FCC scraps 39% cap on broadcast TV ownership, paving way for media consolidation
Federal Communications Commission scraps limit on broadcast TV ownership
The Federal Communications Commission voted 2-1 to eliminate the 22-year-old rule limiting a single company's reach to 39% of U.S. TV households, replacing it with a case-by-case review. Chairman Brendan Carr argued the cap was outdated and hindered local broadcasters, while critics, including Democratic Commissioner Anna Gomez and consumer group Free Press, called the move unlawful and a boon to large station groups like Nexstar Media Group, which is seeking to acquire Tegna. The decision is expected to face legal challenges.
The cap no longer constrains the power of national programmers. Instead, it prevents local broadcasters from competing on a level playing field.
- magicalist
Note that Tom Delay of all people (remember that guy? I'm old and I'd say barely) wrote an opposing op ed saying that even though he supports the change that this is contrary to the governing statute that he helped write, which explicitly bars the FCC from changing this limit
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/08/can-trump-fcc-re...
- ilovetux
Didn't the supreme court recently overturn the Chevron Doctrine?
Doesn't that mean agencies like this are not free to set their own rules when a law is ambiguous?
And isnt the cap on number of households reached actually codified unambiguously in federal law?
Seems to me like this should not be allowed to happen.
Let me know if I am wrong.
- trollbridge
Broadcast TV seems laughably irrelevant. It’s difficult to find official numbers, but under 1% of US households have no cable, satellite TV, home Internet, or a cell phone. The latter two are how people consume video and TV to a large degree today.
In exchange, we have a great deal of spectrum tied up for terrestrial TV, much of which goes to running infomercials or else is surreptitiously leased for terrestrial data broadcasts. And the government gets to decide to regulate it so it becomes inherently politicised - like favouring certain owners.
Realistically - this spectrum should simply be reassigned for IP based services, with perhaps some set aside for non profit / educational uses, some for commercial, etc.
(Radio is pretty much the same boat but I can see a case to be made for keeping some analog FM radio broadcasts. The 6MHz per channel for TV is insane.)
- pyaamb
A necessary tool to manufacture consent in the feudalist society we're speed running towards
- thenthenthen
In the early 2000’s analog public TV broadcasts were turned off in the Netherlands. The only way to receive the publicly funded channels was through a commercial company requiring a subscription to a digital service. I learned a lot that time.
- limagnolia
This does not seem to undo caps on ownership within broadcast markets, though? That seems like a more sensible cap to me. Of course, if Congress made the cap and didn't give authority to the FCC to adjust it, they shouldn't be trying. But I'm not familiar with the statutes involved.
- 1vuio0pswjnm7
48927851 | FCC to repeal 39% TV ownership cap in boost for Trump-friendly news orgs | https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/07/fcc-to-repeal-39... | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48927851
- londons_explore
> In a 2-1 vote, the FCC repealed a 22-year-old rule holding that a company cannot own stations that reach more than a combined 39% of the U.S. television audience.
This seems like a very odd rule. What about things like CNN? Aren't they available to 100% of households?