Local TV and radio stations provide the most trusted news and emergency information, live sports and free entertainment (with no subscription necessary) to millions of Americans. Advertising dollars from local and national businesses fund newsrooms, trusted local journalism and cover the cost of entertainment and live sports.
When these rules were put in place, local TV and radio stations competed mostly with each other for advertising business. But times have changed. Now their biggest competitors are Big Tech giants; subscription services like Amazon and Netflix, Spotify and Sirius.
The market capitalization of the Big Tech companies overshadows that of the top 10 TV and radio companies combined.
With advertising flowing to billion-dollar companies and out of local communities, your stations’ ability to fund trusted local journalism, air live sporting events and provide free entertainment programming is at risk.
Football continually dominates, securing 93 of the top 100 broadcast programs each week. But Big Tech giants like Amazon and Netflix, with their vast resources, can outbid local broadcasters to get sports leagues to air games on their pay-to-watch platforms. This takes games off local TV stations that air them for free. Without changes to the rules, sports fans may soon be forced to purchase costly subscriptions and search through streaming services just to watch their favorite teams.
Without strong local stations, Americans will have to rely on expensive subscription options – like cable and streaming – to get news and follow their favorite teams’ games.
News and entertainment options have changed a lot in the last fifty years, but local TV and radio rules haven’t. Without changes to outdated bureaucratic rules, stations aren’t able to compete with Big Tech giants. It hurts their ability to innovate, grow or offer more choices to consumers.
The government doesn’t allow local TV companies to reach more than 39% of American households. But Amazon, Meta, Netflix and YouTube can – and do – reach 100% of national audiences.
The government dictates the number of channels a radio company can offer in each local area, but Spotify, Sirius, Audible and Apple can – and do – reach 100% of national audiences with unlimited channels.
While Big Tech companies are able to grow without any regulations, decades-old rules hurt your local TV and radio stations’ ability to offer trusted local news, providing a critical voice for their communities.
Trusted local news is more important than ever. It’s the news and information communities need without the spin – just the facts.
More than half of U.S. counties have either no local newspaper or only one remaining paper. After thousands of newspapers shut down, in 2017 the government finally allowed TV stations to also own local newspapers. But this decision was too little, too late. Local newspapers continue to shutter at an average of 2.5 a week. Legislators can prevent local television and radio from suffering the same fate and depriving communities of local news, live sports and emergency information. They can rein in the media bias and misinformation on Big Tech platforms by giving local stations a chance to compete.
Congress requires the Federal Communications Commission (the arm of the government that oversees local stations) to review local TV and radio rules and make changes to adapt to the times. But the FCC has failed to change broadcast rules since before the internet, social media or streaming existed.
