Nab Submits Sweeping Broadcast Deregulation Blueprint To Fcc

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr asked for ideas to cut outdated broadcast regulations – and the NAB has now given him plenty to work with. In an 80-page filing backed by a 60-page appendix, the NAB delivered a sweeping blueprint for deregulation under Carr’s “Delete, Delete, Delete” initiative, targeting everything from local ownership caps to Equal Employment Opportunity requirements. “This is a moment for bold ideas, and NAB is proud to lead the charge,” said NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt. “The FCC’s rules should reflect today’s media landscape, not one from decades past. Our filing lays out a clear, actionable path to modernize regulations and empower local radio and TV stations to better serve their communities. We appreciate the Commission, especially Chairman Carr, for launching this important effort.

Reforming outdated ownership rules is the essential first step to strengthening local journalism and ensuring broadcasters can continue to survive.” At the top of NAB’s list is a demand to abolish local broadcast ownership rules that restrict how many radio and television stations a company can own in a single market. NAB argues that these caps were created in the analog era and have no place in today’s vastly expanded media environment. “No broadcast regulations are more devastating to the viability and future vitality of TV and radio broadcasters than the national TV ownership restriction and the local radio and TV ownership rules,” NAB wrote. Deletion of the ownership caps is viewed as a non-negotiable for NAB, saying on page 14, “Despite the insightful ideas that follow… THE FCC SHOULD NOT PROCEED UNTIL IT ELIMINATES THE NATIONAL TV AUDIENCE... As for those other ideas, in tandem with ownership deregulation, NAB is urging the FCC to modernize or scrap the Online Public Inspection File rules, describing them as outdated and disproportionately burdensome for broadcasters,...

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Call: (866) 682-0276 Email: legal@nab.org Join our team of broadcast advocates. When legislative issues arise that could impact your station and career, we'll reach out and give you simple steps to contact your legislators. Sign Up Today When Brendan Carr asked for suggestions about rules to cut, the NAB was ready As the Federal Communications Commission reviews the broadcast regulatory environment, NAB President/CEO Curtis LeGeyt says this moment calls for “bold ideas.”

In an 80-page filing, the NAB urges the FCC to seize the moment and fundamentally modernize its regulatory framework, beginning with reforms to the national television ownership cap and the local radio and TV... Chairman Brendan Carr’s “Delete Delete Delete” initiative seeks to help the FCC remove outdated rules, part of a broader push by the Trump administration to review and modernize regulations. “The FCC’s rules should reflect today’s media landscape, not one from decades past,” LeGeyt said in an NAB summary. The National Association of Broadcasters has submitted extensive reply comments in the Federal Communications Commission’s “Delete, Delete, Delete” proceeding, presenting a case for significant regulatory relief for radio and television broadcasters facing increasingly intense... NAB’s filing emphasizes the sheer volume of regulations burdening broadcasters compared to their competitors. Part 73 of the FCC’s rules, which governs broadcasting, spans 423 pages – more than any other regulated communications service and more than double the regulations for cable and satellite providers under Part 76.

FCC’s Carr signals tougher broadcast regulation incoming with focus on empowering local stations “The rules governing broadcasting are not only excessive, but they are also obsolete and counterproductive,” NAB argued in its filing. “They discourage investment, hinder innovation, and place broadcasters at a structural disadvantage.” A significant portion of NAB’s reply comments focuses on opposing what it characterizes as “tired, retrograde, rent-seeking proposals” from the pay TV industry and music industry interests. The National Association of Broadcasters says it filed comprehensive comments with the Federal Communications Commission in response to the agency’s call for public input under its “Delete, Delete, Delete” initiative. NAB says its filing “urges the FCC to seize this moment to fundamentally modernize its regulatory framework, beginning with long-overdue reforms to the national television ownership cap and the local radio and TV ownership...

NAB president and CEO Curtis LeGeyt states, “This is a moment for bold ideas, and NAB is proud to lead the charge. The FCC’s rules should reflect today’s media landscape, not one from decades past. Our filing lays out a clear, actionable path to modernize regulations and empower local radio and TV stations to better serve their communities. We appreciate the Commission, especially Chairman Carr, for launching this important effort. Reforming outdated ownership rules is the essential first step to strengthening local journalism and ensuring broadcasters can continue to survive.” See the entire filing here. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) filed a comprehensive response with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as part of the agency’s “Delete, Delete, Delete” initiative, which was launched under former President Trump’s executive orders...

In its filing, NAB pressed the FCC to undertake sweeping reforms to its regulatory structure, with an emphasis on updating the national television ownership cap and the local radio and TV ownership rules. The submission included an 80-page comment document and a 60-page appendix of proposed rule changes, outlining regulations that NAB argued were outdated and impeded broadcasters' ability to invest in journalism, remain competitive with unregulated... “This is a moment for bold ideas, and NAB is proud to lead the charge,” said NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt. “The FCC’s rules should reflect today’s media landscape, not one from decades past. Our filing lays out a clear, actionable path to modernize regulations and empower local radio and TV stations to better serve their communities. We appreciate the Commission, especially Chairman Carr, for launching this important effort.

