As the new NFL season begins, the NAB is entering a new season of its own in its push to overhaul radio and TV ownership regulations. On Thursday, the organization launched the next phase of its public awareness campaign, warning about the loss of free live sports.
The NAB argues that current ownership rules and station ownership caps, largely unchanged for decades, are limiting the ability of local stations to compete with global tech platforms that operate without the same public interest obligations.
Since beginning a PSA campaign in February, more than 250,000 radio and television spots have aired across 192 markets, generating over 1 billion impressions. According to NAB, that visibility has sparked significant engagement. Supporters have sent more than 174,000 emails and 34,000 tweets to lawmakers and commissioners, calling for updates to ownership limits.
The new arm of the campaign highlights what NAB describes as a growing risk to consumers: losing access to live sports via free over-the-air broadcasts as streaming platforms like Amazon, Disney, and Netflix acquire sports rights and move them behind paywalls. The first such PSA, “Keep Football Free,” is now available for TV stations.
A national survey conducted in August shows strong support among likely voters for keeping major sports events on local TV. Among likely voters with a firm opinion, 83% said they prefer watching games via broadcast channels, compared to just 17% who favored paid streaming platforms. That preference held steady across party lines, age groups, and geographic regions.
Meanwhile, AM/FM radio remains the leading audio platform for sports fans. For the 2023-2024 season, Westwood One’s NFL broadcasts reached an audience of 64 million. Harker Bos Group’s Crowd React Media found that 56% of sports fans tune in to over-the-air radio for play-by-play commentary, talk shows, and analysis via radio. Among listeners aged 18–39, that number jumps to 67%.
NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt said, “Local stations are serving communities with live sports, trusted local news and life-saving emergency coverage – all available for free to every American. But outdated rules are shackling these stations from growing and innovating at a time when Big Tech operates with limitless scale and zero public interest obligations. Consumers deserve more, not fewer, local journalists on the ground and live sporting events accessible without a subscription. The FCC must act quickly to level the playing field so broadcasters can continue investing in the content communities rely on most.”
Upon taking the lead at the FCC under President Donald Trump, Chairman Brendan Carr swiftly initiated a rulemaking process to revisit, and potentially deregulate, national broadcast ownership limits, known as “Delete, Delete, Delete.” Just one day after Olivia Trusty’s Senate confirmation cemented a Republican FCC majority, Carr launched efforts to review the longstanding 39% national television ownership cap, with the heavy implication that a relaxation of these rules may soon extend to AM/FM restrictions.
