WASHINGTON—The NAB has released a new nationwide survey of registered voters that finds broad public support for eliminating the national broadcast ownership cap, a restriction that limits how many households a local TV station owner can reach across the country.
In announcing the survey, which was commissioned by the NAB and conducted by Fabrizio Ward, the NAB said the findings show that voters think the cap is unfair and they want government to give local stations a fair chance to compete for advertising and audience against Big Tech platforms, which face no such restrictions.
The survey comes at a time when the Federal Communications Commission is reviewing the ownership caps and broadcasters have announced a number of deals for stations that would require the current rules to be relaxed or eliminated.
“Voters are sending a clear message: the government should not impose arbitrary limits on trusted local broadcasters while Big Tech platforms face no such restrictions,” said NAB president and CEO Curtis LeGeyt. “Ending the arbitrary national ownership cap - which applies to no other form of media - is about fairness and competition, but it’s also about ensuring local stations have the scale they need to invest in strong local journalism, emergency information and service to their communities.”
Bob Ward of Fabrizio Ward added: “These results show broad agreement that local stations should be allowed to compete nationally for advertising. Voters see this as a fairness issue, and they respond to where elected officials stand.”
The NAB described the key findings include:
- Voters see the national ownership cap as unfair by a 38-point margin: 58% of voters say the 39% ownership restriction is unfair, including 33% who say it is very unfair, while just 20% say it is unfair.
- Voters want local broadcasters to compete nationally for advertising by a 42-point margin: 57% say local TV station owners should be able to compete nationally against cable networks and internet streamers rather than the 15% that say they should remain restricted.
- There are clear political consequences for lawmakers: by a margin of 23-points, voters say they are more likely (36%) rather than less likely (13%) to vote for a member of Congress who supports allowing local station owners to compete nationally for advertising. Conversely, by a 24-point margin voters say they are less likely (36%) rather than more likely (12%) to vote for a member of Congress who opposes reform.
- Voters favor a level playing field with Big Tech by a 43-point margin: 52% say government policies should make it easier for local TV stations to compete for advertisers against Big Tech while just 9% think government should make it harder.
- Local TV remains a trusted source of news: 55% of voters express trust in local TV newscasts.
The survey results are available here.
