FCC Defends Media Ownership Rules Before Eighth Circuit

WASHINGTON, March 19, 2025 – The Federal Communications Commission defended its media ownership rules in federal appeals court in Minnesota on Wednesday. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, a commissioner at the time, had dissented from the 2023 order being challenged.   

Broadcast companies have asked the court to strike down FCC rules that prevent mergers among the top four broadcasters in a given market, on the grounds that competition from other industries is fierce enough that local TV and radio stations need to consolidate to survive. 

“The economics in TV don’t support having more than three independent newsrooms in the vast majority of markets,” Andrew Kilberg, the attorney for the broadcasters, said. “But if they were able to access economies of scale,” he said, “they would have more resources to invest in that.”