The National Association of Media Brokers (NAMB) says its members support the FCC’s goals of encouraging minority ownership and barring discriminatory practices in the sale of broadcast stations. However, the NAMB says a rule recently adopted by the Commission which requires station sellers to certify that there was no discrimination in making the sale doesn’t tell the sellers just what it is they are certifying. NAMB has asked the FCC to reconsider or clarify the rule, giving some guidance on just what practices are prohibited or permitted.
“Without further guidance, the rule cannot be implemented in any meaningful way, and applicants cannot certify with certainty that they have complied with the rule’s strictures,” NAMB said in an FCC filing. The brokers’ organization also worries that station transactions could be held up at the FCC while disappointed potential buyers or other parties argue that a particular sale wasn’t conducted properly.
