FCC Sets August Vote to Replace 39% Television Ownership Cap

The Federal Communications Commission announced on July 15 that it will vote on August 6 on an order to repeal the 39% national television ownership rule. The proposal would replace the fixed audience-reach limit with case-by-case review of whether a broadcast transaction serves the public interest.

Under the current rule, a single television station group generally cannot own stations reaching more than 39% of U.S. television households. The FCC says the bright-line limit is too inflexible for a market in which streaming and online video companies can reach national audiences without the same broadcast ownership restriction.

The FCC’s announcement says transaction-specific review would let the agency reject deals that harm competition, localism or viewpoint diversity while approving combinations it considers beneficial. Those are the agency’s stated safeguards. The announcement does not guarantee approval of every transaction above 39%.

“The August vote has not happened, and the current 39% rule remains in place.”

The agency’s legal authority is disputed. The FCC says Congress directed it to modify the ownership rule in 2004 but did not withdraw its broader Communications Act authority to change agency rules. Opponents argue that Congress selected the 39% figure, required divestiture above it and removed the national cap from the FCC’s periodic ownership review.

That split was visible at a February 10 Senate Commerce Committee hearing. The committee’s own notice said some experts view the cap as statutory and changeable only by Congress, while others argued the broadcast market has changed enough to require a new approach.

The proposal follows a March FCC Media Bureau order granting Nexstar a transaction-specific waiver in its proposed acquisition of Tegna. That order also laid out the agency’s view that the 39% limit remains an FCC rule subject to waiver. Critics and litigants continue to contest that interpretation.

The August vote has not happened, and no court has ruled on the legality of this new proposal. Until the commission adopts an order and it takes effect, the existing 39% rule remains the operative national ownership limit.