O’Rielly Favors Revisiting Ownership Rules

Chalk up at least one FCC vote for relaxing the broadcast ownership rules — or that was the signal that Michael O’Rielly, the FCC’s newest GOP commissioner, sent in his maiden policy speech as a commissioner today.

“I’m open to thoughtfully updating the commission’s [ownership] rules to reflect the realities of today’s marketplace,” said O’Rielly, the former GOP congressional staffer who stepped in as an FCC commissioner on Nov. 4, 2013, during a speech at the Hudson Institute think tank in Washington.

O’Rielly used his first public forum as an FCC commissioner to criticize the agency for failing to live up to its legislatively mandated obligation to review the FCC media ownership regulations every four years, eliminating rules that are no longer in the public interest.

“We have failed to comply with this congressional directive,” O’Rielly said. “I am hopeful the chairman and my fellow colleagues will tackle this issue in short order,” he added.

On another topic, O’Rielly said that without broadcaster participation, the agency’s incentive auction to repurpose broadcast spectrum for wireless services next year will fail, and that “educating” broadcasters about why they may want to participate will be an “enormous” challenge.

“It will be an even greater uphill climb if the auction rules and processes are complex or confusing,” O’Rielly added. “Simplicity and transparency are paramount to providing broadcasters the certainty needed to decide whether to participate in the auctions or continue to serve their communities.”

O’Rielly also made clear that he will be an advocate of freedom and free markets at the agency.

“Championing economic freedom will be my guiding principle when it comes to overseeing the communications industry,” he said.

He also said that even when an FCC rule may be legal, he thought the FCC should ensure that the regulation’s benefits outweigh its costs. “Let’s accept the reality that costs are always passed along to consumers one way or another,” O’Rielly said.

Before he stepped in as an FCC commissioner late last year, O’Rielly was an adviser to Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), the Senate’s Republican whip. O’Rielly started his 18-plus-year congressional career as an aide to former Rep. Tom Bliley (R-Va.).