CBS AND FOX RETURN TO NAB

CBS and Fox, which quit the National Association of Broadcasters a decade ago when the organization voted to support a limit on the number of stations a network could own, have decided to return to the fold of the broadcasters’ lobbying group. While the ownership cap may have been a major issue for broadcasters back then, it is hardly mentioned nowadays, when extracting fees from cable companies for retransmitting their signals has become an issue that unites individual stations and networks alike. In reporting the decision of the two networks and their stations to rejoin the NAB, the Los Angeles Times observed today (Tuesday): “This will be a big shot in the arm to the bottom line of the NAB. Fox and CBS rejoining will mean more than $1 million in membership fees.” In a statement, Fox TV Stations CEO Jack Abernethy commented: “The interests of our industry, our company and our viewers are best served by speaking with one voice on Capitol Hill, at the FCC and in the courts.” NAB President Gordon Smith said that the return of the two networks, along with their stations, will now allow the NAB to present “a seamless display of broadcast unity inside the Beltway.”