In the United States, private individuals and compa­nies are permitted to own and operate television stations for commercial and noncommercial use. However, because of their limited availability on the broadcast spectrum, the airwaves themselves are considered a finite public resource that is "owned" and regulated by the federal government on behalf of the American people. During the first half of the 1920s, when commercial broadcasting was in its infancy, pioneers in the industry had unfettered and virtually unlimited access to what was then an abundance of electromagnetic frequencies. By 1926, when the number of broadcast stations in­ creased from 536 to 732, Congress became concerned that the rapid proliferation of broadcasters would quickly deplete available airwaves. In addition, advances in transmission technology enabled powerful, city-based operators to boost their signal range, effectively drowning out smaller, rural facilities. The chaos and cacophony of broadcasting in the mid- 1920s ultimately led Congress to pass regulatory legislation in I927, and again in 1934, requiring all station owners to apply for a broadcast license and meet specific criteria for eligibility before a license is issued or renewed.

     Until the 1990s, the essential aspects of broadcast license grants largely stayed the same. In 1991, Congress amended the Communications Act to permit the FCC to choose new licensees by lottery, in an effort to streamline what had become a costly and burdensome hearing process. Following the Supreme Court's decision in Adarand Contractors, Inc. v .Pena (1995), which placed all federal affirmative-action programs under strict scrutiny, the FCC introduced a gender- and race-neutral bidding system that gave preferential credit to small-business applicants.

     In 1998, seeking to recognize the revenue potential of license grants, Congress enacted Section 309(j) Of the act, which mandated an auction process for new licensees. Once the highest bidder is selected, opposing parties have ten days in which to file a petition to deny. If there is no objection, or if the FCC does not act on the petition to deny, the successful bidder pays the amount of the bid and is issued a construction permit. In order to assure diversity among licensees, the FCC granted a 25 percent "bidding credit" to minority­ owned and women-owned applicants.

     In determining who will or will not get a broadcast license, the FCC considers a wide range of factors that can vary or be waived under different circumstances. A successful applicant must be a U.S. citizen or an entity controlled by U.S. citizens, must be in good financial health, and cannot broadcast to more than 35 percent of the total national audience. While the FCC still enforces some restrictions designed 10 limit the dominance of a licensee in local markets, Hie period following the Telecommunications Act of 1996 has been marked by a movement away from licensing and ownership regulation. By the year 200 I, the FCC had eased regulations that had been enforced for decades, including  the duopoly  rules, which had strictly prevented a licensee from owning more than one television facility in a market; the dual network prohibition, which prevented one company from owning two broadcast networks; and various rules relating to the public interest qualifications of license applicants.