FCC Poised to Hand Broadcasters Long-Sought Win in Abolishing Station Ownership Cap as Brendan Carr Probes Tension Between TV Groups and Platforms

TV industry awaits commission's Aug. 6 vote on eliminating cap on the number of TV stations a single entity can own

By Cynthia Littleton

Cynthia Littleton

Business Editor

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Broadcast TV station owners have been stuck in media’s wilderness for most of the past two decades or so as the internet and streaming have defined the state of the art in television. But this year, independent broadcast TV station owners are being heard as they haven’t in years by crusading Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr, who has probed into areas of long-festering aggravation for station owners.

Carr is poised to bring broadcasters a long-sought victory by removing the “station cap,” or the FCC regulation that limits the number of U.S. TV stations that a single entity can own. The FCC is set to vote Aug. 6 on whether to eliminate the restriction, a regulatory principle that was first enacted for radio stations in 1941.

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