“I don’t want local broadcast TV to go the way of local newspapers. To be sure, big city stations will be fine – the way big city newspapers are fine today. The 39% cap refers to TV households a single TV station group may reach nationally, not to an actual numerical cap on stations owned. The FCC went forward over the objections of Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, who, like DIRECTV and some cable operators, insisted only Congress could raise the cap. (More after paywall)FCC Chairman Brendan Carr at FCC Headquarters on Aug. 6, 2026