Democratic House Commerce Committee Leaders Seek Answers from FCC on Its Order Ignoring Court's Media Ownership Decision

House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA) sent a letter today to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai raising concerns about whether the FCC Media Bureau’s decision to allow television consolidation in the Sioux Falls (SD) market violated the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit’s recent decision striking down the FCC’s roll back of media ownership protections. On Sept 23, 2019, the Third Circuit struck down the FCC’s attempt to deregulate the broadcast market by eliminating protections that would prohibit greater consolidation under the “Top Four” rule, which prohibits one entity from owning two of the top four stations in a given market.  The Court made clear the FCC had not adequately considered the effects that the elimination of those necessary protections would have on ownership diversity. Despite the clear rebuke, the FCC’s Media Bureau disregarded the Court’s decision the very next day by signing off on a proposal that allowed the owner of the second-rated KSFY-TV in the Sioux Falls market to acquire KDLT-TV, the third-rated station in that same market.  “In allowing this transaction to go forward, the FCC undermines the rule of law and the decision of the Third Circuit,” Pallone and Doyle wrote.  “The FCC’s technical arguments about why it doesn’t have to comply with the Court’s decision seem highly suspect, at best, and an intentional flouting of the rule of law at worst.” In light of the FCC ignoring the Court’s decision, Chairmen Pallone and Doyle are seeking answers to a number of questions and requests from Chairman Pai by Nov 12, 2019.