For decades, no single TV broadcaster could reach more than 39% of U.S. households. That cap was meant to keep any one company from controlling too much of the public airwaves.
The Federal Communications Commission now wants to scrap that limit entirely. Instead of a hard ceiling, regulators would review each proposed merger on its own merits. The agency is set to vote on the change on August 6, and it is expected to pass 2-1 along party lines.
That means two Republican commissioners in favor, one Democrat opposed. Right now, the commission includes Carr plus Gomez (a Democrat) and Trusty (a Republican), far short of the five-member panel a Republican majority would fill.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr argues the old rule is obsolete. Local broadcasters now compete with streaming services and social media platforms that face no similar restrictions. He also says the content on local stations has become more national, with programs produced by companies like Walt Disney and Comcast. "Their national programs naturally reflect the values of the New York and Hollywood executives that produce them," Carr wrote in an op-ed in Breitbart announcing the vote.
The 39% cap was established by Congress in the 1990s to prevent excessive media concentration. Broadcasters have long argued the limit is outdated because cable, streaming, and digital platforms face no similar restrictions. The FCC has occasionally granted waivers - for example, Nexstar's pending purchase of Tegna already received one - but the new rule would remove the cap entirely.
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At the time, lawmakers aimed to balance localism with market efficiency. Since then, the media landscape has shifted dramatically, with broadcasters losing audience share to cable and streaming. The FCC currently operates with only three of five commissioners due to partisan gridlock over nominations, which has allowed Chairman Carr to push forward this rule change despite Democratic opposition.
The biggest winner may be Nexstar Media Group, which is in the process of buying rival Tegna. Together they would cover about 80% of U.S. TV households, well above the current 39% cap.
The deal is stalled due to litigation: DirecTV and multiple state attorneys general secured a judicial halt on the merger process as they proceed with antitrust lawsuits. The trial is scheduled to start next summer.
Stations that have been on a buying spree also got a boost. Gray Media has likewise been actively buying up stations, having closed several small deals lately.
Not everyone is happy. Commissioner Anna Gomez, a Democrat, said the FCC is letting broadcasters sell off the public airwaves. "A free and diverse media landscape depends on real limits on how much of the public airwaves any one company can control, and this FCC is now poised to allow local broadcasters to sell those airwaves off to the highest bidder," she wrote in a statement.
She also noted that "Congress set the 39% national ownership cap in federal law, and only Congress has the authority to raise or eliminate it". Newsmax, the cable-TV channel operator, also opposes relaxing the cap.
Curtis LeGeyt, head of the National Association of Broadcasters, praised the plan. "This reflects the understanding that decades-old ownership restrictions that apply only to broadcasters - and none of our competitors - are out of step with today's media marketplace," he wrote in a statement.
The vote on August 6 is likely just the first step. Even if the FCC adopts the new rule, it's likely that American courts will have to determine whether the FCC is within its rights to make such a change or if legislative approval is required. The Nexstar-Tegna trial over antitrust claims is not scheduled until next summer. That means this fight could drag on for a while.
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