FCC approval of Nexstar’s proposed $6.2 billion purchase of Tegna would violate the law, lead to nationwide TV blackouts, increase ad and retrans prices, damage local journalism and cause a wave of anticompetitive media consolidation, said petitions to deny the deal filed in docket 25-331 by Wednesday’s deadline.
The FCC has limited authority to regulate broadcast networks, and regulatory intervention could destroy the network/affiliate business model, said Fox, Disney, NBCUniversal and Paramount Global in reply filings posted Tuesday in docket 25-322.
The FCC should take “immediate action” to review network/affiliate contracts and investigate whether the big four networks’ practice of negotiating with virtual MVPDs gives them “de facto control” of local TV stations, said affiliate station owner groups in a joint filing posted Monday in docket 25-322. “Given the state of this relationship, immediate action is necessary so that local broadcast stations can continue to serve local communities with critical news and information,” they said.
Conservatives such as Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, have suggested eliminating the FCC’s public interest authority (see 2512170070) as a way to keep it from pressuring broadcasters over their content, but public interest attorneys and academics said doing so would also strip the agency of most of its power.
The initial round of 2022 quadrennial review comments last week included Fox seeking elimination of the dual network rule and MVPDs advocating for the FCC to adopt DOJ’s market definitions for broadcasting, as well as the expected calls from broadcast station owners to eliminate ownership limits. Opponents of deregulation in docket 22-459 included conservative entities Newsmax and CPAC, along with a coalition of public interest groups, independent film trade groups and academics arguing that the FCC must study broadcast markets.
The FCC is expected to unanimously approve an order at its open meeting Thursday that would update a number of low-power TV and translator rules, industry and FCC officials told us. The final item is expected to change little from the draft version, which updates and clarifies agency policies on station relocation, channel sharing, alerting and other matters. “In light of changes within the broadcast industry and LPTV Service over the last forty years, we adopt changes to our rules to ensure that the LPTV Service continues to flourish and serve the public interest long into the future,” the draft says.
The Center for American Rights kicked off an online campaign Monday supporting the elimination of the broadcast TV ownership cap and targeting the Senate Commerce Committee's FCC oversight hearing Wednesday. In an interview, CAR President Daniel Suhr told us he bases the group’s FCC filings on President Donald Trump’s social media posts and public comments. He added that CAR’s focus on media resonates with conservatives and has raised its profile, increasing donations to the organization.
The FCC should reject NextNav’s petition on reconfiguring the lower 900 MHz band for 5G-based 3D positioning, navigation and timing operations, said numerous trade groups in filings last week (docket 24-240).
Broadcast licensees want the FCC to rebalance the network-affiliate relationship by regulating the contracts stations reach with networks, while the networks don’t believe an imbalance exists or that the FCC has authority over their affiliation agreements, according to comments filed by Wednesday’s deadline in docket 25-322. Stations called for the agency to delve into virtual MVPD negotiations, apply restrictions to network-affiliate contracts, and cap network fees, but the big four networks said the FCC injecting itself here could kill broadcasting. Agency intervention “has the potential to severely disrupt the broadcasting ecosystem, threatening the continued survival of broadcasters facing a thinning market,” said NBCUniversal. “The market is working, and the government should not interfere.”
Laura Loomer, a podcaster widely seen as having the ear of President Donald Trump, endorsed the Nexstar/Tegna deal in a post on X late Tuesday, calling on FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to approve the transaction. Loomer denounced Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy, who has been a vocal opponent of the deal (see 2508050051). Ruddy is a “selfish leftist” who “opposes both the Nexstar-Tegna merger and the proposed FCC ownership rule change,” Loomer wrote. His network is widely seen as one of the most conservative TV news channels. Many FCC watchers suspect that Trump’s connection with Ruddy led to the president’s recent post objecting to proposals to do away with the national TV-ownership cap (see 2511240055). Ruddy’s opposition to the deal “only empowers the left and their mainstream media allies, who can still control programming in America through ownership no matter who is in the White House or running the FCC,” Loomer said.