❓WHAT HAPPENED: Reports indicate the Senate Commerce Committee is planning a hearing on the national TV ownership cap next month.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The Senate Commerce Committee, broadcasters, pro-business groups, cable and satellite operators, and pro-consumer groups.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The hearing is expected next month, following the FCC’s Public Notice.
💬KEY QUOTE: “The FCC lacks authority to do so,” argue opponents, suggesting only Congress can change the cap.
🎯IMPACT: The debate could affect broadcasters’ competitiveness against digital media giants.
The Senate Commerce Committee, chaired by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), is reportedly planning a hearing next month to discuss the national TV ownership cap.
Newsmax founder and CEO Chris Ruddy, who recently “maxed out” in donations to Senator Cruz, is due to appear before the committee, arguing in favor of cable news giants and against broadcasters in the latter’s attempt to lift the cap, a topic The National Pulse has covered in detail and has expressed editorial perspective on.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) previously issued a Public Notice in July to refresh the record on whether the national ownership cap should be modified, with Trump ally Chairman Brendan Carr overseeing the discussion.
Broadcasters and pro-business advocacy groups favor relaxing or eliminating the cap, arguing that it limits their ability to compete with digital media giants such as YouTube for viewers and advertising revenue.
Ruddy and other cable news giants have been lobbying President Trump in the opposite direction, which, in many cases, could hinder more conservative voices in broadcast media. Their motivations appear linked to their market-dominant positions, rather than the Reaganite legacy they have attempted to invoke.
Ruddy is also believed to have directly approached President Trump on the matter, earning him a sharp rebuke from the Wall Street Journal and MAGA voices in Washington, D.C.
Cruz recently made news after disclosing to donors that President Trump had told him, “F*ck you, Ted!” after Cruz openly opposed his tariff policies and lashed out at Vice President J.D. Vance.
Cruz has previously boasted about his relationship with Ruddy, who maxed out to him in donations in 2023. “Chris is a good friend, and I talk with him frequently,” Cruz told POLITICO in November.
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