NAB president says group will survive competition

Kevin Ferguson

Tuesday, April 24, 2001 | 10:30 a.m.

The National Association of Broadcasters president called the growing division between the television networks and their local affiliate stations "unsettling" on Monday.

But Eddie Fritts said that despite the NAB's loss of NBC, Fox and most recently CBS, he has "total confidence" in the NAB's future as a lobbying arm for the industry with Congress and the Federal Communications Commission; and as an advocate for local stations in the courts.

"We will continue to be a vibrant and aggressive advocate for free broadcasting and we will remain strong, committed and effective with membership in all 50 states," Fritts said in his keynote address to about 2,000 NAB members at their annual convention in Las Vegas.

Several of the networks are boycotting the Las Vegas convention over the NAB's support of maintaining a 35 percent cap on network ownership. The cap means no station group can serve more than 35 percent of the nation's TV viewing audience.

CBS and Infinity Broadcasting resigned from the NAB earlier this month over that issue, leaving ABC as the only major network as a member. When Viacom merged with CBS last year, it put the media giant over the cap. It now reaches about 41 percent of U.S. TV households.

Without the cap being raised by the Federal Communications Commission, a dispute pending in federal court, Viacom-CBS would have to divest some of its TV stations.

Membership withdrawl does not necessarily mean network executives are forbidden to browse the NAB conference exhibits showcasing the latest television technology; or partake in the panel discussions regarding the changing landscape of the television and radio industries.

However, NBC, owned by General Electric, decided to boycott this week's convention anyway and canceled its meeting with its affiliates in Las Vegas.

Fritts told his audience that the NAB has withstood division in the ranks before, noting that during a period in the 1980s and early 1990s, the radio industry was deeply divided, but "they came together for the common good."

This is a time, Fritts said, the industry is facing several challenges, such as growing competition from cable operators, the satellite television industry and the Internet.

Despite his pledge to protect free over-the-air television, that's a service that appears to be of less and less interest to consumers as pay television services expand dramatically through cable and satellites.

"We watch more and more people pay for television. Eighty-four percent are paying for multi-channel services," FCC Chairman Michael Powell said this morning.