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NSR Policy: FCC Dings Nexstar for Exceeding Ownership Limits but Real Battle Lies Ahead

Last week, the FCC ruled that Nexstar’s relationship with Mission Broadcasting’s WPIX in New York City violated its rules and the national broadcast ownership cap. In this note, we discuss how this decision reflects the priorities of the current FCC, but also broader themes related to the decline of linear television and upcoming changes to both the market and the video regulatory environment.
Underlyings
Alphabet Inc. Class A

Alphabet is a holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the company is engaged in a collection of businesses, which its primary business is Google. The company reports all non-Google businesses collectively as Other Bets. Google's main products and platforms are Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Play, Search, and YouTube. The company also provides advertisers with tools that help them attribute and measure their advertising campaigns. In addition, Other Bets includes Access, Calico, CapitalG, GV, Verily, Waymo, and X, among others. Other Bets primarily engages in the sales of internet and TV services through Access as well as licensing and research and development services through Verily.

Amazon.com Inc.

Amazon.com serves consumers through its online and physical stores. The company also manufactures and sells electronic devices, including Kindle, Fire tablet, Fire TV, Echo, and Ring, and the company develops and produces media content. The company operates customer service centers and provides programs that enable sellers to grow their businesses, sell their products in its stores, and fulfill orders through the company The company serves developers and enterprises of various sizes, including start-ups, government agencies, and academic institutions, through its Amazon Web Services segment, which provides a set of global compute, storage, database, and other service offerings. The company also provides services, such as advertising.

AT&T Inc.

AT&T is a holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the company is a provider of telecommunications, media and technology services. The company's Communications segment provides wireless and wireline telecom, video and broadband services. The company's WarnerMedia segment includes media and entertainment businesses that principally develop, produce and distribute feature films, television content, and other content globally; and operate digital media properties. The company's Latin America segment provides entertainment services in Latin America and wireless services in Mexico. The company's XANDR segment relies on using data from its customer relationships, to develop digital and video advertising that is relevant to consumers.

Charter Communications Inc. Class A

Charter Communications is a holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the company is a cable operator and a broadband communications company providing video, Internet and voice services. The company also provides its mobile service to residential customers. In addition, the company sells video and online advertising inventory to local, regional and national advertising customers and communications and managed solutions to enterprise customers. The company also owns and operates regional sports networks and local sports, news and community channels. The company owns and operates a two-way telecommunications network which passes various households and small and medium businesses across United States.

Comcast Corporation Class A

Comcast is a media and technology company. The company's segments are: Cable Communications, which provides internet, video, voice, and security and automation services in the United States individually and as bundled services at a discounted rate over its cable distribution system to residential and business customers; NBCUniversal, which includes a portfolio of national cable networks that provide a variety of entertainment, news and information, and sports content, regional sports and news networks, international cable networks, and cable television studio production operations; and Sky, which owns a portfolio of pay television channels that provide entertainment, news, sports and movies.

DISH Network Corporation Class A

DISH Network is a holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the company operates two business segments: Pay-TV and Wireless. The company provides pay-TV services under: the DISH? brand, which consists of, among other things, Federal Communications Commission licenses authorizing the company to use direct broadcast satellite and Fixed Satellite Service spectrum, the company's owned and leased satellites, and certain other assets utilized in the company's operations; and the Sling? brand, which consists of, among other things, live-linear streaming over-the-top Internet-based domestic, international and Latino video programming services. In addition, the company invests to acquire certain wireless spectrum licenses and related assets.

Fox Corporation Class B

Nexstar Media Group Inc. Class A

Nexstar Media Group is a television broadcasting and digital media company focused on the acquisition, development and operation of television stations and interactive community websites and digital media services. The stations provide over-the-air programming. This programming includes programs produced by networks with which the stations are affiliated; programs that the stations produce; and first-run and rerun syndicated programs that the stations acquire. The company's digital media businesses provide digital publishing and content management platform, digital video advertising platform, social media advertising platform and other digital media solutions to media publishers and advertisers.

Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. Class A

Sinclair Broadcast Group is a television broadcasting company with using the company's spectrum to bring together content providers, advertisers, and consumers on various platforms. The content, distributed through the company's broadcast platform, consists of programming provided by third-party networks and syndicators, local news, the company's own networks, and other original programming produced by the company The company also distributes its original programming, and owned and operated network, on other third-party platforms. The company operates technical services companies focused on supply and maintenance of broadcast transmission systems as well as research and development for the development of broadcast technology.

T-Mobile US Inc.

T-Mobile US provides mobile communications services, including voice, messaging and data, under its brands, T-Mobile and Metro? by T-Mobile, in the United States, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. The company provides mobile communications services using its 4G Long-Term Evolution network and its 5G technology network. The company also provides various wireless devices, including handsets, tablets and other mobile communication devices, and accessories for sale, as well as financing through Equipment Installment Plans and leasing through JUMP! On Demand?. The company provides reinsurance for handset insurance policies and extended warranty contracts offered to its mobile communications customers.

Verizon Communications Inc.

Verizon Communications is a holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides communications, information and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses and governmental agencies. The company has two reportable segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business). The company's Consumer segment provides consumer-focused wireless and wireline communications services and products under the Verizon brand and through wholesale and other arrangements. The company's Business segment provides, among others, wireless and wireline communications services and products, video and data services, corporate networking solutions, security and managed network services.

Walt Disney Company

Walt Disney is an entertainment company. The company's segments are: Media Networks, which includes domestic cable networks, broadcast television network and domestic television stations, and television production and distribution; Parks, Experiences and Products, which includes theme parks and resorts, and consumer products operations; Studio Entertainment, which includes motion picture production and distribution, music production and distribution, and post-production services; and Direct-to-Consumer and International, which includes international television networks and channels, direct-to-consumer streaming services, and other digital content distribution platforms and services.

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Analysts
Blair Levin

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