Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Broadcast Ownership Cases

On January 19, the Supreme Court heard arguments in two cases (NAB v. Prometheus and the companion case FCC v. Prometheus), which challenged the Third Circuit Court of Appeal's overturning of the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) 2017 quadrennial review reconsideration order eliminating the cross-ownership restrictions and reforming the local TV rule, among other things. Due to the pandemic, the argument was held via conference call.

The FCC argued that the Third Circuit erred in requiring the FCC to conduct additional studies concerning diversity of station ownership prior to any reform of its ownership rules and that the courts owe the agency a great deal of deference to their decision-making in cases like these. NAB supported the FCC's argument and further argued that Congress enacted the 1996 Telecommunications Act (including section 202(h), the quadrennial review provision) to be deregulatory, and the statute should be read with competition as the primary policy goal. In contrast, counsel on behalf of various public advocacy groups argued that the Third Circuit's decision was consistent with basic principles of administrative law concerning court review of agency decisions.

NAB expects a decision in the spring, and almost certainly no later than the end of June.