Client Alert

Federal Court of Appeals Remands Bulk of New FCC Media Ownership Rules: Stay of New Rules Continues in Effect

July 15, 2004

Global Telecommunications and Media Practice Group

In Prometheus Radio Project v. Federal Communications Commission, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently remanded certain aspects of the Federal Communication Commission’s overhaul of its media ownership rules. In a 2-to-1 decision, the Third Circuit remanded to the FCC for additional justification or modification of the agency’s numerical limits for local television ownership, local radio ownership, and cross-media ownership. The Third Circuit’s decision has been described as a “big victory for media-consolidation critics.”