September 8, 2025

The Honorable Brendan Carr
Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
45 L Street, NE
Washington, DC 20554

Dear Chairman Carr:

We, the undersigned conservative, free-market and pro-innovation organizations, write in support of your efforts to reduce government regulation and involvement in the communications sector. Your work to delete rules that are stifling growth and investment in the sectors overseen by the Federal Communications Commission will help unleash a golden age for America’s economy.

It is for that reason that we respectfully urge you to avoid intervening, either directly or indirectly, in the free-market negotiations between broadcast networks and affiliates. Intervention risks de facto rate regulation and other market distortions that would undermine the streak of deregulatory wins that you have championed as FCC chairman.

We share your goals of removing the regulatory shackles that have, for too long, held back the highly regulated communications sector. As you’ve noted, legacy ownership caps on broadcast television and radio operators have discouraged investment in local news. We support your efforts to review and update or remove these rules as necessary. Modernizing media regulations could ensure that government regulation is not an obstacle to broadcasters ability to compete on a level regulatory playing field. Indeed, broadcasters are already availing themselves of this deregulatory environment by exploring new deals and investments.

However, we are concerned about any FCC steps that would open the door to rate regulation or other regulatory interventions in those private sector, business-to-business negotiations. As former Republican Senator Roy Blunt argued in a recent op-ed, “The answer is not to continue burdening more of the modern media environment, but to modernize the regulatory structure itself, relaxing TV ownership limitations so that every player, both digital and traditional, large and small, can compete on fair terms.”

Throughout your career, you have rightfully led the charge against price controls pushed by your Democrat predecessors and Democrats in Congress and the White House. While the FCC under the Obama Administration signaled a desire to intervene in broadcasters’ contract negotiations over programming issues, they stopped short of taking formal regulatory action.

Broadcasters are perfectly capable of deciding whether and when to enter in or end an affiliation agreement with a network. For example, WPLG-TV in Miami ended an affiliation with ABC in 2023, determining that ABC’s terms were not in the broadcaster’s interest. As a result, the station pledged to hire more local talent and expand local news and programming. This follows other examples of stations unaffiliating from networks and continuing to serve local communities, including WJXT in Jacksonville, WHDH in Boston, and KPYX in the San Francisco Bay Area. These and other broadcasters have responded to market forces and consumer demand and have successfully adapted to the outcomes of their market negotiations with networks—all without government involvement.

Conservatives have long understood that free negotiation between private parties more often leads to fair outcomes. Government is best positioned to enforce contracts, not dictate their terms. Under your leadership, the FCC is effectively getting government out of the way across industries— from media and broadband networks to the space economy. We urge you to avoid disrupting that success by avoiding unintended market distortions in the broadcast sector. Thank you for your consideration, and we look forward to continuing to support your pro-growth agenda.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Mazzella
President
Center for Individual Freedom

Bartlett D. Cleland
Executive Director
Innovation Economy Institute

Phil Kerpen
President
American Commitment

Tom Giovanetti
President
Institute for Policy Innovation

Grover Norquist
President
Americans for Tax Reform

Rosemary Becchi
Founder & President
Jersey 1st

Justin Owen
President & CEO
Beacon Center of Tennessee

George Landrith
President
Frontiers of Freedom

Ryan Ellis
President
Center for a Free Economy

Charles Sauer
Founder and President
The Market Institute

Tom Schatz
President
Council for Citizens Against Government Waste

Brandon Arnold
Executive Vice President
National Taxpayers Union

Deborah Collier
Executive Director
Innovation and Technology Policy Center, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste

Daniel J. Erspamer
CEO
Pelican Institute for Public Policy

Jessica Melugin
Director
Center for Technology and Innovation, Competitive Enterprise Institute

Karen Kerrigan
President & CEO
Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council

Matthew Kandrach
President
Consumer Action for a Strong Economy

David Williams
President
Taxpayers Protection Alliance

James Czerniawski
Head of Emerging Technology Policy
Consumer Choice Center

Dr. Edward Longe
Director
Center for Technology and Innovation, The James Madison Institute

James Erwin
Executive Director
Digital Liberty