Opinion ID: 627152
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Government's Overall Interest

Text: The government asserts the same interest is furthered by all three of § 399b's restrictions on advertising: that Congress may ban advertising on public television stations to ensure that high quality educational and noncommercial programming is broadcast on the public airwaves. The government contends that if public broadcast stations were permitted to transmit paid commercial, public issue, and political advertisements, public broadcast stations would attempt to attract advertising dollars by replacing niche educational programming with programming of greater mass-market appeal. In turn, the distinction between public broadcast and commercial stations would be blurred  and the breadth of quality educational and other noncommercial programming on public broadcast stations would be reduced. As an initial matter, we hold the government has a substantial interest in ensuring high-quality educational programing on public broadcast stations  a conclusion Minority does not dispute. Even though cable, satellite, and the Internet have changed the nature of television and radio, the broadcast spectrum remains a finite national resource. Congress set aside broadcast frequencies for public stations to ensure Americans would have access to niche programming such as public affairs shows and educational programs for children. See 41 F.C.C. at 166, ¶ 57 (FCC reserves broadcast frequencies for public broadcast stations because they offer programming of an entirely different character from that available on most commercial stations). Moreover, the government has submitted unrebutted evidence that public broadcast stations do broadcast substantially different types of programs than do commercial stations. For example, the Government Accountability Office has determined that 16 percent of all program hours broadcast by public television stations are devoted to educational children's programming. By contrast, commercial broadcasters devote less than 2 percent of their program hours to educational or informational children's programming. According to a Senate report submitted by the government, public television is the primary source of educational children's programming in the United States. Children's Television Act of 1990, S.Rep. No. 101-66 at 3, reprinted in 1990 U.S.C.C.A.N. 1628, 1633. Public broadcast stations regularly broadcast renowned children's shows such as Sesame Street, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, and Reading Rainbow, which attempt to teach children to read and to do sums. Id. at 23-36, 1990 U.S.C.C.A.N. at 1631-33. Again, Minority does not dispute that the government's interest in maintaining public broadcast stations' niche programming is substantial. Instead, Minority contends that § 399b is not narrowly tailored to the asserted government interest.