NAB pushes FCC to eliminate ownership caps, ease TV restrictions

The National Association of Broadcasters is making an aggressive push to eliminate local radio ownership restrictions and significantly reduce television ownership limits, arguing that decades-old regulations no longer reflect today’s fragmented media landscape.

In a September 19 filing with the Federal Communications Commission, NAB representatives detailed how traditional broadcasters face unprecedented competition from streaming services, digital platforms and social media companies that operate without similar ownership constraints.

The trade group met with staff from commissioners’ offices to discuss the upcoming quadrennial ownership review ahead of the late September commission meeting. 

Broadcast ownership rules face fresh scrutiny in September FCC meeting

“The Commission should inquire whether maintaining any ex ante radio ownership restrictions today is still in the public interest,” NAB stated in its filing, marking a more aggressive stance than its 2018 position that sought partial deregulation.

The filing comes as broadcast groups have recently flexed their consolidated power in ways that highlight ownership concentration concerns.

This past week, both Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair used their extensive station portfolios to block ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” from airing across their networks, demonstrating how ownership consolidation can impact programming decisions at scale.

Radio’s declining dominance

NAB’s argument centers on dramatic shifts in audio consumption patterns. According to Edison Research data included in the filing, AM/FM radio’s share of listening time has dropped to 34 percent in the second quarter of 2025, down from 52.1 percent in May 2014. Streaming music now commands 23 percent of listening time, while YouTube accounts for 14 percent.

“AM/FM radio’s share of the time consumers spend listening to audio sources has fallen to 34 percent, counting both over-the-air and streaming listening,” the filing states, emphasizing how digital competitors have eroded traditional radio’s audience base.

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Radio advertising revenue has similarly declined, falling 30 percent from $17.4 billion in 2007 to an estimated $12.17 billion in 2025, according to BIA Advisory Services data cited by NAB.

Current radio ownership rules, unchanged since 1996, limit how many stations companies can own within specific markets based on the total number of stations in those areas. NAB previously proposed eliminating restrictions in smaller markets and allowing up to eight FM stations in larger markets, but now suggests removing all local radio ownership limits.

Television facing streaming pressure

For television, NAB argues that broadcast TV’s 19.1 percent share of total viewing time in August 2025 pales compared to streaming’s 46.4 percent share, according to Nielsen data. YouTube alone captured 13.1 percent of TV usage, while Netflix and YouTube combined reached 21.8 percent.

“It makes no sense to maintain ex ante national and local ownership restrictions on broadcast TV stations, given the dominant positions that the Big Tech platforms and global streaming giants enjoy in the marketplace,” NAB argued.

The national TV ownership cap prevents any company from reaching more than 39 percent of U.S. TV households, while local rules generally limit ownership to two stations per market. NAB wants both restrictions eliminated, arguing they create “asymmetric” disadvantages compared to digital competitors operating without geographic limitations.

Local TV station advertising revenues declined 42.9 percent from 2000-2024 on an inflation-adjusted basis, according to BIA data referenced in the filing.

NAB expands campaign to alter FCC broadcast ownership rules

Opposition from pay-TV providers

NAB anticipates resistance from cable and satellite providers, whom the filing accuses of “hypocrisy” for supporting their own industry consolidation while opposing broadcast ownership changes.

“Keeping TV broadcasters artificially small and weak may be in the pay TV industry’s interest, but it is not in the public’s interest,” NAB stated, characterizing opposition as “self-interested, hypocritical and anti-competitive.”

The filing argues that pay-TV companies prefer negotiating retransmission consent agreements with “competitively weaker broadcasters” and use ownership restrictions as leverage in those negotiations.

The FCC conducts quadrennial reviews of media ownership rules, examining whether regulations remain necessary for competition, diversity and localism. The upcoming review will evaluate rules that largely date to the 1990s against today’s media environment.

NAB emphasized that eliminating ownership caps wouldn’t prevent the FCC from scrutinizing individual transactions, as the commission would retain authority to review all broadcast license transfers on a case-by-case basis under the Communications Act.

The filing represents NAB’s most aggressive deregulatory push in years, reflecting the industry’s view that traditional ownership restrictions have become obsolete in an era of platform dominance by companies like Google, Meta and streaming giants.

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