Section 202(h) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires the Commission to review its ownership rules every 4 years and determine whether any such rules are necessary in the public interest as the result of competition. In 2002, the Commission undertook a comprehensive review of its broadcast multiple and cross-ownership limits examining: Cross-ownership of TV and radio stations; local TV ownership limits; national TV cap; and dual network rule. The Report and Order replaced the newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership and radio and TV rules with a tiered approach based on the number of television stations in a market. In June 2006, the Commission adopted a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking initiating the 2006 review of the broadcast ownership rules. The further notice also sought comment on how to address the issues raised by the Third Circuit. Additional questions are raised for comment in a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. In the Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration, the Commission adopted rule changes regarding newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership, but otherwise generally retained the other broadcast ownership rules currently in effect. For the 2010 quadrennial review, five of the Commission's media rules are the subject of review: The local TV ownership rule; the local radio ownership rule; the newspaper broadcast cross-ownership rule; the radio/TV cross-ownership rule; and the dual network rule.

In the 2014 review, the Commission incorporated the record of the 2010 review, and sought additional data on market conditions and competitive indicators. The Commission also sought comment on whether to eliminate restrictions on newspaper/radio combined ownership and whether to eliminate the radio/television cross-ownership rule in favor of reliance on the local radio rule and the local television rule.