[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"branding":3,"analytics":7,"article-fcc-moves-to-scrap-the-39-tv-ownership-cap":10,"sections":34},{"siteName":4,"siteTagline":5,"publisherName":4,"contactEmail":6},"The Revision","Tech news, decoded.","editor@therevision.news",{"gaMeasurementId":8,"adsenseClientId":9},"G-ZW2MV82GYR","ca-pub-8533917693782264",{"article":11},{"id":12,"slug":13,"title":14,"dek":15,"body_md":16,"tags_json":17,"published_at":18,"created_at":19,"updated_at":20,"status":21,"review_note":22,"review_notes":23,"image_url":22,"persona_id":22,"persona_name":22,"section":24,"tags":25,"sources":29,"feedback":33,"feedback_at":22,"cost_usd":33,"total_tokens":33},4734,"fcc-moves-to-scrap-the-39-tv-ownership-cap","FCC Moves to Scrap the 39% TV Ownership Cap","The FCC plans to replace a hard congressional limit on TV reach with case-by-case reviews, a shift critics say favors Trump-aligned broadcasters.","The FCC is set to vote on eliminating the rule that caps any single broadcast owner's reach at 39 percent of U.S. TV households.\n\nFCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced the plan in an op-ed published on Breitbart. The proposal would scrap the National Television Ownership Rule — a limit set by Congress — and replace it with case-by-case merger reviews, giving the FCC wide discretion over which station groups can exceed the old ceiling. Carr's commission had already been treating the cap loosely: in March, it granted Nexstar Media Group a waiver to acquire Tegna, a deal that pushed Nexstar's reach past 50 percent of TV households. The FCC's justification was that Congress had authorized it to modify or waive the rule.\n\nThat legal argument is the soft underbelly of the whole plan. The 39 percent cap was set by Congress, not the FCC, which means repealing it outright invites a court challenge over whether the agency has that authority. A case-by-case review framework also hands enormous informal power to whoever chairs the FCC — the ability to wave through friendly owners and slow-walk everyone else.\n\nThe pattern fits a broader trend of the Carr FCC using regulatory flexibility to benefit media outlets that cover the administration favorably. Whether that survives judicial scrutiny is a different question — and the litigation calendar may end up mattering more than the vote.","[\"fcc\",\"media\",\"policy\",\"broadcast\"]","2026-07-15T18:52:22.000Z","2026-07-15T19:48:52.049Z","2026-07-15T19:48:55.043Z","published",null,[],"policy",[26,27,24,28],"fcc","media","broadcast",[30],{"name":31,"url":32},"Ars Technica","https:\u002F\u002Farstechnica.com\u002Ftech-policy\u002F2026\u002F07\u002Ffcc-to-repeal-39-tv-ownership-cap-in-boost-for-trump-friendly-news-orgs\u002F",0,{"sections":35},[36,41,46,51,55,60,65,70,75,80,85,89,94,99],{"name":37,"slug":38,"count":39,"latest_published_at":40},"AI","ai",2583,"2026-07-15T21:33:20.000Z",{"name":42,"slug":43,"count":44,"latest_published_at":45},"Security","security",294,"2026-07-15T19:59:48.000Z",{"name":47,"slug":48,"count":49,"latest_published_at":50},"Deals","deals",179,"2026-06-29T20:02:07.000Z",{"name":52,"slug":24,"count":53,"latest_published_at":54},"Policy",158,"2026-07-16T00:02:48.000Z",{"name":56,"slug":57,"count":58,"latest_published_at":59},"Hardware","hardware",122,"2026-07-14T19:46:26.000Z",{"name":61,"slug":62,"count":63,"latest_published_at":64},"Consumer Tech","consumer-tech",93,"2026-07-13T13:20:48.000Z",{"name":66,"slug":67,"count":68,"latest_published_at":69},"Software","software",70,"2026-07-13T19:52:25.000Z",{"name":71,"slug":72,"count":73,"latest_published_at":74},"Science","science",66,"2026-07-10T10:29:37.000Z",{"name":76,"slug":77,"count":78,"latest_published_at":79},"Dev Tools","dev-tools",59,"2026-07-07T04:00:00.000Z",{"name":81,"slug":82,"count":83,"latest_published_at":84},"Gaming","gaming",41,"2026-07-09T04:00:00.000Z",{"name":86,"slug":87,"count":83,"latest_published_at":88},"Startups","startups","2026-06-29T20:55:50.000Z",{"name":90,"slug":91,"count":92,"latest_published_at":93},"General","general",29,"2026-07-10T22:28:58.000Z",{"name":95,"slug":96,"count":97,"latest_published_at":98},"Reviews","reviews",20,"2026-06-24T12:00:01.000Z",{"name":100,"slug":101,"count":102,"latest_published_at":103},"How-To","how-to",6,"2026-06-16T09:00:00.000Z"]