FCC plans to end broadcast ownership cap, paving way for media consolidation
The Federal Communications Commission will vote next month on whether to eliminate the national broadcast ownership cap, which currently limits a single company from owning stations reaching more than 39 percent of US TV households.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced an August 6th vote to end the national ownership cap rule, as stated in a Breitbart op-ed on Wednesday. Carr argues that the rise of social media and streaming platforms makes the rule obsolete because national programmers can now reach "100 percent of the country" without using public airwaves. He claims the cap prevents broadcasters from achieving the same scale as their unregulated competitors.
The FCC has already granted a one-time waiver to allow the $6.2 billion merger between Nexstar and Tegna, though a federal judge has put the deal on hold while state attorneys general challenge it.
Opponents warn that repealing the rule could harm local journalism by reducing competition. Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez stated that the Commission cannot simply waive away a limit set by Congress. Matt Wood, vice president of policy and general counsel at Free Press, noted that broadcasters already have a special advantage with exclusive licenses to use public airwaves and that the cap is not a disadvantage. Carr needs only the support of Republican Commissioner Olivia Trusty to approve the agenda item, but the vote may face legal challenges over the FCC's authority to eliminate the cap.
