FCC votes 2-1 to eliminate national TV ownership cap, replacing 39% limit with case-by-case merger review

FCC votes to eliminate national TV ownership cap

The Federal Communications Commission voted 2-1 on Thursday to eliminate the National Television Ownership Rule, which since 2004 has barred any single company from owning broadcast stations reaching more than 39% of all US TV households. FCC Chair Brendan Carr and Commissioner Olivia Trusty, both Republicans, voted to scrap the cap; the commission's sole Democrat, Anna Gomez, dissented. The FCC will now evaluate proposed broadcast mergers on a case-by-case basis, determining whether each deal serves the public interest.

The cap traces to 1941, when the FCC first limited local broadcast station ownership. Congress set the current 39% threshold in a 2004 appropriations law, overriding a 2003 FCC decision that had raised the limit from 35% to 45%. The 2004 law also prohibited the FCC from repealing or modifying the cap during its quadrennial reviews of media rules, a restriction Gomez says the agency is now flouting.

Arguments for and against

Carr framed the repeal as a survival measure for local broadcasters competing against streaming platforms and social media that face no comparable reach limits. He warned that inaction would see local stations follow the decline of local newspapers.

We should stop hamstringing this one segment of the broader market with outdated restrictions. I don't want local broadcast TV to go the way of local newspapers.

Carr said increased scale would let broadcasters attract capital and advertising revenue needed to sustain community-focused news, and would restore a counterbalance to the leverage of national programmers.

Gomez called the rule change "unlawful on its face," arguing that Congress set the cap in federal law and only Congress can change it. She rejected the premise that consolidation would help local journalism.

Eliminating the cap does not free local broadcasters from economic pressure, it just changes who is doing the squeezing. Trading a squeeze from Big Tech for a squeeze from Big Media does nothing to protect the communities this cap was designed to serve.

Political and legal challenges

The decision drew immediate pushback from Capitol Hill. Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, expressed skepticism that the FCC can raise the cap without congressional action. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren accused Carr of "trying to illegally rewrite the rules to make it easier for billionaires to line their own pockets while jacking up costs and controlling what Americans watch."

Media advocacy group Free Press announced it will sue to block the change. Free Press General Counsel Matt Wood said the move would clear the way for "Trump-aligned billionaires to swallow up stations wherever and whenever they please."

Nexstar-Tegna merger and industry impact

The FCC had already worked around the cap before formally repealing it. In March, the agency approved the merger of Nexstar and Tegna with a waiver of the 39% rule, despite objections from Democratic-led states. The deal's value was reported as $3.54bn by some outlets and $6.2bn by others. If upheld by courts, the combined company would reach 80% of US TV households. A federal judge has paused the merger pending an antitrust challenge by state attorneys general and DirecTV.

Chris Ripley, CEO of Sinclair Broadcast Group, which along with Nexstar currently reaches approximately 39% of TV households, praised the FCC's action on an earnings call before the vote. He said the FCC's mandate is "to deregulate over time" and that the agency was "on solid legal ground."

Critics, including Gomez, warn the case-by-case approach opens the door to arbitrary decisions shaped by political pressure, noting Carr's track record of threatening broadcasters whose coverage has drawn President Donald Trump's ire.