FCC Establishes Television Ownership Limit of Three Stations to Prevent Media Monopoly Concentration

The Federal Communications Commission imposes the first national ownership restrictions for television stations at the dawn of the television industry, limiting any single entity from owning, operating, or controlling more than three television stations nationwide. The rule implements the FCC’s longstanding policy of “diversification” to prevent monopoly concentration and preserve competition in the broadcast media, based on Congressional mandate to prevent communications monopolies and ensure diverse viewpoints reach the American public.

The three-station ownership limit reflects the FCC’s determination that television broadcasting, using publicly-owned spectrum frequencies, must serve democratic discourse and community interests rather than enabling corporate media monopolies. The Commission establishes that concentration of station ownership threatens both economic competition and the diversity of information and viewpoints available to the public, making ownership limits essential to fulfilling the Communications Act’s “public interest” mandate.

The ownership limit is progressively relaxed through subsequent FCC decisions reflecting growing industry lobbying power: increased to five stations (early 1950s); expanded to seven stations with no more than five VHF (1953); raised to twelve stations with 25% national audience cap (1984); increased to 35% national audience reach (1996 Telecommunications Act); and effectively eliminated through subsequent deregulation allowing single corporations to own hundreds of stations. The strict three-station limit demonstrates the FCC’s original commitment to preventing media monopoly, while its systematic dismantling reveals how sustained corporate lobbying and regulatory capture can eliminate protective regulations even while the underlying legal framework (Communications Act) remains in force.

The restrictive ownership rules contribute to a more diverse and competitive television landscape during the industry’s formative decades (1941-1980s), but their removal enables unprecedented media consolidation: by 2017, six corporations control 90% of American media. The DuMont Television Network’s shutdown (1956) partially resulted from these ownership limits preventing the network and Paramount Pictures from acquiring additional stations, illustrating how the rules actively prevented monopoly concentration before their systematic weakening.