Trump Opposes TV Ownership Changes

President Donald Trump on Sunday declared fierce opposition to any FCC move to relax the 39% national TV station ownership cap, warning it would empower “fake news networks” like ABC and NBC and vowing “NO EXPANSION OF THE FAKE NEWS NETWORKS. If anything, make them SMALLER!”

Trump’s Truth Social blast directly threatens major pending mergers, most notably Nexstar Media Group’s $8.6 billion acquisition of TEGNA, which would push the combined company’s reach to roughly 54.5% of U.S. TV households and requires either FCC waiver or elimination of the decades-old congressional cap. 

Broadcast stocks including Nexstar, Gray, and Sinclair fell 2–5% in early trading Monday after the president’s post.

Brendan Carr

The intervention puts Trump at odds with his own FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who has repeatedly called the 39% cap “outdated” and wants it scrapped so local stations can scale up to compete with unregulated Big Tech platforms. The National Association of Broadcasters and most large station groups support deregulation, arguing the rule—set by Congress in 2004—has no relevance in a streaming-dominated world.

Trump echoed a weekend Newsmax op-ed by CEO Chris Ruddy claiming that lifting the cap would be “a disaster for conservatives” by creating left-leaning media giants, even though the cap applies only to local station ownership and has no effect on national networks’ cable/streaming reach.

FCC Democrats and public-interest groups immediately praised Trump’s stance, insisting only Congress can change the cap and warning that deregulation would let the administration trade license approvals for favorable coverage. Nexstar fired back Monday morning, saying it “agrees with President Trump that the status quo is unacceptable” but urged modernization so local broadcasters can fight “Big Tech’s stranglehold.”

The clash lands as the FCC’s 2025 quadrennial ownership review heads toward a possible year-end vote, with the national cap, local TV duopoly rules, and radio ownership limits all under active consideration.