The FCC voted Tuesday to eliminate the main studio rule.
The main studio rule requires each AM, FM, and television broadcast station to maintain a main studio located in or near its community of license.
“NAB supports elimination of the main studio rule, which has outlived its usefulness in an era of mobile news gathering and multiple content delivery platforms,” NAB Executive Vice President of Communications Dennis Wharton said. “We’re confident that cost savings realized from ending the main studio rule will be reinvested by broadcasters in better programming and modernized equipment to better serve our local communities.”
“Repealing the rule will also encourage the launch of new broadcast stations in small towns and rural areas and help prevent existing stations in those areas from going dark,” according to an FCC document.
The rule was adopted in 1939. Tuesday’s decision was made on a 3-2 vote.
