By David Shepardson WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) – A group representing broadcast television stations and conservative cable news channel Newsmax will square off on Tuesday over the fate of rules that bar broadcasters from reaching more than 39% of the total number of U.S. TV households, according to testimony seen by Reuters. The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee is holding a hearing on the 85-year-old national television ownership rule. Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy will tell lawmakers that the rule "remains one of the last meaningful protections for competition and diversity in the broadcast and cable ecosystem." National Association of Broadcasters CEO Curtis LeGeyt will tell Congress to lift the cap on broadcasters’ ability to compete for audience, advertising and programming, according to an advance copy of his planned remarks. He will say it is "past time to level the playing field and eliminate this antiquated restriction." LeGeyt says the rules are unfair because Big Tech companies do not face the same restrictions. They also will result in less local journalism, he said, because the cap "restricts the revenue base that supports those investments, especially as advertising shifts to digital platforms that do not fund local reporting." Ruddy argued that "when you raise the national ownership cap, you are effectively saying that two or three corporations should eventually own most or all television stations in America – and by extension, control local news." President Donald Trump on Saturday in a social media post backed a proposed merger between local television station operator Nexstar Media and its smaller rival Tegna, which would require the Federal Communications Commission to lift the 39% cap. Nexstar last year proposed a $3.54 billion acquisition of Tegna to make the combined entity the largest U.S. regional TV station operator. Local media is grappling with falling revenue and subscriber losses because of the popularity of streaming services. FCC Chair Brendan Carr said on X on Saturday after Trump's post that the president was right, arguing that national networks like Comcast and Walt Disney have amassed too much power. "Let’s get it done and bring real competition to them," he said of the merger. FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, a Democrat, said only Congress can lift the national television ownership cap. "That cap reflects Congress’ judgment that excessive concentration threatens competition, localism, and viewpoint diversity," Gomez said on Monday in a speech. "It is not a suggestion. It is the law." Senator Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the Commerce Committee, told Reuters that "raising the ownership cap will only accelerate the consolidation that's already hollowed out local newsrooms." (Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Franklin Paul and Matthew Lewis)
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