Broadcasters are trying to get the Federal Communications Commission to complete its long-delayed 2018 quadrennial review of broadcast regulations.
The National Association of Broadcasters has filed a writ of mandamus with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which is a request for it to compel the FCC to wrap up the review.
“The Commission cannot continue to ignore its clear duty under the law,” NAB president and CEO Curtis LeGeyt said following the filing. “Broadcasters do not simply compete against each other, but with digital behemoths in a crowded media marketplace where big tech companies threaten the viability of local media, the most trusted source of news. Broadcasters and the hundreds of millions of Americans that depend on us can’t wait another day, much less another four years, for the FCC to allow us to compete on a level playing field.”
LeGeyt said the NAB went to court because the FCC gave it no choice.
The FCC is under a congressional directive in the 1996 Telecommunications Act to periodically review its regulations — first biennially, then changed to quadrennially — and repeal or modify any rules it concludes are not in the public interest.
The FCC earlier this year sought input on the 2022 review of the rules, but the NAB asked in a filing February 2 that the FCC temporarily suspend that proceeding, including comment deadlines, until it has completed the 2018 review.
The NAB wanted that to happen by the end of March, but that didn't happen.
The 2018 quadrennial review was on hold after a legal challenge by broadcasters, which was generally resolved by a Supreme Court decision two years ago.
The FCC actually closed the formal comment period on its delayed 2018 Quadrennial Review more than two years ago. In opening up a new comment period last April, though, the Media Bureau said: “The 2018 Quadrennial Review proceeding has generated, and continues to generate, significant interest, including through the submission of additional information even after the initial comment period has ended. Accordingly, we ask commenters to take this opportunity to update the record in the 2018 Quadrennial Review proceeding, including with regard to the diversity-related proposals cited therein.”
