Rhode Island Broadcasters Association

National Policy Priorities of RIBA

POLICY PRIORITIES

RIBA works closely with the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) in advocating on issues that impact the ability of local TV and radio stations to serve your constituents. To learn more about the policies that broadcasters are focused on in the 119th Congress, visit nab.org/advocacy.

Here is a summary of the issues, provided by the NAB. If you have any questions about these issues, their impact on Rhode Island’s broadcasters, or RIBA’s advocacy work, please contact Bill George at billgeorge@ribroadcasters.com

1-Modernize Antiquated Broadcast Ownership Rules and Let Stations Compete

Obsolete broadcast ownership rules limit stations’ ability to grow and compete while Big Tech and global streaming services remain completely unrestrained.

  • Under decades-old rules, local TV broadcasters are only allowed to reach 39% of TV households nationwide, and radio stations can only offer a handful of channels to listeners in each market.
  • In contrast, Big Tech platforms, cable TV and streaming services, such as Amazon, Netflix and YouTube, face no such restrictions on audience reach. They can reach 100% of national audiences.
  • This reach drives advertising revenue that make their businesses sustainable.
  • Also, current FCC rules largely prevent TV broadcasters from owning two of the top four-rated broadcast stations in a media market. This ignores the vast array of competition broadcasters now face, from streaming platforms to social media giants.
  • In many markets, communities would be best served by a pool of investment in one or two strong local newsrooms, rather than four underresourced entities.

    Without changes to these rules, many of the services Americans rely on from their local stations could disappear, including local news, live sports and weather updates.

    Congress should urge the FCC to modernize outdated regulations for local TV and radio stations that prevent fair competition.

    Learn more at nab.org/ModernizeTheRules

 

2-Keep AM Radio in Cars to Ensure Public Safety

America’s public safety is at risk if automakers remove AM radio from vehicles. AM radio is a vital part of the emergency alert system, and 82 million Americans tune into AM each month. When internet and cell phone services go down, AM radio is often the only source of news and life-saving information for Americans.

  • Despite AM radio’s vital role in communities, some auto manufacturers have begun discontinuing AM radio from the dashboard.
  • Broadcasters support the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, which would preserve AM radio as a safety feature in cars.
  • It garnered bipartisan support from more than 330 lawmakers in the 118th Congress and continues that momentum in the 119th Congress. The bill is also supported by more than 125 organizations as diverse as AARP, emergency managers and fire chiefs, the Farm Bureau and SAG-AFTRA.

    Congress should enact the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act to keep this vital service in vehicles, ensuring Americans can be alerted to impending danger.

    Learn more at DependOnAM.com

     

3-Supporting NEXTGEN TV to Protect Our Critical Infrastructure

NEXTGEN TV, or the ATSC 3.0 television standard – combines broadcast television and broadband, allowing local stations to better personalize their broadcasts with hyper local information and interactive features for consumers, all for free.

  • But beyond enhanced viewer benefits, this new standard allows broadcasters to transmit precise timing signals known as the Broadcast Positioning System™ (BPS) from their towers. This is a reliable, complementary service to GPS, which is vulnerable to jamming and spoofing.
  • If GPS goes down, our nation’s infrastructure is at risk. Everything from gas pumps and mass transit to the stock market relies on precise timing signals to continue working.
  • BPS will be able to provide a safety net for GPS service, but only once NEXTGEN TV is available nationwide.
  • Broadcasters are asking the FCC to establish a clear, nationwide transition plan for the full deployment of NEXTGEN TV. Under our proposal, stations serving approximately 70% of the country would transition fully to NEXTGEN TV in early 2028, and remaining stations would transition in early 2030.

    Congress should urge the FCC to unlock the full potential of free, local television and provide a safety net for our nation’s critical infrastructure by acting quickly to establish a nationwide plan to transition to NEXTGEN TV.

    Learn more at nab.org/BPS

     

4-Prevent Harmful Changes to Existing Advertising Tax Deductibility

Under the U.S. tax code, advertising is treated as an ordinary and necessary business expense deductible in the year it is incurred. In the last few years, some in Congress have proposed changes to the tax treatment of businesses’ advertising as a means of raising revenue or to use as a “pay-for” to offset other legislative items.

  • Any modification would have a devastating impact on local television and radio stations that rely on ad revenues to survive and serve their communities.
  • Decreased advertising revenues impede stations' ability to provide high-quality news, emergency information, sports and entertainment that the public relies on.
  • Changes to the tax treatment of advertising would hurt consumers and small businesses, impacting jobs and the broader U.S. economy. Ad spending in 2024 supported nearly 29 million U.S. jobs and stimulated a total of $10.4 trillion additional sales activity in the U.S.

