"On July 24, 2006, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requested public comments to help inform its review of the nation’s media ownership policies. One of the rules the Commission is considering addresses whether or not a single owner should be allowed to own duopolies or triopolies—two or three broadcast television stations in the same market. Many advocates, including Children Now, are concerned about how the formation of duopolies and triopolies may affect the quantity and quality of programs broadcast for the child audience. However, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) contends that duopoly ownership is “necessary to preserve and enhance television broadcasters’ ability to serve their viewers and communities in markets of all sizes.” This study was designed to test the validity of the NAB’s claim with regard to the child audience. More specifically, the study examines how the children’s programming provided by duopoly stations compares with individually owned competitors in a given market.

The number of children’s programs and weekly hours of children’s programming were evaluated for all commercial broadcast television stations in eight U.S. markets, varying in geographic location and market size, for two time periods: 1998, before any duopolies existed, and 2006, after several duopolies were established in the markets. The results indicated that there has been a dramatic decrease in children’s programming over the past eight years in every market in the study. A comparison of duopoly and non-duopoly stations, however, revealed that by 2006 duopoly stations at best performed no better than non-duopoly stations, and at worst reduced the number of children’s series and weekly hours of children’s programming at significantly greater rates than did non-duopoly stations. There were no markets in which duopoly stations reduced their children’s programming less than did the non-duopoly stations.

Since most duopoly stations offered more children’s programming before they became duopolies, and since the majority of duopoly stations in 2006 offered less children’s programming than did non-duopoly stations, this study clearly shows that the formation of duopolies does not, as the NAB claims, “preserve and enhance” station’s abilities to serve the needs of children."