The last time I scanned through my local radio dial, I heard the same pop song, Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” playing simultaneously on three different radio stations. If a couple of senators and their friends in the broadcast industry have their way, soon we could hear the same song on six or more stations. In separate letters to the Federal Communications Commission, Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) have asked the agency to loosen ownership limits on radio stations, which would allow for greater consolidation of AM and FM radio services.

Asking to loosen those rules is like asking for more sand on the beach. After all, radio-ownership limits were all but destroyed via the 1996 Telecommunications Act when Congress eliminated the national radio station ownership cap and instructed the FCC to raise the limit on stations one company could own in local markets.

But here’s where it gets tricky — the senators are suggesting the elimination of “subcaps” on the number of AM and FM radio stations one company can own in a single market. These subcaps prevent owners from monopolizing the AM or FM band in a given market. For example, in the largest markets, a licensee can own up to eight stations total, but it can’t own more than five stations in either the FM or AM service.

The senators’ letters claim that technological advances have eliminated the differences between AM and FM stations and argue the subcaps don’t matter anymore. But those arguments just don’t square. Here are three reasons why the subcaps remain essential:

• AM and FM stations are not created equal. AM stations have less bandwidth than FM stations and have inferior audio fidelity. As a result, FM stations are generally considered more valuable and garner more audience share. Stations on the FM dial collectively command about 80 percent of the listeners in an average market. Allowing a single owner to acquire FM stations above the current limits could allow excessive market power to be concentrated in the hands of a single owner.
• Digital radio won’t eliminate AM and FM differences any time soon. Even though digital radio has the potential to improve the quality of the AM band, fewer than 10 percent of AM stations are currently broadcasting a digital signal. Digital radio is optional for station owners, and requires expensive new equipment that would be prohibitive for small owners. Oh yeah, and consumers have to buy a special digital radio to listen to stations that make the shift. Do you own a digital radio? Me neither.
• The subcaps preserve diversity in a radio market otherwise dominated by large consolidated owners. Because AM stations have some technical drawbacks they are generally more affordable. Because they are more affordable, they provide critical entry points for new owners, especially women and people of color. Indeed, women and people of color are more likely to be AM owners. Lifting the AM subcap will cause the prices of AM stations to rise just as they have under previous rule relaxations, pricing out new entrants and small owners. Many independent owners will sell their stations because they will have a harder time competing against larger AM station groups, thus diminishing ownership diversity and independence in the AM service. 

If the FCC acts on the senators’ suggestions, the agency will set in motion the biggest wave of consolidation since that unleashed by the 1996 Telecommunications Act. In the 15 years since the Act’s passage, we’ve seen that consolidation is bad for the public as well as for business.

Sadly, Sens. Thune and Klobuchar appear to have bought into the same widely debunked arguments that broadcasters always cast in hopes of further relaxing ownership limits on the most consolidated broadcast industry: radio. We can expect to see more of the same in the coming weeks as the FCC prepares to launch its long-overdue quadrennial review of its ownership rules. At Free Press, we’ll be keeping a close eye on these shenanigans while continuing to fight for a less-consolidated media landscape. Be sure to stay in touch on Facebook or Twitter to get the very latest news on the FCC review.