Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler on Monday proposed tightening limits on television-station ownership, an official said, rekindling debate over media-holding restrictions.
Wheeler wants to do away with a provision that counts only half of the potential audience of some TV stations — those that used UHF signals before the switch to digital broadcasting — when judging compliance with ownership limits, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the plan hasn’t been made public. Companies are limited to holding stations that reach no more than 39 percent of the national TV audience.
Wheeler also proposed reinstating limits on ad-sharing by nearby TV stations that a court rejected in May, and he proposed retaining the ban on common ownership of a broadcast station and nearby daily newspaper, according to a fact sheet circulated by the FCC.
