Joint Sales Agreements, MInority Ownership, and the FCC

FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai’s office has a statement including the results of his office’s investigation of links between joint sales agreements and ownership diversity. His staff used publicly available records to do the study. According to the news release, “43% of female-owned full-power commercial television stations currently are parties to JSAs [.] 75% of African-American-owned full-power commercial television stations currently are parties to JSAs.”

Commissioner Pai stated that “These findings raise serious questions…Why is the FCC targeting  pro-competitive sharing arrangements that appear to disproportionately benefit female and African-American broadcasters?  If the Commission forces broadcasters to terminate JSAs, how will that affect diversity?  Why is the FCC rushing to a vote rather than taking the time to gather basic facts and study the effect of its proposal on ownership diversity?  The Commission should not accelerate the troubling trend of declining minority ownership.”

The FCC is due to vote on a proposal regarding joint sales agreements on March 31.