Television Networks: Ownership Rules and Regulations in the US
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates media ownership in the United States to ensure a diverse and competitive media landscape. These rules govern how many television and radio stations a single entity can own, both locally and nationally. The FCC reviews most of its media ownership rules every four years to determine if they remain in the public interest.
The FCC’s rules effectively prevent mergers between any two of the major Television Networks: ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC. This prohibition on dual television network ownership aims to maintain competition and prevent excessive concentration of power within the industry.
An entity can own up to two television stations in the same Designated Market Area (DMA) under certain conditions. The stations’ service areas, defined by their digital noise limited service contour, must not overlap. Alternatively, at least one of the stations must rank outside the top four in the DMA based on audience share. However, an applicant can argue that a top-four combination serves the public interest despite the general prohibition.
Local radio ownership is also subject to limitations based on market size. In a market with 45 or more stations, an entity can own up to eight stations, with a maximum of five in the same service (AM or FM). The number of allowable stations decreases as market size shrinks. For instance, in a market with 14 or fewer stations, an entity can own up to five stations, with no more than three in the same service, and must not own over 50% of the market’s stations.
Nationally, a single entity can own an unlimited number of television stations, provided their combined reach doesn’t exceed 39% of all U.S. TV households. A UHF Discount applies to stations operating on UHF channels (14 and above), attributing them with only half the number of households in their DMA compared to VHF stations (13 and below). This discount acknowledges the historically weaker signal propagation of UHF channels. Unlike other ownership rules, the national television ownership rule is not subject to the FCC’s quadrennial review.
In 2017, the FCC eliminated the rule prohibiting common ownership of a full-power broadcast station and a daily newspaper in the same market. The rule previously applied if the station’s contour fully encompassed the newspaper’s city of publication. The FCC also eliminated the radio-television cross-ownership rule, which restricted common ownership of radio and television stations in the same market. The elimination of these rules was partly due to the significant growth and diversification of news and entertainment sources in the modern media landscape.
