The Federal Communications Commission has published a draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking pursuant to Section 202(h) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which directs the FCC to review its broadcast ownership rules every four years to ensure they remain in the public interest. The draft NPRM will be considered at the monthly Open Commission Meeting on September 30, 2025.
As part of the FCC’s 2022 Quadrennial Review process, the FCC requests public feedback on its broadcast ownership rules and whether the rules continue to be consistent with the traditional policy goals of competition, localism, and viewpoint diversity. Specifically, the FCC seeks public comment on whether it should retain, modify, or eliminate certain of its broadcast ownership rules in response to changes in the media marketplace, and whether the rules remain “necessary in the public interest as the result of competition.”
The draft NPRM identifies the following three rules subject to review:
Local Radio Ownership Rule. The local radio ownership rule limits the total number of radio stations that can be commonly owned in a local market. In December 2023, the FCC found that the rule continued to be necessary in the public interest and retained the rule essentially without modification, a decision which was upheld by the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. In the draft NPRM, the FCC seeks comment on whether the rule continues to be necessary to further the public interest or whether it should be modified or eliminated given the current state of competition in the local radio market.
Audio Marketplace Competition. The draft NPRM requests specific comment regarding whether the FCC should continue to define the local broadcast radio market as its own discrete product market or whether non-broadcast audio sources should be included, such as “satellite radio, audio streaming services, webcasting, podcasting, or other programming services as substitutes for broadcast radio.” Additionally, the FCC asks how, if it were to include such other services in the product market, it should revise the local radio ownership rule to account for such new market participants.
Local Radio Ownership Limits. The draft NPRM asks, if the FCC were to retain the broadcast radio ownership limits, should it continue to use the existing market size tiers and numerical station limits. Currently, the ownership caps limit the number of commonly-owned radio stations to eight in even the largest markets. The FCC also seeks comment on whether, if it were to retain overall numerical limits, it should continue to have separate limits (or subcaps) that limit the number of stations that a licensee can own in the same service (AM or FM) in a single market.
Local Television Ownership Rule. The local television ownership rule permits a single entity to own two television stations in the same Nielsen Designated Market Area (DMA) if: (i) the station contours do not overlap; or (ii) at least one of the stations is not ranked among the top-four stations in the market, effectively prohibiting a party from owning two top-four stations in a DMA absent a specific finding by the FCC that such ownership by that party would be in the public interest. The draft NPRM asks whether “the Local Television Ownership Rule continues to further broadcast television service to American consumers, or whether, in light of the pressures local television stations now face, the existing rule stands in the way of their ability to better serve their local communities and allowing local broadcasters to compete.”
In its December 2023 Order, the FCC made minimal changes to the local television ownership rule, in some ways making it more restrictive. The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit struck down the FCC’s decision to retain the top-four prohibition, but upheld its determination that broadcast television is a separate product market and should not include other video program providers. The Court also temporarily stayed effectiveness of its ruling to give the FCC an opportunity to request that the Court modify its decision to strike down the top-four prohibition.
Video Marketplace Competition. As it did with the audio marketplace, the FCC specifically requests comment on whether or how to account for non-broadcast programming in its video market definition analysis. The FCC asks whether, given the significant amount of non-broadcast video programming available to viewers, including online video, streaming, and digital TV broadcasting, among others, the local television ownership rule should remain in place despite the video marketplace competition faced by local television broadcasters.
Local Television Ownership Limits. The draft NPRM asks, if the FCC were to retain the broadcast television ownership limits, should the FCC keep the two station limit per market or should it review television mergers on a case-by-case basis, and should it apply the TV ownership limits consistently across all markets regardless of size.
Dual Network Rule. Finally, the FCC seeks comment on the Dual Network Rule, which prohibits a merger between or among the Big Four broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC). Comments are invited on whether the rule continues to serve the public interest and, if not, whether to modify or eliminate it. In particular, the draft NPRM requests comment on measuring competition by or among the Big Four networks and on the role of the Dual Network Rule in promoting localism.
While the draft NPRM does not include any tentative conclusions as to what the result of the FCC’s review of the ownership rules should be, it asks many specific questions which indicate that the FCC’s focus is likely to be on expanding the product markets for television and radio to include other program suppliers which compete with broadcasters for audience share and advertising dollars.
If the draft NPRM is adopted at the Open Commission Meeting on September 30, stakeholders will have an opportunity to comment after the NPRM is published in the Federal Register.
If you have questions about the FCC’s broadcast ownership rules, or are interested in filing comments, please contact David Burns or Paul Cicelski in our Media Practice Group.
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