TV owners get around FCC ownership caps

Today's Broadcasting & Cable provides a very useful extended piece on broadcast TV station ownership in the U.S. In "How They Rank and Why, compiled by George Winslow, B&C, the top 25 Station Groups "are ranked according to the percentage of the 109.6 million U.S. TV homes they reach, as measured by Nielsen Media Research." The piece details each of the top 25 owner groups, the number of station each owns, and the total reach of each group. And - this is an especially interesting bit - the "reach" is calculated two ways: using the FCC method and then a more accurate method that reveals each group's reach to be considerably higher than the "official" FCC figure. Winslow explains:

The FCC method discounts by half the reach of UHF stations, those channel 14 and above. The ranking also shows reach without the discount (coverage total). If a group owns other stations in a market, those stations' coverage is not counted in the group's total. This year, BIA Financial Network, which collects the list of stations and computes coverage, excluded stations run under joint marketing and programming agreements. It also omitted stations operated under time-brokerage deals. As always, low-power stations, satellite stations, translators and stations that have only cable distribution were excluded.

You add these factors in, and the result is a big jump in reach for the big groups. Thus, for example, number 1 group Viacom's 35 stations have a reach of 38.90% according to the FCC's calculations - just under the Congress-mandated maximum of 39% - but a "true" reach of 43.35%. Number 2 Fox (owned by News Corp.) is even worse: Its 35 stations have an FCC-calculated reach of 38.27% but a "true" reach of almost 45% - which just happens to be the original cap set by Michael Powell's FCC in 2003, just before a mass popular revolt and Congressional action forced the agency to retreat. Funny, that . . .

Here, by the way, is the complete Top 25 list of station groups as listed by Broadcasting & Cable:

1 Viacom VIA
2 Fox TV Stations NWS
3 NBC Universal GE
4 Paxson PAX
5 Tribune TRB
6 ABC DIS
7 Univision UVN
8 Gannett GCI
9 Trinity Broadcasting Private
10 Hearst-Argyle HTV
11 E.W. Scripps SSP
12 Belo Corp. BL
13 Sinclair SBGI
14 Cox Private
15 Clear Channel CCU
16 Pappas Telecasting Private
17 Raycom Private
18 Meredith MDP
19 Post-Newsweek WPO
20 Media General MEG-A
21 Entravision EVC
22 Emmis EMMS
23 LIN TV TVL
24 Young YBTVA
25 Gray Television GTN