The number of independent companies that own local television stations affiliated with ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC has fallen by more than half over the past 20 years. What was once a broad field of more than 150 separate owners owning local TV stations across the country has shrunk to roughly 62, according to industry tracking of broadcast groups that produce local news. The change has concentrated control of most local network affiliates in the hands of a few large corporations.
Twenty years ago, in 2006, the local television landscape was already consolidating but remained widely distributed. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 had relaxed earlier ownership limits and triggered a roughly 40 percent drop in independent station owners between 1996 and 2006. Even after that decline, more than 150 independent broadcast groups still operated stations across the country. As late as 2011, about 140 distinct groups were producing local news.
By 2016 the pace had accelerated. Mid-size companies such as Tribune Media, Raycom, and Media General bought smaller family-owned stations and regional competitors. Those same mid-size groups were later acquired by larger firms. The total number of distinct ownership groups fell below 100.
Today the market is dominated by three companies: Nexstar Media Group, Sinclair Broadcast Group, and Gray Television. By 2023, the number of broadcast groups still producing local news had dropped to 62, and further deals have reduced that figure since. Nexstar ranks as the largest local television owner by station count.
The latest wave of consolidation has been enabled by changes in federal rules. For years, Congress and the Federal Communications Commission limited any single company from owning stations that reached more than 39 percent of American households. On August 6, 2026, the FCC voted to eliminate that national audience-reach cap entirely and replace it with case-by-case review of proposed deals. Earlier in 2026, the agency approved Nexstar’s acquisition of Tegna, one of the last remaining mid-major broadcast groups. The transaction gave Nexstar control of more than 250 full-power stations.
With the national ownership limit removed, industry observers expect the few remaining independent network affiliates to be bought by Nexstar, Sinclair, or Gray. Local stations still carry national network programming under affiliation agreements, but they produce their own newscasts, hire their own staff, and sell their own advertising. As ownership concentrates, more of those local decisions move from separate companies to a handful of corporate headquarters.
The shift has already reduced the number of independent voices deciding what local stories to cover and how to cover them. Supporters of the changes argue that larger companies can better compete with streaming services and online platforms for advertising dollars and can sustain local news operations that might otherwise close. Critics note that concentration has been accompanied by shared newscasts, standardized segments, and fewer distinct local newsrooms in many markets. Either way, the ownership map of local ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC stations is far smaller and more concentrated than it was two decades ago, and further shrinkage appears likely.
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