St. Louis TV: Network Affiliation Move Catches Eye of FCC

FCC Chair Brendan Carr is scrutinizing ABC’s planned switch of its St. Louis affiliate next month, from longtime Sinclair-owned KDNL to Gray Media-operated KMOV, as part of a broader probe into the power balance between major networks and local stations.

Carr has inquired about the change, according to people familiar with the matter. KDNL has carried ABC for more than 30 years. KMOV, already a CBS affiliate, plans to air ABC programming on a smaller digital subchannel with less reach, which could shrink the network’s audience in the market.

The move fits Carr’s more aggressive approach toward big broadcast networks in the second Trump administration compared with prior FCC chairs. It follows similar scrutiny of other affiliation shifts, including one involving Nexstar and Paramount’s CBS. Last year the FCC sought information on whether major networks had gained excessive leverage over local stations and whether affiliation deals were eroding stations’ control over programming and operations.

“This is not the Wild West, or as I like to say, it’s not Nam,” Carr said in a recent interview with Policyband, referring to the Vietnam War. He said he had launched an investigation into recent affiliation switches: “There are some rules of the road.”

The FCC has stated it is “working to constrain the outsized power of national programmers while empowering local TV stations to serve their licensed communities.” 

Broadcasters including Sinclair and Nexstar have argued that the balance of power needs realignment.

Critics view the sudden focus on network-affiliate relations as a way to give local stations freer rein to reject programming from networks such as ABC and NBC, frequent targets of President Trump. “Like so much else, Carr is weaponizing it for policy purposes in a way not done before and, at least arguably, for inappropriate objectives,” said public-interest communications attorney Andrew Schwartzman, according to The Wall Street Journal.

More than 20 conservative and pro-business groups, including the Center for a Free Economy and Americans for Tax Reform, warned Carr in a letter against using affiliation switches and license renewals as a “newfound tool for influencing lawful private negotiations or pressuring market participants to reach outcomes preferred by the government.”

The decision was not retaliation for Sinclair’s brief suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s show last year after remarks about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, people familiar with the matter said. ABC had long been frustrated that KDNL, unlike other major-market affiliates, produced no local news; Gray’s KMOV does. Sinclair remains in talks with Disney over its other ABC stations that carry local news.