ATVA challenges FCC plan to repeal national TV ownership cap

The American Television Alliance is opposing a Federal Communications Commission proposal to eliminate the 39% national television ownership cap, arguing the agency lacks the legal authority to make the change and that additional consolidation could increase costs for pay-TV customers.

The FCC is scheduled to vote Aug. 6, 2026, on an order that would replace the existing cap with a case-by-case review of station transactions.

Under the draft order, the commission could approve acquisitions that result in a broadcaster reaching more than 39% of U.S. television households when it determines the transaction serves the public interest. Deals that do not meet that standard could be rejected. 

“Congress set the 39 percent cap and told the FCC it could not change it,” ATVA spokesman Hunter Wilson said in a statement. 

Wilson said eliminating the limit would open the door to greater media consolidation, potentially giving large station groups more bargaining power in retransmission consent negotiations. He also argued consolidation could reduce locally produced news and programming.

ATVA, which is broadly considered to represent pay television providers, has a membership that includes consumer organizations, cable and satellite providers, telecommunications companies and independent programmers, said broadcasters have initiated more than 2,500 programming blackouts since 2010.

Some of ATVA’s prominent members include Mediacom, CenturyLink, Charter, DirecTV and Verizon. 

The organization also claimed retransmission consent fees increased by about 2,000% during that period. Those figures were presented by ATVA as part of its opposition to the proposal.

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Congress directed the FCC in 2004 to revise its rules by raising the national audience limit from 35% to 39%. Congress also excluded rules connected to the 39% limit from the FCC’s mandatory four-year ownership reviews. ATVA and FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez contend those provisions leave any further change to Congress. 

The FCC’s draft order takes the opposite legal position. It argues Congress instructed the agency to modify its rules but did not place an unchangeable 39% limit directly into federal law. The draft says the commission retains its broader authority to revise or repeal ownership regulations when it determines they no longer serve the public interest. 

Broadcasters have supported the proposed change, maintaining that a rule developed before the growth of streaming platforms and digital advertising limits their ability to compete with national technology and media companies.

National Association of Broadcasters President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt said the restriction is “out of step with today’s media marketplace.” NAB argues that allowing station groups to obtain additional scale would provide more resources for local journalism, programming, sports rights and technology investments. 

The FCC also addressed concerns about retransmission consent fees in its draft order. The commission said studies submitted in the proceeding reached conflicting conclusions about whether larger station groups consistently command higher fees.

It concluded that the record did not justify retaining a blanket 39% prohibition based on retransmission concerns, though the potential effects of individual transactions could be examined during the proposed case-by-case review.