The NAB, in an ex parte letter sent to the FCC on Wednesday, asked the Commission engaged in a “Delete, Delete, Delete” initiative sparked by Chairman Brendan Carr to eliminate the national cap on broadcast television ownership.
The “urgent need” to do so is tied to MB Docket No. 17-318, the NPRM that initiated a comprehensive review of the national television audience reach cap — including the so-called “UHF discount.” At present, a 39% national TV household reach maximum is in place, by statute, for television broadcasting companies.
The NPRM, an Ajit Pai-era query, asked questions about whether a cap is still needed and what public interest goals it would promote, where the cap should be set if still needed, and how compliance with the cap should be calculated, including the question of whether the ‘UHF discount’ should be eliminated.
Seven years later, with President Trump back in office, Jessica Rosenworcel no longer at the FCC and a thirst for rule “modernization,” the FCC is taking aim at the national TV cap limits.
“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 television service,” argue NAB Chief Legal Officer and EVP/Legal and Regulatory Affairs Rick Kaplan and SVP and Senior Deputy General Counsel for Legal and Regulatory Affairs Jeri Timmerman. “The time to eliminate this harmful restriction is now.”
The 52-page letter acknowledges that MB Docket No. 17-318 was ignored by the Rosenworcel Commission and quotes Carr, as a then-Commissioner, stating how broadcast TV now competes against OTT platforms for eyeballs, not to mention MVPD-distributed channels. “Given dramatic changes in the video and advertising markets since 2017, the NAB now urges the Commission to expeditiously conclude this rulemaking and completely repeal the outdated and competitively harmful national broadcast TV ownership restriction.”
Should the cap be higher? No, say Kaplan and Timmerman — there should be no limit at all, given the marketplace today. This would diffuse any arguments that in an ATSC era, the “UHF discount” is absurd, as companies seek to convert VHF properties to UHF facilities given the more robust signal in ATSC 1.0 from Channels 14-69.
To illustrate its point, the NAB inserts recent reports from Nielsen’s The Gauge total audience viewing survey, which show streaming capturing 43.5% of all video consumption in February 2025. Declining prime-time ratings comparing “The Cosby Show” on NBC some 35 to 40 years ago to CBS’s “Tracker” in the 2024-2025 seasons are also put front-and-center.
Importantly, ad revenue trends are also illustrated, using Borrell and BIA data.
“Not only are local TV stations struggling – and failing – to maintain their advertising revenues, stations in mid-sized and small markets continue to earn only a small fraction of the ad revenues garnered by stations in the largest markets,” Kaplan and Timmerman state.
The ex parte letter comes as Republican Commissioner Nathan Simington and Democrat Anna Gomez have been named as confirmed 2025 NAB Show attendees. Chairman Carr will not be present at the event, which begins Sunday in Las Vegas.
