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Donald Trump Expresses Caution About Lifting FCC Limits On Ownership Of TV Stations

November 23, 2025 3:11pm

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Donald Trump weighed in on what has been a key priority for broadcasters during his administration: lifting a cap on the number of TV stations any one entity can own.

Trump posted on Truth Social Sunday, “If this would also allow the Radical Left Networks to “enlarge,” I would not be happy. ABC & NBC, in particular, are a disaster – A VIRTUAL ARM OF THE DEMOCRAT PARTY. They should be viewed as an illegal campaign to the Radical Left. NO EXPANSION OF THE FAKE NEWS NETWORKS. If anything, make them SMALLER! President DJT”

TheFCC limits any company from amassing stations that reach more than 39% of TV households.

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In June, the FCC under Chairman Brendan Carr, who was appointed by Trump, launched a proceeding to take comment on whether to retain, modify or eliminate the cap.

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One of the big advocates of lifting the cap isNexstar, which isseeking FCC approval for its acquisition of Tegna. The merger would put Nexstar well above the cap, and it is requesting a waiver in the meantime. Other station groups like Sinclair Broadcast Group have been advocates of increasing or eliminating the cap, arguing that the rules are outdated since the dawn of big tech.

But such deregulation has run into opposition. In his Truth Social post, Trump linked to aNewsmax story on its CEOChris Ruddy‘s opposition to eliminating the ownership cap. Ruddy is a longtime friend of the president.

“Reagan understood if you have left-wing networks like ABC, NBC and CBS — or groups like Nexstar today controlling every local station and their local news — Republicans would have little chance to win in state and federal elections,” Ruddy said,per the piece.

A bit tellingly, in his Truth Social post, Trump mentioned ABC and NBC, but not Nexstar or CBS. Trump has praised the new owners of CBS, Skydance, led by David Ellison. The latter has named Bari Weiss, founder of the center-right The Free Press, as the editor-in-chief of CBS News.

Anna Gomez, the sole Democrat on the commission, said last week that she does not think the agency has the authority “to lift or waive the statutory 39% cap.”

In seeking the waiver, Nexstar chairman and CEO Perry Sook said in a statement last week:
“Nexstar’s acquisition of Tegna is vitally important to the future of local television and local journalism. We are grateful that the Trump administration and the FCC recognize that the current television ownership regulations are outdated and do not reflect the competitive media landscape as it has evolved over the past 25+ years. Like the Trump administration, we are focused on achieving deregulation, and we continue to advocate for the elimination of the antiquated constraints on local television ownership as the best solution to level the competitive playing field for all media.”