Nexstar orders stations to run news stories about FCC deregulation efforts

Nexstar Media Group has ordered most of its 160-plus local television stations to air segments during local newscasts that ultimately encourage viewers to contact the Federal Communications Commission with demands for broadcast ownership deregulation. The stories highlight efforts by the FCC and its Chairman, Brendan Carr, to introduce deregulation efforts over the coming months, and specifically an initiative called “Delete, Delete, Delete,” through which the agency intends to heavily modify or eliminate some of its more onerous rules. Broadcasters like Nexstar have long advocated for the FCC to lift or eliminate a restriction that limits the number of licensed TV stations its may own at one time—currently, broadcasters are not allowed to directly own a collection of TV stations that reach more than 39 percent of the American TV audience. Most of the segments airing on Nexstar-owned stations do not include a mention of the FCC’s broadcast ownership rules, but they end with the mention of a weblink that resolves to a Nexstar-owned website that includes pre-written social media posts.