On July 26, 2010, Future of Music Coalition filed reply comments in the Federal Communications Commission’s 2010 Media Ownership Review proceedings. Our statement in the original comments phase were filed on July 12, 2010, and can be viewed here. [GN 09-182]

Our reply comments are in response to broadcasting giant Clear Channel’s previous filing, which claims that consolidation in radio station ownership has resulted in greater diversity in programming. FMC’s response includes data from our widely cited 2006 study of rampant consolidation in commerical station ownership following the passage of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. We measurably demonstrate that “format diversity” does not equal “programming diversity,” and point to clear evidence that the interests of local communities are better served by station groups that operate well under the allowable ownership caps.