Broadcast television is in trouble. Stations are asking Washington for help

As television station owners gathered in Las Vegas for the annual National Association of Broadcasters convention, they sent an urgent message to Washington that could be summed up in one word—“Help.” Streaming video has siphoned away the traditional viewing audience. Advertisers have shifted their budgets to digital and away from broadcasters. On the horizon, there is fear that streaming will get more of broadcast TV’s last surefire attraction, the NFL, which can exit its media rights deal after the 2029 season. All of this raises the question for the broadcast TV business that has offered news, entertainment and sports to their communities for generations: What will the business look like five years from now, and what can be done to preserve it? Station owners such as Nexstar Media Group, E.W. Scripps and Fox Television Stations say part of the answer has to be consolidation, which would allow them to better withstand the competition from huge tech firms. But longstanding regulations stand in the way. Now, the companies are calling on the Federal Communications Commission, chaired by President Trump appointee Brendan Carr, to lift ownership caps that currently limit them to owning two TV outlets in a single market.