On July 1, 2021, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a Public Notice announcing that the deadlines for comments and reply comments in response to the Media Bureau’s request that interested parties update the record in the pending 2018 Quadrennial Review proceeding are due on August 2 and August 30, respectively. As we explained previously, the now-open comment window provides an important opportunity for interested parties to comment upon all issues related to media ownership, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Public Notice also announced that changes to the media ownership rules in the FCC’s order implementing the Supreme Court’s Prometheus decision became effective on June 30, 2021. These rule changes permit transactions proposing ownership of newspaper/television combinations, radio/television combinations, and television station combinations that comply with the modified local television ownership rule, and render television joint sales agreements non-attributable.