On Oct. 24, 2017, the FCC issued a Report and Order eliminating the Commission’s rule requiring each AM, FM, and television broadcast station to maintain a main studio located in or near its community of license (i.e. the Main Studio Rule). In the same Order, the FCC eliminated existing requirements that are associated with the Main Studio Rule.

Specifically, the FCC eliminated the requirement that the main studio have full-time management and staff present during normal business hours and that the studio have program origination capability. This action may dramatically reduce the cost of operations for many broadcasters, particularly those in small and rural markets. However, the FCC did not get rid of all of the requirements related to the Main Studio Rule. It retained the requirement that broadcasters maintain a local or toll free telephone number for calls from members of the community. Stations also must maintain any documents required to be in the public file that is not part of their online public file at a publicly accessible location within the station’s community of license.

The FCC’s action to eliminate the Main Studio Rule was based on the finding that the cost of this rule and its related requirements outweigh the benefits, in light of current technology and market conditions. This is part of Chairman Pai’s broader move to “modernize” the FCC as he outlined in a speech to the NAB back in September.

The Order suggests that the cost savings from elimination of the Main Studio Rule should result in more resources being devoted to programming, but many smaller broadcasters may need the savings just to stay in business. In any case, broadcasters will welcome the regulatory relief.

So, let’s dive into what this all really means.