208
Opinion of the Court
See Holder v. Hall, 512 U. S. 874, 966 (1994) (separate opinion of Stevens, J.). The issue before us is whether, given conflicting views of the probable development of the television industry, Congress had substantial evidence for making the judgment that it did. We need not put our imprimatur on Congress' economic theory in order to validate the reasonableness of its judgment.
2
The harm Congress feared was that stations dropped or denied carriage would be at a "serious risk of financial difficulty," 512 U. S., at 667, and would "deteriorate to a substantial degree or fail altogether," id., at 666. Congress had before it substantial evidence to support its conclusion. Congress was advised the viability of a broadcast station depends to a material extent on its ability to secure cable carriage. JSCR ¶¶ 597-617, 667-670, 673 (App. 1544-1553, 1580-1581, 1582-1583). One broadcast industry executive explained it this way:
"Simply put, a television station's audience size directly translates into revenue—large audiences attract larger revenues, through the sale of advertising time. If a station is not carried on cable, and thereby loses a substantial portion of its audience, it will lose revenue. With less revenue, the station can not serve its community as well. The station will have less money to invest in equipment and programming. The attractiveness of its programming will lessen, as will its audience. Revenues will continue to decline, and the cycle will repeat." Hearing on Competitive Issues, at 526-527 (statement of Gary Chapman) (App. 1600).
See also JSCR ¶¶ 589-591 (App. 1542-1543); id., ¶¶ 625-633, 636, 638-640 (App. 1555-1563) (repositioning). Empirical research in the record before Congress confirmed the " 'direct correlation [between] size in audience and station [ad-
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