Pai Attacks FCC JSA Policy
The FCC “implemented bad policy” and “flouted the law” in its policy on joint sales agreements (see 1603140065), Commissioner Ajit Pai said in a series of tweets Tuesday. The Media Bureau’s current policy of requiring existing JSAs to be unwound…
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if they're part of transactions ignores the congressional intent behind the legislature’s extension of the grandfathering period for existing JSAs, Pai said. He cited a recent letter from 12 senators criticizing the policy. It's “telling that despite agreement on little else, a powerful, bipartisan group of lawmakers sharply questions FCC's policy/fidelity to law,” Pai said. An FCC spokesman told us that ending the grandfathering of an arrangement due to a transfer of ownership is consistent with how the commission has treated grandfathering with respect to media ownership limits in the past. The FCC is "affirmatively complying with the statute in recognizing a 10-year grandfathering period for existing arrangements," the spokesman said.