By Justin Sasso

A dangerous precedent is potentially afoot in the Colorado state Senate right now, where a bill was recently introduced to restrict advertising for local broadcast media across Colorado.

Senate Bill 26-131, seemingly designed to discourage Coloradans from participating in legalized sports wagering, doesn’t just limit what can be advertised, but also when advertisements can air. The specific provision calls for a restriction of sports betting advertisements from airing during hours when those under 21 could make up a significant portion of the viewing audience.

At first glance, that may sound reasonable. But the reality of how local broadcast television and radio actually operate makes this far more complicated — and the consequences for Colorado’s local stations far more serious — than supporters of this bill acknowledge.

Banning advertising from legal, regulated businesses raises serious practical, legal, and policy concerns, but also unfairly targets local television and radio stations that serve as the main source of information for Colorado communities. The Colorado Broadcasters Association represents more than 300 local stations across our state. Though we are not the direct subjects of the legislation, make no mistake: this bill would have serious cascading effects on local broadcasters and the communities we serve. And yet it has gained momentum with little consideration given to its effect on Colorado’s economy or the stations at the heart of it.

Punishing local broadcasters for content from regulated, licensed and legal industries that the stations themselves did not produce, nor have any control over, is bad policy, placing an entirely unfair burden on our members across radio and television that are simply playing by the rules.

The bill also misses another basic reality of how broadcast television works. Local stations don’t control everything that airs on their channels. Much of their programming, including commercials, comes to them from the national networks or syndicated shows in full, complete packages. Local stations can’t edit those feeds to remove specific ads without disrupting the program itself. And because local broadcasters operate under federal FCC licenses with binding network distribution agreements, forcing them to alter that content could put them in direct legal jeopardy.

These requirements aren’t just unrealistic; they could also put local stations in an untenable legal position.

Perhaps most importantly, local broadcasters rely on advertising revenue to support daily newsroom operations. Across the country, we’re already seeing the loss of local newspapers, shrinking newsrooms, and fewer reporters covering state and local issues as advertising dollars move to digital platforms. Those same pressures are now hitting local radio and television. Removing an entire category of legal, regulated advertising from Colorado broadcasters will further weaken local journalism and public service programming — the very things that keep communities informed and connected.

Colorado deserves better. We urge lawmakers to reject these over-regulated advertising restrictions before they do lasting damage to local Colorado news stations and our communities.

Justin Sasso is a representative of the Colorado Broadcasters Association, whose members include more than 300 local radio and television stations across the state.