence in negotiations with cable operators and networks that distribute their signals.

To reach there, the broadcasting industry wants Trump administration to eliminate regulations that limit station ownership. Currently, no company has stations that reach more than 39% of US households. Companies cannot also have more than two stations in any city.

The commission under Carr weighs changes that allow more consolidation. Carr said that publishers believe that they should have more space and give them the ability to compete more aggressively with online media. The Commission may evaluate some changes in local restrictions at the beginning of September 30th.

Nexstar is trying to buy Tegna Inc., a competitor station owner, in a transaction of $ 6.2 billion, including debt. Nexstar needs FCC not only to transfer Tegna’s station licenses, but also to confirm the rule changes. The agreement will allow the company to reach 80% of US households, which are twice the current limit.

“It can be watched for the number one priority of the industries that remove the boundaries of the FCC on the number of stations on the number of stations that the FCC may have, Eklendir “It is not a coincidence that Nexstar, the company that wants the most regulatory relaxation, comes out of the door first.”

Nexstar said that the decision to remove Kimmel was made independently from the FCC.

“‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ It was made unilaterally by the senior executive team in Nexstar, and before making this decision, they had no communication with FCC or any government institution. ”

Sinclair is looking for an agreement. The company has recently announced that it has begun a sales or strategic review. Sinclair did not respond to the request for comments.

Hank Price, a former station manager, said that both Nexstar and Sinclair have many audiences in the markets where many viewers are Kirk supporters and Kimmel’s comments are uncomfortable.

“They’re America’s heart, Price said Price. “They were bombed only with E -mails and phone calls.”

Large station owners may prefer to completely lose the shows late at night, and according to Price, they may free to work with less than the costs of the network or another programming.

“Participants can see this as a great opportunity to have a time zone,” he said. “This is not a single thing. All this thing.”

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