Court Hints It Won’t Rule on TV Ownership Limits

A federal appeals court indicated Tuesday that it wouldn’t rule on Congress’ new limit on the number of television stations that networks such as Viacom Inc.’s CBS may own, leaving intact a 39% cap on viewers reached.

President Bush last month signed legislation pushed by Republican lawmakers that eases restrictions on networks’ ownership of TV stations. The current 35% federal cap would have forced CBS and News Corp.’s Fox network to sell some stations.

The U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia omitted consideration of the TV station limit from oral arguments scheduled for today that challenge the Federal Communications Commission’s other new media ownership rules, according to a copy of the court schedule.

“By backing off consideration of this issue, the court leaves intact the 39% standard set by Congress,” said Paul Gallant, an analyst with Schwab Capital Groups in Washington who last year was a senior aide to FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell.

The Philadelphia panel last month asked the lawyers planning oral arguments whether they thought challenges to the FCC’s proposed 45% cap should be heard. Virtually every party -- including independently owned network-affiliated stations, which were planning to contest the TV ownership cap -- agreed that the legislation eliminated the need for any argument.

“We told the court that if they want to hear about it, we’re happy to do so, but Congress has spoken,” said Robert Long, a Washington lawyer representing the Network Affiliated Stations Alliance.

An appeals court spokeswoman declined to comment.

Several other new FCC media rules will be challenged today by consumer advocates who say the measures go too far in allowing media consolidation, as well as by TV networks and newspaper publishers that say they don’t go far enough. The agency, led by Powell, a Republican, approved the rules in June in a 3-2 vote along party lines.

The Philadelphia court in September had temporarily blocked implementation of all six new media rules. Lawyers expect the court to issue a final ruling within the next few months.

“Our preliminary assessment is that the judges have a slight predisposition to remand at least some of the rules to the FCC for further consideration,” said Blair Levin, a Legg Mason Wood Walker Inc. analyst and former FCC chief of staff.

The most visible FCC rule to be addressed lets a firm own a newspaper and TV station in the same large or mid-sized city. Newspaper publishers such as Tribune Co., owner of the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, and Gannett Co., owner of USA Today, pushed the FCC to adopt the “cross-ownership” rule.