Pai Declines Democrats' Calls to Stop Implementing Changes to Media Ownership Rules

Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, led letters in September and April criticizing the FCC’s approach to media ownership rules during Pai’s chairmanship (see 1709290064 and 1804260068). Nelson and 21 other Senate Democrats urged Pai to cease all media ownership-related proceedings until the FCC completes a review of the U.S. broadcast landscape and the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rules on the UHF discount restoration (see 1804200059). “The FCC has a statutory duty to ensure that our broadcast ownership rules keep up with changes in the media marketplace, and there is no reason to further delay the implementation of 2017 reforms that were themselves unreasonably delayed,” Pai said. He noted the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ February denial of a request for an emergency stay of the November order (see 1802070053) and said “no further changes will be made to the rules covered by quadrennial review mandate until the Commission completes another quadrennial review,” which is likely to begin later this year. Pai declined Democrats’ requests to review the UHF discount “on an ad hoc basis” separate from its review of the national media ownership cap and to “stop work” on the cap review. He also declined senators’ call for the FCC to “stop approving any broadcast mergers or acquisitions on a blanket basis.” The letters don’t “reference any statutory authority for taking such a drastic step, and I am not aware of any,” Pai said. “Rather, I believe that the proper course of action is to continue to evaluate applications on a case-by-case basis.”