• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, June 28, 2016

Soon after the Brexit vote -- and subsequent U.S. media stock market declines -- those with particularly strong European interests voiced some concerns.

Consider Discovery Communications, which now owns the pan-European sports channel Eurosport, as well as other European TV interests, and which said this in a release:  “As a global company with a significant presence in 220 markets, we are accustomed to operating in an industry and a world where change is constant. We will work closely with U.K. and E.U. leaders to successfully navigate this change and find new opportunities to shape our future.”

We doubt those in the U.K. who voted to leave the European Union have declining interest in TV or in European sports TV. But in potential long-term fallout, Brexit could change European consumer buying power for entertainment.

Translate this to local U.S. TV versus global, or at least national, TV. Local U.S. TV station groups have consistently looked to grow and compete with bigger media companies.

Does that mean those TV station groups are getting less local -- not serving the interests of their local TV consumers? They would argue their investment in local TV news  -- and their new bigger strength, in particular  -- is the opposite.

Then there’s the argument when TV station groups weigh in about those testy carriage squabbles -- and subsequent blackouts -- saying those hurt local TV viewers. Pay TV providers would argue the opposite, that greedy TV station owners aren’t considering local TV viewers' best interests.

Should TV and media owners learn any Brexit lessons applied to media distribution and consumption? Juggling competitive long-term business interests and local TV consumer interests has always been a tough task.  Now, even tougher?