Free Press to Sue FCC Over 39% TV Ownership Cap Repeal
Updated
Updated · Free Press · Aug 6
Free Press to Sue FCC Over 39% TV Ownership Cap Repeal
3 articles · Updated · Free Press · Aug 6
Summary
Free Press said it will challenge the FCC in court after the agency voted along party lines to scrap the 39% national TV-ownership cap.
Congress wrote the cap into federal law, the group said, arguing the FCC lacks authority to repeal a limit that bars any one company from reaching more than 39% of the U.S. broadcast audience.
Brendan Carr's move follows the FCC's March waiver for Nexstar's $6.2 billion Tegna purchase, which would have extended Nexstar's reach to 80% of U.S. households.
Federal courts in California later halted that transaction amid antitrust suits, while Free Press and allied groups say ending the cap would accelerate consolidation, cut local journalism and narrow viewpoint diversity.