FCC Reopens Big Four Merger Ban

The FCC voted to seek public comment on lifting its decades‑old prohibition on mergers among NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox and on loosening local TV and radio ownership caps. If reversed, two Big Four networks could combine, and single owners could control more top‑four stations in the same market. — Permitting major broadcast consolidation would alter competition and localism in news and entertainment, with downstream effects on media pluralism and civic information.