The FCC has voted 3-2 along party lines to eliminate the Main Studio Rule at today’s Open Meeting of FCC Commissioners.

Stations will still be required to maintain local or toll-free phone numbers and public file materials that isn’t online accessible for the communities they serve, but will no longer be required to have a studio in or near the station’s city-of-license. The Main Studio Rule was adopted in the Communications Act of 1934 which established the FCC requiring stations to have a studio in its city of license and was modified in the 1970s to allow the studio to be within 25 miles.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai had previously stated that the rule was outdated because in the digital age the community has access and can engage with stations via social media or email without having a physical studio nearby and that maintaining a physical address is an expense better put to other uses, like adding more local programming.

The FCC claims that it will reduce regulatory burdens and costs for broadcasters that can be directed toward such things as programming, equipment upgrades, newsgathering, and other services that benefit consumers. In theory a group owner can now consolidate all programming into a handful of studio locations across the country with little to no content originating in the community or markets a radio or television serves. Instead of renting big studio complexes for their clusters, a company can make do with a small office facility to host sales and a few promotions people.

iHeart could run the white half of its Chicago cluster from out of town without missing a beat. 93.9, 95.5, and of course Kiss FM are jukeboxes that don't need to be locally operated. They'd probably cause more trouble than they'd save by moving V103 and GCI out of town.