Cable industry groups representing Comcast, Charter, Cox, and other operators have notified the FCC that they will sue over the agency's repeal of the National Television Ownership Rule. That rule limits any single broadcaster from reaching more than 39 percent of U.S. TV households. The cable lobby argues that lifting the cap would give large station groups leverage to demand higher retransmission fees, leading to higher monthly bills for consumers.
The dispute turns on whether the FCC can overturn a limit Congress set in 2004. Cable groups say the statute is unambiguous and the FCC's repeal is arbitrary and capricious. The FCC counters that Congress directed it to set the cap rather than enacting it as a fixed law, and that the agency may modify or repeal the rule outside the quadrennial review process. The repeal order was published October 1 after an unusual delay, and the cable groups have asked the FCC to keep the cap in place while litigation proceeds.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has said that replacing the strict limit with case-by-case merger review will let the agency approve deals that serve the public interest and reject those that do not. Critics, including the media advocacy group Free Press, plan their own lawsuit, arguing that changing the cap requires congressional action and that the move could let politically favored broadcasters expand. The cable groups' petition is largely procedural; they can seek a preliminary injunction once they file in appeals court.