By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 1-19-21
The FCC and National Association of Broadcasters made their virtual arguments to the Supreme Court Tuesday (Jan. 19) on why a lower court (the Third Circuit Court of Appeals) was wrong to invalidate the FCC’s 2017 broadcast ownership deregulation decision, a defense that came in the waning hours of the FCC’s Republican majority, which had approved the rule changes over the objections of FCC Democrats.
On the other side, the attorney for consolidation opponents said the FCC had failed to do its statutory due diligence and earned the legal smackdown yet again.
While it is always tough to predict from oral argument – justices often play devil’s advocate to probe arguments – government attorneys and broadcasters were likely not unhappy with the tenor of the questioning. » Read More