The FCC voted 2-1 on August 6, 2026, to repeal the national television station ownership cap, eliminating the decades-old 39 percent rule that limited any single broadcaster's reach to no more than 39 percent of US TV households. The repeal transforms Section 303 of the Communications Act and replaces the bright-line national cap with a case-by-case approval process for TV ownership deals. (Engadget)

The FCC's Report and Order, dated July 16, 2026, removes restrictions on multiple ownership of broadcast television stations based on national audience reach. The item, titled "Replacing the National Television Multiple Ownership Rule," appeared on the August 2026 Open Commission Meeting agenda as a plan to remove what the agency characterized as artificial barriers to broadcast ownership. (FCC Report and Order, DOC-423139A1)

The 39 percent rule was originally designed to constrain consolidation among broadcasters and limit the power of any single media company over national television audiences. Under the prior framework, an entity was permitted to own up to two television stations in the same Designated Market Area (DMA) under the FCC's Local Television Multiple Ownership rule. The broader regulatory review that produced the repeal also covered the Local Radio Ownership Rule and the Dual Network rule. (FCC; FCC Proposed Rulemakings)

FCC Chair Brendan Carr framed the repeal as survival relief for local broadcasters, warning that inaction would see local stations "going the way of newspapers." Carr's argument positions the ownership cap as a constraint that prevented broadcasters from achieving the scale needed to compete in a media landscape dominated by streaming platforms and tech-industry distribution. (Engadget)

Commissioner Anna Gomez, the sole dissenting vote, challenged that framing directly. Gomez said the large station groups positioned to benefit from the repeal are national companies that own local stations, not local broadcasters themselves. The dissent draws a distinction the order's proponents have declined to engage: that removing a national ownership cap primarily advantages national consolidators rather than the community-level stations the policy is nominally designed to protect. (Engadget)

The rule change arrives alongside immediate consolidation activity. Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group each already provide service to approximately 39 percent of US TV households, sitting at the edge of the now-repealed cap. Sinclair received an FCC waiver to merge with rival local broadcast company Tegna, a combination that would create roughly 260 stations covering 80 percent of the country. That merger faces an ongoing antitrust lawsuit brought by state attorneys general and DirecTV. (Engadget)

Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley, speaking on an earnings call held before the FCC vote, praised the agency's actions and said the FCC is on solid legal ground to change the rule. (Engadget)

Ripley's confidence in the legal footing is not universally shared. Section 10 of the Communications Act expressly forbids the FCC from waiving the national broadcast ownership cap, which raises a direct statutory question about whether the agency possesses the authority to repeal what Congress mandated. The FCC's order proceeds on the theory that Section 303 grants it the power to modify ownership rules, but the tension between that provision and Section 10's express prohibition creates litigation exposure that could unwind the repeal in court. (Engadget; Yale Journal on Regulation)

The move from a hard numerical threshold to case-by-case review transfers significant discretion to the Commission itself. Under the bright-line rule, a proposed acquisition either cleared or failed the 39 percent test on its own terms. Under the new framework, each deal will be evaluated individually by the FCC, with approval or denial determined on a deal-specific basis rather than against a fixed metric. That shift gives the agency latitude to consider context, competitive dynamics, and public interest factors, but it also introduces predictability concerns for market participants planning acquisitions. (Engadget)

The practical stakes are visible in the Sinclair-Tegna trajectory. The FCC granted a waiver for the merger before formally repealing the cap the waiver was designed to circumvent, producing a combined entity of 260 stations reaching 80 percent of US households. The antitrust litigation from state AGs and DirecTV continues independently of the FCC's regulatory action, meaning the merger could still face judicial blocking even with the ownership cap removed. The outcome of that case may establish the first real boundary on post-repeal consolidation, at least until the statutory authority question reaches a federal court.

For broadcasters, the repeal opens a path to scale that has been closed for decades. For distributors like DirecTV, already engaged in litigation over the Sinclair-Tegna deal, the prospect of fewer, larger station groups translates into greater retransmission-consent negotiating leverage on the other side of the table. And for the FCC, the central question is whether courts will accept that Section 303's grant of rulemaking authority can override Section 10's express prohibition on waiving the national cap. The agency has placed its bet. The judiciary will have the next word.