WASHINGTON—The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) filed a petition for mandamus in federal court last week seeking to require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to expeditiously complete its long-pending 2018 quadrennial review of broadcast ownership rules.
The FCC is required by law to review its broadcast ownership rules every four years and determine whether, in light of competition in the marketplace, they are still in the public interest, NAB said. Despite this ongoing statutory requirement, the FCC has completed only one ownership review in the last 15 years, and none since 2017, leaving in place antiquated broadcast-only rules that even predate satellite, cable and the internet.
