Senators Seek To Have JSAs Grandfathered

Five U.S. Senators today sent a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler voicing their concern over the commission’s recent crackdown on joint sales agreements between local TV broadcasters and urging the FCC to “to adopt a waiver policy that does not penalize JSAs that were structured and executed prior to the issuance of the new rules.”

In addition, they say, “the commission’ s waiver policy going forward should favorably regard, for example, JSAs that promote more or better local news, public affairs and emergency information, diverse programming such as foreign language and expanded ownership opportunities for minorities and women in broadcasting.”

The letter, from Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.), Robert Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) and Kristen Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), said: “Market pressures in the broadcasting industry are making it harder for smaller stations to survive. If regional stations go dark, our constituents will be the ultimate losers.

“We are concerned , therefore, that the Federal Communications Commission’s recently promulgated rules with respect to Joint Sales Agreements will further undermine the ability of local broadcasters to serve their communities. While we appreciate your desire to promote competition in the marketplace, the new rules are interrupting established business practice and creating substantial uncertainty in the broadcasting market. Ultimately, we fear the result will be less competition since certain broadcasters may be forced to cease operations, which would harm not only the broadcasters themselves but also the viewers they serve.

“Specifically, as a result of the FCC’s decision to count JSAs between television stations as ownership interests, many existing agreements wi ll have to be unwound unless specific waivers are granted. These existing agreements were consistent with the law and rules at the time they were executed, and business plans have been built around them. Forcing the broadcasters to rely on the speculative possibility of a waiver creates substantial business challenges.

“In addition to the business uncertainty the new rules create with respect to existing agreements, we are concerned that the new JSA rules going forward will unnecessarily foreclose many agreements that have resulted in improved local service and a more robust broadcast industry. This is especially true in smaller markets where stations may, absent a JSA, struggle to generate sufficient advertisi ng revenue to support the production of locally oriented programming.

“Finally, we are disturbed by reports that new processing guidelines looking at JSAs and other sharing arrangements have caused applications for broadcast station transfers to be stalled at the FCC. These delays create further market uncertainty and challenges.

The senators concluded by adding that they “hope the commission will take swift action on pending television station transactions in the very near future.”