Reforming outdated ownership rules is the essential first step to strengthening local journalism and ensuring broadcasters can continue to survive.” NAB’s comments were organized to align with the FCC’s directive to identify and reduce regulatory barriers that stifle investment, innovation, and competition. The cornerstone of the submission was ownership reform, with NAB asserting that current rules were crafted for a bygone, pre-internet media environment and no longer served their intended purpose. The FCC’s “Delete, Delete, Delete” initiative was part of a broader government effort encouraging agencies to conduct retrospective reviews and modernize regulatory frameworks. NAB’s filing directly responded to the Commission’s request for input, providing what it described as a detailed roadmap to eliminate antiquated rules, minimize unnecessary compliance burdens, and better align FCC policy with the realities... In a striking move that could reshape the landscape of American television, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) that represents ABC, CBS, FOX, & NBC station owners has submitted a forceful letter to the...

The NAB argues that these decades-old restrictions, which limit any single entity from owning local commercial TV stations reaching more than 39 percent of U.S. households, are outdated and stifle broadcasters’ ability to compete in a rapidly evolving media market dominated by tech giants and streaming platforms. “For more than two decades, the national TV rule has prohibited any entity from owning local commercial TV stations reaching, in the aggregate, more than 39 percent of the total number of TV households... “This outmoded rule prevents broadcasters – but not any other video service providers – from competing for audiences and vital advertising revenues across the country and harms the public’s free, over-the-air (OTA) television service. The time to eliminate this harmful restriction is now.” The filing marks a significant escalation from the NAB’s previous positions, which sought only to liberalize or modernize the rules rather than abolish them entirely. The NAB’s argument hinges on the dramatic transformation of the media landscape since the ownership cap was last adjusted in 2004.

The rise of streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, social media platforms, and digital advertising juggernauts like Google and Facebook has fundamentally altered how audiences consume content and how advertisers allocate their budgets. “With Google and Facebook gobbling up local advertising revenues and stations competing with unconstrained streaming platforms for viewers’ time and attention, the FCC must end this limitation and allow broadcasters to better serve the... The NAB contends that these “continued marketplace trends over the past seven years” render any artificial limits on TV station groups’ audience reach unjustifiable. The filing also reflects a strategic optimism about the current political climate. With FCC Chair Brendan Carr, appointed during the Trump administration, at the helm, the NAB appears hopeful that the agency will be more receptive to dismantling the ownership caps. The letter references a 2017 effort under Carr’s watch, when the FCC sought public comment on modifying or eliminating the national audience reach limit.

At the time, Carr noted that broadcasters “now compete for eyeballs with YouTube stars, social media platforms, and streaming services—not to mention traditional cable and satellite offerings.” Although that initiative stalled, the NAB sees... In 2017, the NAB had taken a more cautious stance, advocating for either maintaining the 39 percent cap with a revised calculation or raising it to 78 percent if certain discounts were eliminated. Today’s filing, however, pulls no punches. Supported unanimously by the NAB’s Television Board—including major players like Nexstar, Sinclair, and Univision—the organization argues that the national TV rule “in any form does not promote, but instead harms, competition, diversity, and localism.”... The debate over whether the Federal Communications Commission can eliminate the national broadcast ownership cap has moved from policy arguments to questions of statutory authority, according to the National Association of Broadcasters‘ top legal... Rick Kaplan, chief legal officer and executive vice president of legal and regulatory affairs at NAB, published a blog post on Nov.

24 defending the FCC’s authority to modify or eliminate the cap. The rule currently restricts television broadcasters from owning stations that reach more than 39% of U.S. households. Trump questions FCC ownership cap changes as Nexstar defends merger plans “We’re now at the predictable moment in a Washington fight when the losing side abandons policy arguments and retreats to the last refuge of the desperate: ‘Well, it doesn’t matter anyway, the agency doesn’t... The post argued that opponents of changing the rule have shifted their strategy after losing ground on policy objections.

Kaplan characterized recent legal challenges to the FCC’s authority as procedural deflection rather than substantive argument. Broadcasters, cable, and wireless groups have extensive wish lists for the FCC’s ‘Delete, Delete, Delete’ initiative. WASHINGTON, March 14, 2025 – FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's sweeping deregulatory effort, known as ‘Delete, Delete, Delete’, has elicited varied responses from industry stakeholders since it was announced Wednesday. One of the first groups to publicly back the initiative was the National Association of Broadcasters, applauding Carr’s deep dive into expelling FCC’s rules and regulations that “no longer serve any meaningful public interest... Among NAB’s top priorities for deregulation: The national TV ownership cap, which currently prevents a single broadcaster from reaching more than 39% of U.S. households; and, local radio and TV station ownership rules, which limit how many stations a single company can own in a given market.

Those “must be reformed as soon as possible,” NAB spokesman Alex Siciliano told Broadband Breakfast.

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