Broadcast License Renewal Act

Broadcast License Renewal Act - Provides that the term of any license granted for the operation of a broadcasting station may not exceed four years, and the term of any license granted for the operation of any other class of station may not exceed five years.

States that, any license issued to a broadcasting station may, upon its expiration, be renewed upon application if the Federal Communications Commission finds that the public interest, convenience, and necessity would be served by the renewal of such license.

Requires the Commission, in determining whether a licensee's programming is substantially responsive to the needs, views, and interests of the residents of its service area, not to consider national criteria respecting the extent, nature, and content of broadcast programming.

Requires that in considering any application for the renewal of a broadcast license the Commission shall not consider: (1) the financial interests of the applicant in other stations or in other communications media unless the Commission has adopted rules respecting such interests; nor (2) the nonbroadcast interest or activities of the applicant unless the Commission has adopted rules thereon.

Provides that in order to expedite action on applications for renewal of broadcasting station licenses and in order to avoid needless expense to applicants for such renewals, the Commission shall not require any such applicant to file any information which previously has been furnished to the Commision or which is not directly material to the considerations.

Requires the Commission to prescribe procedures to encourage licensees of broadcasting stations and persons who are critical of the operations of such stations to conduct, during the term of the licenses for such stations, good faith negotiations to resolve the issues presented by such criticism; and to establish procedures to be followed by licensees of broadcasting stations to ascertain throughout the terms of their licenses the needs, views, and interests of the residents of their service areas.

Directs the Commission to conduct a study of the social, economic, political, or other consequences of the ownership of more than one broadcasting station by one person and the ownership by one person of one or more broadcasting stations and one or more newspapers or other communications media, and report to the Congress the results of such study (including recommendations for legislation) not later than two years after enactment of this Act.

Directs the Commission to conduct a study to determine what regulation of broadcasters required by the Communications Act of 1934 does not serve the public interest and to report the results of such study (including any recommendations for legislation) to the Committee on Commerce of the Senate and the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce of the House of Representatives not later than one hundred and eighty days after the date of the enactment of this Act.