Huffman proposal closes loophole that allows Sinclair station buys
In response to media broadcast giant Sinclair Broadcast Group’s plans to acquire four Eureka TV stations and another 50 across the nation, California Congressman Jared Huffman introduced a bill Thursday that he said would close a federal “loophole” in order to prevent monopolies in local media
Huffman and Democratic North Carolina Congressman David Price’s bill would end a federal policy that allows companies such as Sinclair Broadcast Group to acquire more stations before exceeding the federal cap on broadcast station ownership.
Under federal law, a single company is not allowed to own broadcast stations that reach more than 39 percent of television-viewing households in the country.
Sinclair is set to acquire 56 more stations including four Eureka TV stations — in two separate deals, which would bring the company’s reach to 72 percent of all U.S. households, according to Sinclair.
Despite this being higher than the 39 percent cap, the deal will be allowed to proceed because the Federal Communications Commission voted 2-1 in April to reinstate what is known as the “ultra-high frequency” discount, or UHF discount.
The discount, first implemented in the 1980s before being repealed in August 2016, allows stations broadcasting UHF channels to count only half of the households they reach in their market when determining whether they comply with the ownership cap.
“In Eureka, California alone, the FCC’s recent decision to reinstate the discredited and antiquated UHF discount means that a single right-wing media owner, Sinclair Broadcast Group, will control a majority of the news that my constituents in Eureka see on television, no matter which news broadcast they choose to watch,” Huffman (D-San Rafael) said in a statement Thursday. “This is not the Soviet Union: Americans deserve a meaningful choice in their local news, and our Local and Independent Television Protection Act would ensure that every American has access to a variety of local news sources that report on the local – and national – issues they care most about.”
The Times-Standard contacted Sinclair for comment, but did not receive a response by Thursday afternoon.
Based in Maryland, Sinclair Broadcast Group has drawn criticism for its conservative leanings in the lead up to the 2016 presidential election.
Access Humboldt Executive Director Sean McLaughlin said he shares Huffman’s concerns.
“When an absentee owner controls so much of your media marketplace, what happens to the local community having its own voice?” McLaughlin said.
Sinclair acquired 14 more stations in June as part a $240 million deal with Bonten Media Group. Four Eureka-based stations — the ABC affiliate KAEF, FOX affiliate station KBVU, CW Television Network affiliate KECA-LD and Univision affiliate KEUV-LP — were acquired as part of deal.
The Federal Communications Commission approved the deal on June 30. Ten other stations in California, Montana, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia were also acquired as part of the deal. Sinclair is also in the process of acquiring its rival TV station operator Tribune Media and its 42 stations for nearly $4 billion.
McLaughlin said people have told him in private conversations that they plan to boycott businesses who advertise with the Eureka stations as a result of the Sinclair acquisition. The Times-Standard has yet to verify these claims. But McLaughlin said he hopes that a different approach can be taken.
“One would hope that you could work with the advertisers and those at the station to address the community concerns before it came to a boycott,” McLaughlin said.
Source: by Will Houston
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