General Discussion

As far as no one makes you watch it, Telecom Act of 1996 led to mass media consolidation, so do not underestimate that fallout.


Twenty-six years ago, President Bill Clinton signed the “Telecommunications Act of 1996”, a landmark overhaul of telecommunications law that completely changed the landscape of broadcasting in the United States. Billed as a way to allow any business to compete in the communications sphere, some of the most damaging provisions instead drove many small broadcasters out of the market, while allowing large corporations to scoop up broadcast licenses and reduce the number of independent voices in communities across the country.

Contrary to the stated intentions of allowing more businesses to operate in the communications space, the actual result of the Act was a flurry of mergers and acquisitions as corporate media giants bought out small, local broadcasters. This occurred because previously, there were strict limits to how many broadcast stations (both TV and radio) a single entity could own. There were also rules about cross-ownership, i.e. owning a radio station and a TV station in the same market. Within five years of the Act, radio station ownership dropped from 5100 owners to 3800. This trend has continued to the present, with corporate behemoth IHeartMedia (formerly Clear Channel) owning over 800+ stations across the country. In both radio and TV, consolidation occurred at a pace never before seen, massively reducing the number of independent broadcasters in communities across the United States.


https://www.35000watts.com/the-telecommunications-act-of-1996-killed-local-radio/