    Legislators should defend ad tax deductibility against modification or use as a “pay-for” for other legislative items. Learn more here: Prevent Harmful Changes to Advertising Tax Treatment | Advocacy | National Association of Broadcasters

     

5-Stand Up for Local Radio: Oppose a New Performance Tax

Congress has repeatedly rejected the recording industry’s attempts to mandate a new performance tax on free, local radio stations.

  • Local radio provides free promotion worth billions of dollars annually to the record labels. But they are asking Congress to impose a new fee on radio – ironically their greatest promotional tool.
  • A performance tax would financially cripple local radio stations simply for airing music; it would jeopardize local jobs, stifle new artists and harm the hundreds of millions of Americans who rely on local radio.
  • Instead, broadcasters stand ready to work with Congress and the recording industry on a balanced music licensing proposal that promotes innovation and recognizes the benefit to artists and listeners of radio’s free, locally focused platform.
  • The Local Radio Freedom Act opposes a performance tax on local radio stations. It was supported by more than 250 bipartisan members of the House and Senate in the 118th Congress.

    Broadcasters ask legislators to stand up for local radio listeners by opposing a performance tax and cosponsoring the Local Radio Freedom Act.

     

6-Protect Broadcasters’ Investment in Local Content

Local broadcasters invest significantly in journalism, technology and equipment to produce the news Americans trust. But Big Tech companies take this valuable content without compensation, while siphoning ad dollars away from local stations. This puts the future of local news at risk.

  • Big Tech giants are gatekeepers of online content, exerting power over what Americans access and how advertisers reach them.
  • As broadcasters invest vital resources to combat AI-generated misinformation, we need guardrails to protect trusted local journalism.
  • Broadcasters should be compensated for their valuable content when it appears online. We must also protect the image and likeness of trusted media personalities.

Congress should protect the public’s access to local journalism by ensuring local stations have control and are compensated when their content is used by Big Tech and AI platforms.

 

7- Ensuring Trusted Local Journalism Thrives in the Age of AI

 The explosion of artificial intelligence (AI) in our daily lives presents great opportunities, but we must approach this new technology responsibly and with caution.

  • While broadcasters relish the opportunity to embrace new technology to better serve their communities, the improper use of AI poses novel threats to broadcasting's unique and indispensable role in American life.

  •  Local broadcasters are the most trusted source of news and information in communities across America. In an age where misinformation can spread broadly and rapidly, broadcasters' commitment to providing reliable news is more important than ever. However, AI presents new challenges that local stations must address to preserve the trust between broadcasters and their communities.

  • Broadcast newsrooms across the country are spending an incredible amount of time and resources to verify stories and footage that could have been distorted by AI and ensure information remains dependable and trustworthy.
  • As misinformation and disinformation run rampant online, local television and radio stations become even more critical and trusted news sources for audiences. However, the lack of attribution and sourcing in AI-generated outputs could undermine that trust.

 Learn more here:  Ensuring Trusted Local Journalism Thrives in the Age of AI | Advocacy | National Association of     Broadcasters

 

8. The FCC Should Seek Updated Input on The Impact of Virtual MVPDs

A nearly decade-old proceeding at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) could impact local television broadcasters' ability to invest and serve audiences with uniquely local and trusted information; however, it doesn't include up-to-date marketplace information regarding the rise, and increasing influence, of digital distribution platforms.

  • Currently, a cable system or other multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) must gain consent from a local broadcast station before retransmitting its signal. This system, known as "retransmission consent," has driven unparalleled investment in local television content, resulting in abundant, locally focused programming choices and services for viewers.
  • Without the ability to negotiate for the value of their signals, local stations would struggle to keep pace in an incredibly competitive marketplace. It would also lead to less choice for viewers and fewer resources for stations to invest in local news, public affairs programming, emergency weather events and community activities.
  • In 2014, the FCC initiated a proceeding and proposed modernizing the definition of MVPDs to include streaming platforms that offer linear multichannel programming (but not video-on-demand).
  • The proceeding further asked whether virtual MVPDs, or "vMVPDs," should be on equal regulatory footing with facilities based MVPDs, such as cable and satellite systems, including with respect to retransmission consent.
  • The FCC's vMVPD proceeding is still open more than ten years later and significant marketplace developments have occurred. For example, the top streaming platform, YouTube (including vMVPD YouTube TV), is owned by one of the largest Big Tech platforms.

The FCC's vMVPD proceeding raises important questions about the need for regulatory symmetry and policies that enable delivery of unique local content to communities across the country. Recognizing that the video service landscape has changed dramatically since the FCC started its proceeding, broadcasters are urging the FCC to refresh its record "to reflect the growing amount of video services that are provided over the Internet." 

 

If you have any questions about these issues, their impact on Rhode Island’s broadcasters, or RIBA’s advocacy work, please contact Bill George at billgeorge@ribroadcasters.com