Democratic Reps Seek to Eliminate UHF Discount

Reps David Price (D-NC) and Jared Huffman (D-CA) have collected more than a half dozen co-sponsors for a bill that would eliminate the Federal Communications Commission's UHF discount, which would in turn make it tougher for Sinclair Broadcasting and Tribune Media to merge. Co-sponsors of the Local and Independent Television Protection Act include by Reps Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Jerry McNerney (D-CA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Jackie Speier (D-CA). The bill "requires the FCC to act within 90 days to permanently end the UHF discount; and grandfathers any stations owned prior to Sept. 26, 2013," as the FCC had when it eliminated the discount under previous chairman Tom Wheeler, who has weighed in from his post-FCC perch to say the FCC was bending the rules to benefit Sinclair.