FCC Should Relax TV Ownership Rules, Raycom Says

The FCC could “contribute to a healthy system of local broadcasting” by updating ownership rules, Raycom Media said in a meeting with Commissioner Ajit Pai Wednesday, according to an ex parte filing posted Monday in docket 09-182. The current FCC rules “incongruously” treat broadcast TV consolidation as a “threat” despite increasing competition and pay-TV consolidation, it said. The public interest “would be better served by ownership rules that bolster stations’ ability to invest” in creating locally focused content, Raycom said.