Biden Win Not a Concern for Broadcast Chiefs
The White House coming under the control of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden wouldn’t be a negative for broadcasting, said Sinclair, Graham Media, Entertainment Studios Network and E.W. Scripps CEOs on a virtual panel Wednesday for NAB New York. “The priorities of the FCC under Biden will be in other areas,” Sinclair's Chris Ripley said.
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Regulations for broadcasters under a Biden administration aren’t likely to loosen, but they probably won’t get tougher, said Ripley. A Supreme Court decision on Prometheus IV could make broadcasters even safer from tougher rules, he said. ESN's Byron Allen, Graham's Emily Barr and Scripps' Adam Symson said a change at the White House could reduce attacks on journalism and lead to less polarization. Allen compared the assault on journalism to “damn near genocide.” Barr would accept more regulation to “see the temperature come down” in the U.S. “I would very much like for this county to be less polarized and get back to more civil discourse,” said Symson. “The regulatory chips will fall where they do.”
All the CEOs said broadcast TV is bouncing back well from the difficulties of the pandemic. “Businesses don’t advertise because they want to, they advertise because they have to,” said Allen. Many companies have a backlog of products to sell and could ramp up commercials in coming months, he said. The vast political ad spending in 2020 cushioned stations from the worst effects, Ripley said. He and Symson said the sector's biggest advertisers -- the automotive industry -- are beginning to ramp up supply, and will begin to increasingly need marketing to move product.
Broadcasters aren't afraid of programmers shifting their best content to streaming services, the CEOs said. "We're gonna be fine," Allen said. This is the continuation of a process that began with the advent of premium cable channels, Ripley said. It's a motivation for broadcasters to concentrate on news and live sports, he said.
The executives said station mergers and acquisitions are likely to increase once the pandemic isn’t a factor. A SCOTUS decision in the FCC’s favor could be “a catalyst for M&A,” Ripley said. Allen said his company is very acquisitive, and he believes it's a matter of time before the 39% broadcast ownership cap is increased to 55% -- without a UHF discount -- to let broadcasters create more infrastructure for local news. After Disney bought Fox assets, broadcasters have to be able to grow to compete, Allen said.
Allen said his company’s drive to grow isn’t about money but about “building the world’s biggest media company” to increase the diversity of voices. As an African American CEO, Allen is “a black unicorn,” he said. Diversity of voices is necessary for a real democracy, he said, endorsing efforts to restore the minority tax certificate. To increase diversity in broadcasting, executive compensation needs to be tied to improving it, Barr said. For her whole career, she’s been “the only woman at the table,” Barr said. “We have to make an effort to do this,” she said. “It has to happen from the top down.”