"The time is ripe for media vultures to make their move. In 2007, the court blocked the FCC's attempt to change the rules of ownership. Now it is reconsidering that decision. 'A three-judge panel of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, which had put the stay in effect…ordered the FCC and consumer groups to 'show cause' by mid January (2010) why the stay should not be dropped.'"
Gaming industry executives gather for an online round panel exploring several industry developments that are leading to increasing growth in the video game sector. Increased broadband access, open platforms, new platforms and other structural developments are cited.
"We have so many other voices out there, [loosening ownership limits] does not stifle the free exchange of ideas out there anymore," said Rick Peters, president of Bluewater Broadcasting, a small Montgomery, Ala.-based radio company
FCC officials are looking at what the agency can do to improve the health of the newspapers, TV and radio stations, which continue to lose customers and advertising revenue to online competitors.
"Debt and equity providers are largely disinterested in media and broadcast properties," said Brian Rich, managing partner at Catalyst Investors, a New York private-equity fund.
Former FCC Chairman Kevin Martin ran into strong opposition from Democrats in 2007 when he proposed relatively modest changes to a long-standing rule that barred companies from owning both a newspaper and TV or radio station in the same city. The proposal was eventually adopted but almost immediately challenged by activists in a federal appeals court, where it remains pending.
After the workshop, a nonprofit interest group opposed to media consolidation, Free Press, released a statement expressing disappointment that the FCC did not include the views of consumer advocates on the panel.
In a statement, an FCC spokeswoman said the workshop was focused on broadcasters' access to financing and was "one in a series we will hold throughout the proceeding."
"Media-ownership rules should be loosened to allow more consolidation and attract capital to the industry, representatives of the investment community said Tuesday at a Federal Communications Commission workshop on how the agency might change ownership rules later this year."
At an FCC workshop, industry representatives argue for relaxed media-ownership rules to allow more consolidation and to attract capital to the industry. FCC officials are looking at what the agency can do to improve the health of the
newspapers, TV and radio stations, which continue to lose customers and advertising revenue to online competitors.
"The FCC Media Bureau said it would hold a media ownership workshop Feb. 23, 2010, at the South Carolina State Museum, 301 Gervais Street, Columbia, S.C. The two-panel workshop, scheduled from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m., will explore local television and radio marketplace issues as part of the commission's quadrennial review of its broadcast ownership rules."