PLANNING FOR GROWTH IN YEARS OF RESTRICTED RESOURCES

One more point that is lost in this debate: The FCC’s rules are based on theoreticalaudience reach—measured by each station’s antennal signal coverage—not actualviewership. This is like measuring Ford’s market share by the percentage of Americanswithin driving distance of a dealership—regardless of how many cars Ford actually sells!According to the FCC, NBC has a theoretical national reach of 34% of the nation’shouseholds. But our actual national viewership, during prime time, when we have thelargest audience, is less than 3%—nowhere near the 40% market share that is thenormal threshold to trigger market-concentration worries. An expansion of the nationalcap to the FCC’s 45% limit would, at best, allow us to increase that by a point or two.This is hardly a big move. But it is significant, particularly for viewers. Because onething it would allow us to do is purchase additional stations for our Telemundonetwork, thus adding many hours of Spanish-language newscasts in key markets thatcurrently underserve their Hispanic residents.The be-all, end-all of local broadcasting is forging a connection with a particularcommunity’s distinctive audience. The general managers in charge of our stations wakeup every day committed to that mission. To us, it’s the only way to run a televisionstation—and the feedback we get in the form of ratings tells us that the public thinkswe do a good job. Nonetheless, big media makes an attractive target. Unable to resist,some members of Congress are jumping on a populist bandwagon and seeking to keepthe FCC’s new rules from taking effect. However, it would be a disservice to theirconstituents for Congress to restrict business activity that has such demonstrable publicbenefits.Who controls the public airwaves is a legitimate area of congressional interest. But aswith any important issue, Congress should base its actions on fact, not fiction.Responses may be emailed to Mr. Wright at William.Bartlett@nbc.com.BEA—Educating tomorrow’s electronic media professionals 64