The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued an order directing the FCC to complete its 2018 Quadrennial Regulatory Review of its broadcast ownership rules by December 27, 2023, or show cause why the National Association of Broadcasters’s (NAB) Petition for Writ of Mandamus should not be granted. The NAB’s petition, filed in April 2023, requests that the D.C. Circuit compel the FCC to conclude the agency’s still-pending 2018 review.
The FCC’s failure to complete the Quadrennial Review in December has prevented any review of the radio ownership rules, the dual network rule (prohibiting one company from controlling two of the top 4 broadcast TV networks), and the adoption of specific standards for approving waivers to allow the combination of two of the Top 4 TV stations in a market. These are all issues that were teed up in the 2018 Quadrennial Review. We hope the FCC will follow the court’s order and begin to address these rules. A review of the rules is long overdue.