FCC Urged To Not Get Involved In Station Network Affiliations

Americans for Tax Reform and 20 other conservative-leaning organizations have told the FCC it should not impose additional regulations on relationships between the big four broadcast networks and their local affiliates.

In a letter, the groups argued that private commercial negotiations between networks and station owners are best left to market forces. Government intervention, they warned, could “distort” media markets and create precedents that future administrations might use to investigate deals they find “politically inconvenient.”

The organizations praised the FCC’s broader effort to reduce regulation across media, broadband and the space economy, saying the agency’s deregulatory agenda removes barriers to investment, innovation and competition. “It is in that spirit that we respectfully urge the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to avoid intervening, either directly or indirectly, in affiliation agreements freely negotiated between broadcast networks and local television station owners,” the letter stated.

Broadcasters, the groups said, are fully capable of deciding whether and when to enter or end affiliation agreements. “The FCC should not substitute its own judgment for that of the market participants themselves.”

They expressed particular concern that affiliation changes could trigger heightened scrutiny during license renewals or other regulatory consequences. License renewal, they argued, should not become a tool for influencing lawful private negotiations or pressuring parties toward government-preferred outcomes.