NAB TV board affirms commitment to consumer access to live, local broadcast television

The NAB Television board of directors this week adopted a policy statement reaffirming the association’s commitment to protecting viewers’ access to live, local broadcast stations and the vital local journalism and trusted information they freely provide.

“NAB is the voice of local broadcast stations that are serving the public in critical ways,” said Joint Board Chair Perry Sook, chair of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. “While certain NAB members may have additional media interests, this trade association’s mission is to protect consumer access to the trusted news and content broadcast stations provide to local communities in this age of misinformation and disinformation. Local journalism is the bedrock of our democracy and our advocacy agenda will be guided by this singular purpose. This policy statement reaffirms that mission.”

“NAB is dedicated to helping our local stations thrive and ensuring consumer access to live, local information,” said President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt. “Local broadcasters reach every corner of the U.S. with the most watched entertainment, news and sports, all freely available. In the age of Google, Facebook and TikTok, this association must be focused on fighting for policies to enable the indispensable and trusted programming that broadcasters deliver to their viewers and listeners every day.”

The policy statement reads as follows:
For more than 100 years, NAB has been honored to represent broadcasters before Congress, the administration and the courts. An indispensable part of our nation’s democracy and history, broadcasting is woven into the very fabric of local communities across the country. Local stations are dedicated to keeping the public informed; this service is freely accessible to all, regardless of socioeconomic status. We embrace our role of ensuring that our nation’s system of live, local broadcasting is an engine for democracy and the finest in the world.

Recently, the television industry has experienced tectonic shifts and been significantly impacted by a dramatically evolving media landscape. The upheaval brought on by changes in technology has created a fragmented media marketplace. In particular, the emergence of streaming video services, social media, dominant digital platforms and generative AI tools has fundamentally changed the way Americans and people around the globe consume news, information and entertainment. Unfortunately, it has also fueled the prevalence of misinformation and disinformation.

This revolution has led to a host of new and challenging policy debates that will determine the future health of local broadcasting and its ability to innovate to serve our local communities. NAB’s focus has always been on protecting viewers’ access to local broadcasting, yet due to the rapidly changing environment we have increasingly been called upon to advocate for the business interests of members beyond this core medium. Conflicts among these competing aims have led us to reaffirm NAB’s central purpose and primary mission: to protect consumers’ access to live and local broadcast stations.

NAB, at its core, is about promoting the nation’s critical system of local broadcasting, which is even more important in today’s hyper-competitive media landscape. If NAB is not leading the fight to advocate for this vital live and local service, no one will. To that end, the NAB Television Board of Directors believes it essential that the association reaffirm its commitment to advocacy on behalf of viewers and local broadcasters by adopting the following policy statement:

“NAB is the voice in Washington, D.C. for America’s local radio and television broadcasters. While some NAB television members have business interests beyond local broadcasting, this association’s central focus will be advocating for policies to protect viewers by ensuring live, local broadcasting is vibrant, competitive and freely available in today’s media landscape. Our advocacy will be guided solely by what is best to serve the public, ensuring local broadcasters’ essential role in American democracy. NAB’s policy positions will be grounded in safeguarding the public’s access to local broadcast stations, including on those issues that may be in tension with other NAB member business interests.” Editor and Publisher