The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has formally requested the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to repeal its national ownership cap for broadcast television stations. The NAB argues the regulation is outdated and detrimental to competition, hindering broadcasters' ability to compete effectively.
In an April 2 letter to the FCC, the NAB stated that the rule “prevents broadcasters – but not any other video service providers – from competing for audiences and vital advertising revenues across the country and harms the public’s free, over-the-air television service.” The letter further emphasized that the current rule, last adjusted in 2004, “prohibits any entity from owning local commercial TV stations reaching, in the aggregate, more than 39 percent of the total number of TV households in the nation.” The NAB contends the rise of internet-delivered video and digital advertising platforms has made this reach limit obsolete.
“Given dramatic changes in the video and advertising markets since 2017,” the NAB argued, “the Commission must end this limitation and allow broadcasters to better serve the public interest.” Support for this position comes from the NAB’s Television Board, which includes major players like Nexstar Media Group, Sinclair Broadcast Group, and Univision Communications. The NAB asserts that the rule “in any form does not promote, but instead harms, competition, diversity and localism and should be eliminated entirely.”
The NAB's argument is backed by economic data showing broadcasters operating at a significant disadvantage. Their filing highlights that in 2023, Alphabet, Meta, and Amazon’s combined U.S. advertising revenue surpassed the total advertising revenue of all local TV and radio stations. The NAB also challenges the rule's methodology, stating that its premise—a station reaching 100 percent of its designated market area—is flawed. “That premise was a fiction when the Commission first adopted a national audience reach cap in 1985 and is an even greater fiction today,” the group stated. “The record offers no rational basis for retaining the existing 39 percent cap.”
Former Commissioner Brendan Carr previously noted the FCC's ownership restrictions, dating back to the 1940s, are increasingly irrelevant in a landscape where broadcasters compete with “YouTube stars, social media platforms and streaming services like Hulu and Netflix — not to mention traditional cable and satellite offerings.” The NAB emphasizes the FCC's legal authority to repeal the rule, directly addressing arguments suggesting only Congress can make such changes. Carr’s description of the situation as a “break glass moment,” highlighting the need for broadcasters to attract capital, underscores the urgency of the NAB's request.
As of April, the FCC’s response to the NAB’s request remains pending.