Broadcast TV M&A 101: The Big Dance
Davis Herbert, CFA - Co-Head HY Research, Head of Telecom/Media, CreditSights
Ross Hallock, J.D. - Head of U.S. Bond Covenant Data, Covenant Review
Jessica Reiss, J.D. - Head of U.S Loans Research, Covenant Review
Alexander Diaz-Matos, J.D. - Head of Investment Grade Research, Covenant Review
Jason Suh, J.D. - Senior Covenant Analyst, Covenant Review
1 July 2025
Insights into how FCC regulatory changes and M&A demand could reshape the U.S. broadcast TV industry and credit markets.
- Expert Insights into Broadcast TV M&A in 2025: Understand how potential FCC moves to ease ownership caps could unlock a new wave of industry consolidation and reshape the competitive landscape.
- M&A Winners and Losers: Explore which major broadcasters—Nexstar, TEGNA, Gray, Sinclair, Scripps, and more—are best positioned as buyers or sellers, and how shifting valuations impact deal opportunities.
- Regulatory and Antitrust Risks: Learn how evolving FCC and DoJ policies may influence deal structures, market overlaps, and the pace of transformative mergers and station swaps.
- Credit Implications for Investors: Discover how change-of-control and asset sale covenants impact bondholder protections and identify broadcast TV bonds with compelling risk/reward amid M&A activity.
- Strategic Investment Takeaways: Examine why a basket approach to broadcast bonds is favored, which credits have upside, and key trends in consolidation, streaming, and MVPDs shaping U.S. broadcasters.
Executive Summary
- In a joint report from CreditSights and Covenant Review, we take a close look at the broadcast TV M&A landscape, especially with the FCC seemingly ready to remove (or reduce) regulatory guardrails. We assess the assets and station overlaps of each, while also considering covenant considerations, including change-of-control and asset sale provisions.
- FCC ready to move on broadcast TV ownership rules. The FCC has re-opened the comment period on the 2018 NPRM to consider changes to the 39% TV household reach cap, while the Media Bureau has been willingly waiving Big-Four duopolies. Both local and national rules are likely to be alleviated, although we think DoJ anti-trust and the FTC are still risks to consider.
- Everyone talking to everyone. We believe there has been pent-up demand in the broadcast TV space for M&A, since the Biden administration’s tougher stance on consolidation, and the removal of the 39% cap would eliminate a decades-old rule that has limited more transformative deals. Given the rapid change, we think everyone is talking to everyone about mergers, sales, swaps or any other structures.
Relative Value
We think a basket of broadcast TV bonds is worthwhile with M&A backdrop. We remain constructive on the M&A theme for the HY TV sector and believe there is positive event-risk for the issuers under our coverage universe. The M&A potential is significantly overshadowing continued headwinds in the business, including macro weakness for advertising and cord cutting. M&A could go any number of pathways and we believe everyone is talking to everyone. As a result, we think a basket of broadcast bonds is worthwhile in a sector that has positive event risk and no direct tariff impact. Additionally, the MVPD consolidation (Disney+Fubo and perhaps DTV/DISH) could open the door for skinnier, sports-focused broadcast/streaming bundles that could alleviate pay-TV subscriber churn for broadcasters.
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