Radio is entering 2025 with fewer signals than at any point in recent memory, a casualty of deregulation, consolidation, and shifting audience behavior. For decades, AM and FM stations seemed untouchable. Yet now, licenses are quietly being surrendered, under-performing outlets are going dark, and active service counts are shrinking. This “radio culling” is a reminder that even the most entrenched parts of America’s media ecosystem are vulnerable to technological and regulatory tides. The question is whether US broadcast television — particularly its sprawling low-power and translator sector — might face a similar reckoning before the decade is out. The signs suggest it could. Oversized Infrastructure For A Shrinking Audience As of March 2025, the FCC reports about 1,767 full-power TV stations and 383 Class A stations, along with roughly 1,786 low-power (LPTV) and some 12,000+ translator facilities. That means the vast majority of broadcast transmitters are lower-power signals that either rebroadcast another station or serve very small local audiences — a network architecture designed for an era when antennas dominated distribution for household viewing of television. But the audience has moved. Nielsen’s monthly Gauge tally in August showed that broadcast TV viewing this summer had fallen below 20% of total “television” consumption, while streaming commanded more than twice that share. What was once a cyclical trend is now structural: a nationwide transmission system built for mass reach now serves a shrinking slice of the public. Deregulation And Consolidation Under current FCC leadership, the push to loosen long-standing ownership rules is accelerating. Late last month, the commission voted to seek comment on lifting the ban that prevents mergers among the “Big Four” networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox). Major groups like Nexstar, Sinclair, and Gray are also lobbying to eliminate the 39% national audience cap and ease local-market restrictions. If successful, these changes would accelerate consolidation — where “efficiency” often translates into shuttered transmitters and abandoned signals. |
