Cable industry groups plan to sue the Trump FCC over its repeal of the 39 percent national TV ownership cap, arguing Congress fixed the limit in the 2004 Consolidated Appropriations Act and only the FCC could have changed it through quadrennial reviews. The FCC contends it retains authority to modify or eliminate the cap outside that review process.
<p>Cable lobby groups notified the Federal Communications Commission that they will sue the agency to block its controversial repeal of the National Television Ownership Rule, which limits the number of broadcast TV stations a single company may own.</p>
<p>The cable groups said that larger broadcast TV station groups will have leverage to demand higher retransmission fees from TV providers, resulting in "higher monthly TV bills for consumers." They said the FCC repeal order "arbitrarily and capriciously ignores the harms that will surely follow from allowing broadcast station groups to exceed the National Cap."</p>
<p>The cable lobby groups represent top providers Comcast, Charter, and various other cable operators. Top cable companies have also expanded through mergers. Charter <a href="https://corporate.charter.com/newsroom/charter-and-cox-communications-complete-transaction">completed</a> a <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/03/fcc-lets-charter-buy-cox-says-no-reason-to-worry-about-higher-internet-prices/">purchase of Cox</a> in August after the FCC rejected <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/1118228420012/1">protests</a> by advocacy groups that said the cable deal "would create unchecked gatekeeper power over Internet distribution" and make it easier for the biggest cable companies to raise prices.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/10/cable-lobby-to-sue-trump-fcc-over-repeal-of-national-tv-ownership-cap/">Read full article</a></p>
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# Cable lobby to sue Trump FCC over repeal of national TV ownership cap
Source: [https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/10/cable-lobby-to-sue-trump-fcc-over-repeal-of-national-tv-ownership-cap/](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/10/cable-lobby-to-sue-trump-fcc-over-repeal-of-national-tv-ownership-cap/)
The cable groups’ filing said the FCC repeal of the TV ownership cap violates the 2004 action by US lawmakers\. The decision by Congress to set the cap at a precise numerical threshold was unambiguous, the filing said\.
“Congress established the National Cap at 39 percent in the 2004 CAA \[Consolidated Appropriations Act\]*in direct response to the FCC’s attempt to aggressively raise the Cap to 45 percent*and made repeated references to the 39 percent Cap in the statute,” the petition said\.
The petition to the FCC is mainly a procedural step as the commission isn’t likely to stay its own order\. The cable groups said they intend to sue the commission in a US appeals court once the FCC order is published in the Federal Register\. After the lawsuit is filed, they can ask the court to issue a preliminary injunction that would keep the TV ownership cap in place pending the outcome of litigation\.
The filing was submitted by cable industry groups that represent providers in Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, and the six New England states\. The state and regional groups represent large and small cable companies, including the nation’s biggest cable operators Comcast, Charter, and Cox\.
## FCC says it can change or eliminate rule
The FCC order published last week said that although Congress chose the 39 percent limit, the law set the limit by “directing the Commission to modify its rules rather than by enacting a fixed cap into law\.” The FCC argues it “has the authority and obligation to reexamine the national cap rule in response to changing circumstances and to modify or repeal it if it no longer serves the public interest\.”
While the 2004 law states the FCC cannot repeal or modify the cap during its quadrennial reviews of media rules, the FCC argues it can eliminate the cap if it does so outside the quadrennial review process\. The law “simply separates the Commission’s decisions to review the national cap from the statutorily mandated review of other media ownership rules that are to occur every four years,” the FCC said\.
The FCC voted 2–1 to eliminate the national TV ownership cap of 39 percent, claiming authority to override a limit set by Congress. The decision will allow case-by-case merger review and is expected to enable larger broadcast consolidation, drawing lawsuits from advocacy groups.
The FCC plans to repeal the 39% national TV ownership cap, replacing it with case-by-case reviews, a move criticized as benefiting large broadcasters and potentially harming local news.
Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay argues the FCC lacks authority to repeal the 39% TV ownership cap, which was written into law by Congress, as the Trump FCC moves to eliminate the rule.
The NCTA cable lobby is petitioning the FCC for an expedited waiver of its ban on foreign-made routers, citing unavoidable supply chain shortages in memory and substrate materials that could disrupt broadband service for millions of Americans. The FCC previously granted a similar one-year waiver to AT&T's suppliers, and NCTA argues its members are in the same situation.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr proposes eliminating the national broadcast ownership cap, arguing that streaming and social media make it obsolete, while critics warn it could harm local journalism and reduce competition.