FCC station ownership cap faces Aug. 6 vote as broadcasters cheer
The FCC is set to vote Aug. 6 on scrapping its national TV station ownership cap, a move broadcasters say would help them scale.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
3 min read
The FCC station ownership cap could be headed for the shredder on Aug. 6, giving local TV station giants a regulatory prize they have chased for years.
Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr is moving the agency toward a vote on eliminating the national limit on how much of the U.S. television audience one company’s stations may reach, Variety reported. The rule has long shaped the size of broadcast station groups, even as streaming services and tech platforms have remade the TV business.
What is the FCC station ownership cap?
The station ownership cap is the FCC rule that limits the national reach of TV stations under common ownership. Since 2012, that limit has been set at 39% of U.S. TV households, though existing provisions have allowed large groups to own far more stations than earlier versions of the rule permitted.
The principle traces back to radio rules adopted in 1941, according to Variety. In the mid-1990s, the national TV limit stood at 12 stations; today, Nexstar owns more than 200 stations and Sinclair Broadcast Group is approaching 180.
The FCC estimates that the U.S. has about 1,400 commercial TV stations, plus roughly 400 public and educational stations.
Why broadcasters want the cap gone
Carr said at a July 22 FCC press conference that lifting the cap would give local stations “a fighting chance” against companies with far broader ways to reach viewers.
He argued that major programmers such as Comcast, Disney, Fox and Paramount have built power through streaming services, apps and deals with virtual pay-TV distributors such as YouTube TV. Carr said those companies can reach the full market through direct-to-consumer platforms while local broadcasters remain tied to the 39% limit.
The National Association of Broadcasters, whose members include many of the country’s largest TV station owners, has long pushed for the change. NAB president and CEO Curtis LeGeyt told Variety that ownership rules written when broadcasters mainly competed with one another are outdated in a market that now includes Netflix, Amazon, Google, Meta, Apple and TikTok.
LeGeyt also said local TV newsrooms are often among the last remaining locally focused news operations, especially outside major cities, and argued that station owners need scale to keep funding journalism that is free to viewers.
Patrick Sholl, a managing director at Barrington Research, told Variety that removing the cap would help station owners reach more consumers and advertisers, but said debt levels may keep some of the biggest groups from immediately buying rivals.
Who is pushing back?
The American Television Alliance, a coalition of cable and satellite distributors, has criticized the expected FCC move. In a statement, the group said repealing the cap would encourage more consolidation, raise retransmission consent costs for distributors such as Comcast, Charter and DirecTV, and weaken localism.
The ATVA also predicted courts would overturn the action if the commission votes to end the cap.
The current cap is also part of the antitrust fight over Nexstar’s proposed merger with Tegna. Eight state attorneys general sued to block the deal, and a court-ordered injunction has frozen integration of the companies, according to Variety.
Sports rights are the next fight
Carr is also looking at tensions over sports rights as more games move to subscription streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, Apple services, Netflix and YouTube TV, Variety reported.
Broadcasters and some members of Congress have raised concerns under the Sports Broadcasting Act, the 1961 law that gave leagues including the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball an antitrust exemption to negotiate media rights collectively.
LeGeyt told Variety that the law was built around a public-access bargain involving broadcast television. NAB’s position is that Congress should reaffirm the exemption as tied to broadcast distribution, as fans face a growing mix of free and paid platforms for major sports.
This story draws on original reporting from Variety.