• by April 5, 2001

(AP) - CBS is leaving the National Association of Broadcasters because of a disagreement over government rules that restrict the growth of TV companies.

The decision by parent company Viacom Inc. to withdraw subsidiaries CBS and Infinity Broadcasting from the lobbying group stems from a long-running rift over whether to challenge federal limits on how many TV viewers one company can reach through its stations.

CBS joins major networks Fox and NBC, which previously left the trade association after similar disputes.

The networks oppose a federal cap that prevents them from owning stations that reach more than 35% of U.S. households. They have petitioned the Federal Communications Commission and the courts to do away with the limit, saying it can no longer be justified with so many competing media outlets.

Locally owned stations oppose any increase in the cap. They fear that greater concentration of station ownership, especially by networks that distribute programming, would put smaller players in a weak position when negotiating to get shows.

The board of the NAB has supported retaining the cap.

CBS said it could no longer stay in the group because of the association's ongoing commitment to keeping the limit in place.

"For some time we have called for the elimination of the national broadcast ownership cap as well as other outmoded regulatory constraints on broadcasters," the company said in a statement. "It has now become clear that we cannot remain within an organization that is actively working against those objectives."

Association spokesman Dennis Wharton said, "It is regrettable when any member leaves the association."

CBS said it is still pushing to see the cap repealed and is hopeful that will happen either in the courts - where a challenge is pending - or by the FCC.

The commission this summer decided against making any changes to the cap. But under the new leadership of the Republican chairman, Michael Powell, the agency may be more inclined to modify the restriction.

By law, the commission must periodically review broadcast ownership rules like the 35% cap to see if they are still warranted as the market changes. Powell has asserted that media limits need to be justified in today's market or eliminated.

The decision by CBS leaves ABC as the only major network remaining in the trade association.

Preston Padden, a lobbyist for ABC's parent The Walt Disney Co., said the company has made no decision about its membership in the group.

But he said it was "irrational and unsustainable" that the association favors the 35% cap but wants to see eliminated a restriction against one company owning a broadcast station and daily newspaper in the same market.