Local radio’s ownership rules must be modernized for survival—not expansion—as stations face steeper competitive pressure than television, which just received FCC relief, according to NAB Radio Board Chair and Beasley Media Group General Counsel Chris Ornelas.
Speaking on NAB’s Airtime podcast, Ornelas said ownership modernization “really isn’t about size for size’s sake. It’s about sustainability. It’s really about survival.”
Local broadcasters compete daily with streaming platforms, digital advertising companies, and social media giants that reach nationwide audiences free of the regulatory constraints imposed on radio.
In 1996, stations mainly competed against other broadcasters. Today they face streaming audio services, podcasts, and satellite radio.
Updated rules would free resources for local investment, Ornelas said, including expanded news and community-affairs programming, new digital platforms, streaming products, podcast initiatives, enhanced local sports and community-event coverage, and modernized studios and infrastructure.
- Markets with 45 or more stations: An entity may own up to 8 stations, with a maximum of 5 in the same service (AM or FM).
- Markets with 30 to 44 stations: An entity may own up to 7 stations, with no more than 4 in the same service.
- Markets with 15 to 29 stations: An entity may own up to 6 stations, with no more than 4 in the same service.
- Markets with 14 or fewer stations: An entity may own up to 5 stations, provided the entity does not own more than 50% of the market's total stations.
- Radio/TV Cross-Ownership: Rules restrict how many radio and television stations an entity can co-own in the same local market depending on the remaining independent media voices.
- Current Status: Major broadcast groups continue to lobby the FCC to relax or eliminate these local caps entirely to help traditional radio compete with digital media giants.