National Television Multiple Ownership Rule

What it does

• •Repeals the national television multiple ownership rule (national cap) that prohibited commercial television licensees from owning stations reaching more than 39% of national television households.
• •Replaces the blanket prohibition with a case-by-case review process for proposed television license transfers and assignments that exceed the former 39% threshold.
• •Requires the FCC to evaluate transactions individually against its media ownership goals of localism, viewpoint diversity, and competition rather than applying a fixed numerical limit.

Why it matters

• •The FCC states the rule repeal reflects seismic changes in the modern media marketplace and aligns television ownership regulation with its prior shift from blanket prohibitions to case-by-case review for radio and newspaper-broadcast combinations.
• •The change allows transactions previously blocked automatically to potentially be approved if deemed in the public interest, while maintaining the FCC's authority to deny deals that fail to serve public interest goals.
• •This represents the first update to the national television ownership cap in over 20 years and shifts from an inflexible ex ante regulation to individualized assessment.

Who is affected

• •Commercial television station licensees and entities seeking to acquire television stations or merge with broadcasters.
• •Local broadcast television stations and their communities, which the FCC states may benefit from greater operational flexibility.
• •Television viewers and the public interest in localism, viewpoint diversity, and competition in broadcast markets.

What happens next

The repeal of 47 CFR 73.3555(e) becomes effective January 11, 2027, and proposed transactions will be subject to the FCC's regular case-by-case review process under the local television multiple ownership rule going forward.