NAB urges FCC action on ownership, ATSC 3.0 for broadcaster survival
At the 2026 NAB Show, National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) President Curtis LeGeyt argued for updated regulations to help broadcasters compete with streaming services. LeGeyt called on the FCC to modernize television ownership caps to allow for greater scale, resolve the bandwidth constraints of the ATSC 3.0 transition, and address the migration of sports rights to streaming platforms. He positioned these changes as necessary for the survival and growth of local broadcasting, enabling investment in new technologies like AI and better service to local communities.
Key Takeaways
- The NAB is lobbying the FCC to update national and local TV ownership caps, arguing greater scale is needed for investment in technology and local news.
- The ATSC 3.0 rollout, now available to 75% of the US population, is stalled by bandwidth constraints from the mandate to simulcast legacy ATSC 1.0 signals.
- The migration of sports rights to streaming is a key lobbying point; an FCC public inquiry on the matter has already received over 8,000 comments.
- LeGeyt argues consolidation in smaller markets is beneficial, preferring "one or two really robust news operations" to four underperforming ones.
- New technologies like AI are framed as tools to empower journalists, enabling newsrooms to grow rather than continue a "steady decline."
Why It Matters
The NAB's push frames broadcast's challenges as a direct consequence of a regulatory framework that advantages large streaming and tech companies. For streaming platforms, this signals a coordinated effort by broadcasters to use policy to reclaim competitive ground, particularly in the high-value live sports arena. The argument extends beyond rules to the core value of the broadcast ecosystem, which LeGeyt claims serves local communities in ways national streamers cannot replicate. Watch for any FCC statements following its public inquiry on sports rights or new proposals regarding the national television ownership cap.
Read full article at newscaststudio.com