WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission substantially deregulated commercial television Wednesday, lifting virtually all programming requirements and eliminating time limits on advertising.
The unanimous ruling, hailed as a 'landmark' by commissioners, ends the costly, time-consuming requirement for TV stations to submit detailed logs of programs they air, a rule that has been around as long as television itself.
The order follows the same lines as the 1981 ruling deregulating radio. The National Association of Broadcasters called the action a 'logical next step on the road to broadcast deregulation.'
But a consumer group disagreed.
'The James Watt of the airways strikes again,' said Cathy Boggs, a policy analyst for the Telecommunications Research and Action Committee. 'This decision eliminates any standards by which citzens can hold local broadcasters accountable to the communities.'
The decision scraps the 16 minute-an-hour limit on advertising and allows stations to air 'program-length commercials' -- or even nothing but commercials -- if they choose. But agency staffers note that 99.7 percent of the nation's TV stations air only an average 10 to 13 minutes of ads each hour anyway.
The ruling also repeals 1976 guidelines that required stations to broadcast set amounts of news, information, public affairs and local programming and lifts a 1971 order that made them explain how they determined what issues their communities are interested in.
But James McKinney, head of the FCC's Mass Media Bureau, noted, 'Our studies have found stations were, in fact, doing far more than the guidelines required,'
And FCC rules still require broadcasters to prove they have been serving the public interest if anyone challenges their licenses at renewal time.
'Licensees are going to have to be very careful if they choose to ignore an important issue of interest in their area,' Commissioner Henry Rivera warned.
Stations will be required four times a year to submit brief lists outlining what public interest issues they are addressing -- a procedure the FCC ordered radio stations to follow two months ago.
FCC Chairman Mark Fowler said the decision 'removes another unnecesary layer of government control' and will eliminate 2 million hours of paperwork a year.
The ruling includes many points the NAB wanted in a broadcast deregulation bill that bogged down in a House subcommittee this spring over issues including license renewal and programming requirements. Whether Wednesday's action would spark new interest in the bill or seal its fate was not immediately known.
Rep. Tim Wirth, D-Colo., chairman of the telecommunications panel, said eliminating logs and program requirements was 'totally unjustified,' and added, 'You may well see more and more commercials during children's programming.'
NAB President Edward Fritts said he expects the decision to lead to 'substantial levels of non-entertainment and informational programming,' as did the 1981 radio deregulation order.
The commission said the decision will help broadcast stations compete with new video services such as cable TV and direct satellite-to-home broadcasting. And removing the guidelines, it said, will not harm the public interest.
'This is a landmark decision,' said Commissioner James Quello. 'I think the marketplace does work. It has been proven with radio.'
In a related decision, the agency lifted logging requirements and the so-called 'ascertainment requirements' for the nation's 302 public TV stations.
