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The U.S. central bank left interest rates unchanged and indicated that rate cuts may be in store next year, very welcome news to the media business and across other industries as companies , and consumers, have been squeezed by higher borrowing costs.

Rates started a steady climb last year as the Federal Reserve tried to tame inflation, which surged after Covid to hit a 40-year high in 2022. The Fed has raised interest rates 11 times since March of last year, prompting many to predict a recession. Prices of just about everything have remained stubbornly high but aren’t rising as fast, leading the Fed to leave rates unchanged at its meeting today. It’s still targeting inflation in the range of 2%.

“In determining the extent of any additional policy firming that may be appropriate to return inflation to 2 percent over time, the Committee will take into account the cumulative tightening of monetary policy, the lags with which monetary policy affects economic activity and inflation, and economic and financial developments,” the Fed said. The market liked the word “any” — which hadn’t been used before — at the top of that comment.

Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery are up nearly 4%, Netflix shares by more than 3%, Comcast by 2.3%, and Disney by 1.6%. AMC Networks has jumped 7%. With cable companies, broadcasters and exhibitors also trading higher there was very little in red. In the broader markets, the Dow Jones index is bouncing around a bit but now 460 points, or 1.3%. The Russell 2000 is up 2.7%. The Nasdaq 1.15%.

The outlook for lower rates is better than it’s been in a long time. Some 17 of the Fed’s 19 central bankers seemed to indicate rate cuts next year, with the median projection showing the key interest rate falling three-quarters of a percentage point from the current 5.25%-5.50% range. None of of them anticipated increases.

Powell said at a press conference that the Fed could cut rates even if the U.S. economy doesn’t dip into a recession in 2024. “It could just be a sign that the economy is normalizing and doesn’t need the tight policy,” he said.