Extension of the Federal Communications Commission\u27s Jurisdiction to the Television Networks

The Federal Communications Commission\u27s enabling statute, the Communications Act of 1934, provides no statutory authority for the regulation of the television networks. Nonetheless, with judicial approval, the FCC indirectly regulates the networks via its licensing authority over broadcast stations affiliated with the networks and has even promulgated rules by which it directly regulates the networks. This article reviews the case law focusing on the FCC\u27s extension of its jurisdiction to the television networks and to cable television, which is similarly unreferenced in the Act. The article argues that the FCC should have consistent jurisdiction to regulate the cable and broadcast network industries under the reasonably ancillary standard applied by the Supreme Court to test cable television regulation. Furthermore, since the Act, it is argued, grants the FCC implicit authority to regulate the networks, the Act need not be amended in the foreseeable future to provide the FCC explicit jurisdiction. The article concludes that the FCC can rely on its implied statutory authority as long as its network regulations are reasonable and consistent with the Communications Act of 1934