On the heels of NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt’s address at The Media Institute’s 2025 Communications Forum, the NAB has launched a multi-platform campaign urging the FCC to modernize its long-standing local radio ownership regulations.
The campaign includes a website and national advertising directed at policymakers in Washington, DC, along with consumer education efforts encouraging the public to reach out to lawmakers, the White House, and the FCC. The push comes ahead of next week’s NAB State Leadership Conference, where more than 500 broadcasters will travel to Capitol Hill to advocate for ownership rule changes.
The initiative aims to bring decades-old rules in line with today’s competitive media landscape, where broadcasters must compete against Big Tech platforms that operate unrestricted. The FCC’s current ownership regulations limit the number of radio and television stations a broadcaster can own in a single market. For television, ownership is capped at stations reaching 39% of US households, while radio station ownership is restricted per market.
A print ad in the campaign reads, “Washington is still imposing decades-old restrictions on local broadcast stations that were put in place before the internet existed. Local TV and radio stations are not allowed to grow and compete on a level playing field against Big Tech, hurting our investment in local newsrooms and your community. It’s time to modernize broadcast ownership rules and stop giving Big Tech the unfair advantage to control what you see and hear.”
LeGeyt emphasized the need for immediate action, stating, “This campaign underscores the urgent need to modernize outdated FCC ownership regulations that put the future of local TV and radio stations at risk. As trusted sources of news and information, particularly during emergencies, local stations provide a vital service to their communities. Policymakers must act now to ensure broadcasters can continue serving the public effectively, before it’s too late.”
An NAB delegation, including LeGeyt, met with new FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and acting Media Bureau Chief Erin Boone on February 21 to discuss modernization or elimination of outdated local and national broadcast ownership limits. The meeting underscored NAB’s push for regulatory reforms that would enable broadcasters to compete more effectively in an increasingly digital media environment.
