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Please Watch: 10am ETNewsmax CEO Chris Ruddywill testify before the Senate Commerce Committee chaired by Sen. Ted Cruz. Ruddy will discuss the dangers of FCC plans to change the national TV ownership cap – and the Nexstar merger.

Watch this live on Newsmax and Newsmax2! See More: NewsmaxPlus.com

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40+ GOP Congressmen Urge FCC to Keep TV Ownership Cap

Almost a quarter of Republicans in Congress are urging the Federal Communications Commission not to lift the national television ownership cap, warning that doing so would trigger massive consolidation, undermine local news coverage, and raise costs for consumers.

Last week, Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., led a strongly worded letter signed by 40 colleagues to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr saying they wanted to keep the statutory TV cap that limits networks from reaching more than 39% of U.S. households.

The House letter reminded the FCC that Congress set the cap limiting TV networks and only Congress can make the change.

At least six other members of Congress wrote directly to Carr, telling him they opposed any change to the cap.

The lawmakers also urged the FCC to deny any merger or waiver that would violate the cap or fail to serve the public interest.

This is bad news for the proposed Nexstar-Tegna transaction.

If approved, the liberal-leaning Nexstar would have unprecedented reach to 80% of U.S. households, owning 244 major TV stations across 44 states.

After the merger, Nexstar would own more stations than ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox combined.

Nexstar would also own two to four highly rated TV stations in more than 25 markets — including many swing states and districts.

Conservatives are concerned that the left-leaning Nexstar that carries NewsNation, a cable news channel led by primetime host Chris Cuomo, will not be a neutral player on critical state and federal elections.

“We write to express our strong opposition to any FCC action that would lift or weaken the statutory 39 percent national broadcast television Ownership Cap,” the lawmakers wrote.

“We also urge the Commission to reject any merger or FCC waiver that violates the statutory Cap and fails to serve the public interest.”

The ownership cap, first instituted during the Reagan administration, was later codified by Congress in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and again in 2004.

Lawmakers emphasized that only Congress — not the FCC — has the authority to change the cap.

“President [Ronald] Reagan first instituted the Cap to protect local market television and news from being owned and coordinated by major networks,” the letter stated.

The renewed push comes amid heightened scrutiny of a proposed merger between Nexstar and Tegna, a $6.2 billion deal that would create the largest television station group in the United States.

Supporters argue consolidation is necessary for broadcasters to compete with major technology platforms, while critics say it would dramatically reduce competition and centralize control over local news.

The letter argues that lifting the cap would allow “massive consolidation” across the broadcast industry, giving large station groups greater ability to coordinate local news content.

Several studies show that with the demise of newspapers, Americans get most of their local news from local broadcast TV outlets.

Lawmakers also warned that consolidation would have direct financial consequences for consumers and small businesses.

According to the letter, increased consolidation could drive up retransmission fees paid by cable and satellite providers, costs that are ultimately passed on to consumers through higher monthly bills.

The FCC, the lawmakers noted, was created “to protect localism, competition, and a diversity of voices.” — goals they argue would be undermined by altering the ownership cap.

“Broadcast licenses are a public property and intended to serve local communities and the public interest,” the letter said.

Carr has previously raised concerns about the growing influence of major technology companies over advertising and media distribution, a point acknowledged in the letter.

However, lawmakers cautioned that consolidation within broadcast television is not the answer.

The congressional opposition aligns with public sentiment.

Polling consistently shows that Americans across the political spectrum — including both Republicans and Democrats — oppose further media consolidation and favor policies that protect local ownership and independent voices.

A poll recently conducted by Public Opinion Strategies found that 68% of Republican primary voters oppose the Nexstar merger with only 7% supporting it.

The survey also found that 75% of voters oppose large, national corporate TV groups buying local TV stations.

President Donald Trump previously weighed in on the issue in November, signaling his opposition to removing the television ownership cap.

While he has not reversed that position, Trump last week publicly expressed support for the Nexstar-Tegna merger, a move that has drawn criticism from groups that say the transaction would effectively gut the cap’s protections.

Efforts to lift the cap and the proposed merger face opposition from a broad coalition of organizations including Newsmax, the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the National Religious Broadcasters, One America News Network (OAN), the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), and others.

The lawmakers concluded their letter by urging the FCC to refrain from taking any action on the ownership cap without explicit congressional authorization and to reject policies that undermine the agency’s statutory obligations.

“We advise the Commission not to take any action on the national Ownership Cap without explicit Congressional authorization,” the letter stated, “and not to pursue policies or approvals that undermine Congressional law or the FCC’s obligations to protect localism, competition, and a diversity of voices.”

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