FCC Reconsiders Ban on Big Four TV Networks Being Owned by One Company

The FCC is considering a move that could radically reshape the face of media ownership in the U.S. in the near future, announcing Tuesday it would take a fresh look at a rule that currently prohibits one company from owning more than one of the big four broadcast TV networks.

The rule dates to the 1940s and means that NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox all must be owned by different entities. NBC is currently owned by Comcast, the Walt Disney Company owns ABC, the recently merged Paramount Skydance owns CBS, and the Fox Corporation owns Fox.

The FCC is also considering a different rule that prohibits a single company from owning more than two of the largest TV stations in a given market, as well as rules about radio station ownership. And while these kinds of reviews of rules are mandated to happen every four years, it seems more likely than ever that the FCC could abolish some big ones in the current environment.

Brendan Carr recently gained national attention after he made mobster-like threats against Jimmy Kimmel and local TV stations that air his show Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC. Carr used comments Kimmel made about Charlie Kirk as a pretext for his threats, saying, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.â€

Local TV station groups Sinclair and Nexstar threatened not to air Kimmel’s show, and Disney decided to suspend it. That ban lasted for about a week before Disney relented and let Kimmel back on the air, likely due to public pressure and the roughly 1.7 million paid subscribers Disney streaming channels reportedly lost in a very short time span.

President Donald Trump hasn’t needed to pretend that his hatred of late-night comedians is based on any righteous principle. CBS cancelled Stephen Colbert to appease Trump, which the president celebrated, declaring that Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, and Seth Meyers would be next.

And Carr addressed the widespread public criticism of his fascist nonsense on Tuesday, claiming that he never actually threatened TV networks over Kimmel. That’s bullshit, of course. But Trump’s goons have no problem with lying about things we can all see happening in front of us.

“There was no threat made or suggested that if Jimmy Kimmel didn’t get fired, that someone was going to lose their license,†Carr insisted during a press conference after the FCC meeting on Tuesday.

Carr insisted people didn’t understand the full context of what he said, which, again, is bullshit. Anyone can go watch Benny Johnson’s interview with Carr online. He couldn’t have been clearer.

And even if Carr was somehow correct that his words were taken out of context (they weren’t), his boss, President Trump, has also said things that go even further. For example, Trump recently told reporters on Air Force One that TV networks that criticize Trump should lose their licenses and “they’re not allowed to do that.†Anyone is, in fact, allowed to criticize the president. Will anyone make those criticisms on one of the four big broadcast networks if a Trump crony like Oracle CEO Larry Ellison is allowed to buy them all up? We may find out.