D.C. Memo: Trump Joins the 39% Fight, Opposes FCC Lifting TV Cap If It Helps 'Radical Left Networks' Like ABC, NBC
NAB Issues Statement Backing FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's Effort to Empower Local Stations, Claims Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy Is Running 'Misleading Campaign' to Keep TV Stations Pinned Down by 39% Cap
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White House: President Trump signaled Sunday he would be concerned if new FCC broadcast ownership rules ended up enhancing the power of certain broadcast TV networks. But Trump’s concerns were certainly not the intent of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. In his comments, Trump appeared to be taking the side of Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy, who is fighting new FCC rules potentially in the works, claiming that they would be a “disaster” for conservatives. One America News Network (OAN) CEO Charles Herring is also backing Ruddy’s stance. In a Truth Social post, Trump specifically mentioned Disney-owned ABC and Comcast-owned NBC as potential beneficiaries of the FCC’s rules – something he did not want to see happen. “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,” Trump said. Last Tuesday, in an Oval Office confrontation with ABC News reporter Mary Bruce, Trump referred to Disney/ABC as a “crappy company” whose network broadcasting license “should be taken away because you news is so fake” and said ‘our great” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr “should look at that.” Although ABC does not have an FCC license for the network, it does have FCC TV station licenses in eight markets. The debate is over the 39% cap, the limit on how many TV households a single broadcast company may reach. To the extent Trump is concerned about network station household growth, all Big Four networks have plenty of headroom right now. Under current FCC rules, NBC is at 20%, Fox at 26.2%, ABC at 20.1%, and CBS at 24.1%, according to BIA Advisory Services. Nexstar Media Group – which is at 39.1% − filed an application Nov. 18 with the FCC to merge with TEGNA, putting the combined TV station company at 56.4%, well over 39%. Nexstar has sought a waiver from the cap if it remains at a level that blocks the transaction from going forward. In response to press questions, Carr has said the effort to refresh the 39% cap docket was in part an attempt to empower licensed local TV stations to resist programming choices dictated by network executives in New York and Hollywood. (More after paywall.)
Truth Social Post of the Day: President Trump on the 39% Cap
