President Donald Trump Opposes FCC Move to Raise TV Station Ownership Cap
President Donald Trump has voiced his opposition to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) potential move to raise or eliminate the current 39% cap on local TV station owners. Trump specifically cited ABC News and NBC News as examples of “fake news networks” that he does not want to see expanded.
This stance puts Trump at odds with FCC chairman Brendan Carr, who has been advocating for abolishing the rule that limits TV station groups from owning outlets that reach more than 39% of U.S. households. The National Association of Broadcasters also supports eliminating the cap.
In a statement on his Truth Social account, Trump made it clear that he would not support lifting the ownership cap if it meant giving more reach to “radical left” news networks like ABC and NBC. He referred to them as a “virtual arm of the Democrat Party” and called for them to be viewed as an “illegal campaign to the Radical Left.”
Christopher Ruddy, CEO of pro-Trump outlet Newsmax, also expressed concerns about raising the ownership limit, arguing that it would be detrimental to conservatives. He suggested that allowing left-wing networks like ABC, NBC, and CBS to control every local station would hinder Republicans’ chances in elections.
However, it’s important to note that lifting the ownership cap would not directly expand the reach of ABC News or NBC News, as they are already available in every U.S. TV household. Instead, it would give more power to TV station group owners and potentially strengthen local TV journalism.
FCC chairman Brendan Carr has been pushing for the agency to reform the “arcane artificial limits” on TV station ownership. The FCC launched a proceeding in June to gather public input on whether to modify, retain, or eliminate the 39% national audience reach cap on local TV ownership, which has been in place since the 1980s.
The National Association of Broadcasters has filed a request to eliminate the ownership limit, arguing that it hinders local stations from competing with tech and streaming giants like Google, Amazon, and Netflix. Nexstar Media Group, the largest local TV station owner in the U.S., is seeking a waiver of the cap to complete its acquisition of rival Tegna.
Nexstar’s chairman and CEO Perry Sook emphasized the importance of the acquisition for the future of local television and journalism. He praised the Trump administration and the FCC for recognizing the need to update regulations that no longer reflect the current media landscape, advocating for the elimination of outdated constraints on local television ownership.
