ICLE Brief Finds FCC Should Adopt Comprehensive Broadcast Reform
PORTLAND, Ore. (Nov. 18, 2025) — Longstanding Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules governing broadcast-television ownership caps and retransmission-consent agreements are both in need of reform, but addressing either set of regulations in a piecemeal fashion could exacerbate problems caused by the other, according to a new issue brief from the International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE).
Written by ICLE Senior Scholar Eric Fruits, President Geoffrey A. Manne, and Director of Innovation Policy Kristian Stout, the brief makes the case for the FCC to pursue comprehensive reform of broadcast regulation. The scholars note that the 39% national ownership is clearly outdated in a market dominated by streaming services that can reach 100% of U.S. households. They add that further consolidation could actually help to preserve localism by creating economies of scale, making resource-intensive news production more financially viable.
Broadcast-ownership rules are, however, just one piece of an interconnected regulatory system, the scholars note. Removing the ownership cap while leaving retransmission-consent rules in place could disproportionately amplify broadcasters’ negotiation leverage, leading to higher carriage fees and potential harm to independent networks. An ideal reform package would eliminate both the ownership cap and the retransmission consent/must-carry framework entirely, treating broadcasters like any other content creator and relying on voluntary contracts and copyright.
“The FCC faces a rare opportunity to fix multiple regulatory distortions at once, rather than shuffling problems from one part of the system to another,” Fruits said. “Removing outdated broadcast ownership caps makes economic sense, but doing so without reforming the retransmission-consent framework risks amplifying existing market distortions. The commission should pursue comprehensive reform that allows resources to flow according to consumer demand, rather than regulatory accident.”
The full brief can be downloaded here. To speak with Eric, contact Jim Fellinger at [email protected].
About ICLE
The International Center for Law & Economics is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center working with a roster of more than one-hundred academic affiliates and research centers from around the globe. ICLE scholars promote the use of law and economics methodologies to inform public policy debates.