FCC May Crack Down on Multiple-TV Station Strategies

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler is considering restrictions on television station owners controlling more than one property in a market, a strategy that’s helped fuel an $11 billion station buying spree.

Chairman Wheeler has discussed the idea with staff members without offering a formal proposal, according to two people familiar with his thinking. It’s not clear how his change, which would need approval by a commission majority, would affect pending deals or existing combinations. Chairman Wheeler has said he wanted to re-examine arrangements in which a station owner has marketing or shared-content arrangements with others in the same city -- a situation Sinclair Broadcasting wants to create in three additional markets as part of a proposed deal. The FCC limits how many TV stations one company can hold in a market to help preserve a diversity of voices.