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Media Ownership

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Regulatory Proceeding

  • FCC Media Ownership Webpage
  • Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking released July 24, 2006
  • 2002 Biennial Regulatory Review - Review of the Commission's Broadcast Ownership Rules and Other Rules Adopted Pursuant to Section 202 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 , MB Docket No. 02-277, Report and Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Released July 2, 2003) PDF
    • 117. In addition to these other significant technological advancements of the 1980's and 1990's, the Internet has spawned an entirely new way of looking at media. The first graphical Interface for the Internet was proposed in 1989 (later to be called the World Wide Web or the "Web").223 In 1992, there were only 50 Web sites in the world; a year later there were still no more than 150 Web sites.224 Then, in late 1993, Mosaic was launched, providing an easy-to-install, easy-to-use program for accessing the Web.225 By 1994, commercial Web sites proliferated so that by year-end, there were as many as 3,000 Web sites.226 A year later, there were more than 25,000 Web sites in use.227 By year-end 2000, there were more than 30 million web sites.228
    • 118. Today the Internet affects every aspect of media, from video and audio, to print and personal communications.229 Whereas other forms of media allow for only a finite number of voices and editorially-controlled viewpoints, the Internet provides the forum for an unlimited number of voices, independently administered. Furthermore, content on the Web is multi-media; it can be read, viewed, and heard simultaneously. Since Web pages are stored on Web-hosting file servers, accessing Web content is a highly individualized activity, and any individual with access to a Web browser can access all available Web content 24-hours a day throughout the world.
    • 119. Virtually every major media company has a corresponding Web site, today, and any individual with access to a Web-hosting file server can create a Web site for public access. As such, the Web provides an unrestrained forum for the dissemination and consumption of ideas. News and Information are available on the Internet like they have never been available to the public before. Internet users can view the news source of their own choosing, such as CNN or The New York Times, or can use a news gathering service like Google News which presents information culled from approximately 4,500 news sources worldwide.230 Furthermore, Internet users can access content that may have appeared in print or on broadcast television at an earlier time, giving them greater control over traditionally available content.

    • Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein joins the North Mississippi All-Stars on stage at the Media Reform Conference. Source: FCC (public domain)
      245. The Radio Listening Market. We conclude that radio listening is a relevant product market.523 There is no evidence that radio listeners consider non-audio entertainment alternatives (e.g., reading and watching television) to be good substitutes for listening to the radio. We therefore disagree with commenters that argue that the relevant market should be broadened from radio listening to include non-audio entertainment options.524 We also disagree with commenters who argue that the relevant product market should be broadened to include other delivered audio media, such as Internet audio streaming and satellite radio.525 Internet audio streaming may be a substitute for broadcast radio when listening takes place while working on a computer or in a small office environment. A significant portion of audio listening, however, occurs while driving or otherwise outside of the office or home.526 Since most people do not access Internet audio from a mobile location, we conclude that Internet audio streaming is not a substitute for broadcast radio for a significant portion of audio listening.527 Similarly, satellite radio may be a substitute for broadcast radio for the fewer than 600,000 people that subscribe to satellite radio.528 But the vast majority of the population does not subscribe to a satellite radio service.529 Accordingly, we conclude that satellite radio is not yet a good substitute for broadcast radio for most listeners.
    • 365. Available Media. ... The Internet, too, is becoming a commonly-used source for news, commentary, community affairs, and national/international information.832 Seventy-two percent of Americans are now online and spend an average of nine hours weekly on the Internet.833 MOWG Study No. 3 suggests that consumers generally view Internet news sources as a substitute for daily newspapers and broadcast news.834 We cannot but conclude that, notwithstanding the claims of supporters of retention of the newspaper/broadcast rule,835 the Internet does play an important role in the available media mix.836
    • 427. Table 78 of FCC MOWG Study No. 8 provides information on Internet access. Respondents who said they have home access to the Internet were asked a follow-up question regarding how they access the Internet. The answers (in percentages) were as follows: cable line 18.9 percent, DSL line 14.7 percent, telephone line 66.1 percent, other 3.5 percent, don't know 5.9 percent, and refuse 0.5 percent. The responses sum to 109.6 percent. If we take the 99.7 percent of respondents who picked cable, DSL, or telephone line as the base, and if we combine telephone and DSL, the resulting shares are 19 percent cable and 81 percent telephone. We recognize that, given the relatively small share of Internet in the total diversity market (12.5% weight), using subscriber shares rather than equal availability for Internet providers has a very small impact on our Diversity Index calculation.939 In this regard, however, we reject the argument made by some commenters that we should not include the Internet at all. They argue that people only utilize the Internet to access their newspapers' and local broadcast stations' websites and, therefore, the Internet does not add to diversity.940 Although many local newspapers and broadcast stations maintain websites with news content, that does not begin to plumb the extent of news sources on the Internet. Some websites compile news from numerous sources, many of which an individual may not have know of or known how to access (e.g., The Drudge Report). Others are unique to the Internet (e.g., Salon). Moreover, we include the Internet because, as previously indicated, we are looking at availability of media, not the popularity of specific publications, stations, cable channels, or websites. There is a virtual universe of information sources on the Internet and there are websites not maintained by existing news media conveying information on everything from fringe political groups to local civic events. We cannot pretend that these are not in the "diversity" mix simply because only a small number of people may visit them.
  • 2002 Biennial Regulatory Review - Review of the Commission's Broadcast Ownership Rules and Other Rules Adopted Pursuant to Section 202 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 , FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, MB Docket No. 02-277 , ¶ 124 (Released September 23, 2002)
    • Like cable and DBS, the Internet also presents unique challenges in the context of diversity and competition. In 1999, we decided not to count the Internet as a voice, in part because "many still do not have access to this new medium." Is the Internet now so widely accessible that it should count as a voice? Are there characteristics of the acquisition of information on the Internet, such as the need to click a hyperlink or key in a website's Internet address, that make it different from broadcasting such that we should not count it? Or, should these characteristics of the Internet affect the significance we give the Internet? If so, should it count as one voice or many? On the Internet, how much news and how many viewpoints are original; that is, not merely re-purposed content that also is available from local and national media outlets, such as TV stations, networks, and newspapers? We assume that the Internet permits the user to access any news source having a presence on the World Wide Web. Is there any instance of an Internet service provider ("ISP") or other entity acting as an "Internet gatekeeper" by denying a subscriber access to a news source on the World Wide Web? Is the role of a gatekeeper different between the Internet and cable or DBS? We also assume that, unlike cable or DBS, the Internet has unlimited capacity such that there is no limit on the number of news sources that a user can reach. On the other hand, some ISPs feature particular news sources on their home pages. We seek comment on these assumptions and their relevance to our analysis of diversity and competition. -

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