WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - The Federal Communications Commission could accelerate reviews of licenses held by broadcast television stations, agency Chair Brendan Carr told Reuters, as he intensifies efforts to investigate news media companies and faces pressure from President Donald Trump.
"You can do early renewals," said Carr, who spoke with Reuters last week before ramping up threats against broadcasters on Saturday, noting the FCC has a number of investigations into various broadcasters, including NBC, ABC, PBS and NPR.
Asked if he could seek to revoke any broadcast licenses as a result of pending investigations, he said it was possible.
"All of that stuff is on the table," Carr said, adding he thought it would be a "good thing long-term to make sure people understand that there are, in fact, things you can do to lose your license and really help broadcasters reorient their operations to the public interest."
The FCC, an independent federal agency, issues eight-year licenses to individual broadcast stations.
According to the FCC website, the next broadcast licenses come up for renewal in October 2028, but Carr said he could accelerate the reviews.
"The licenses could come up earlier than 2028," he said. "Maybe we would, maybe we wouldn't. They could."
Trump has repeatedly pressured the FCC to revoke the licenses of NBC and ABC stations . Trump said on social media on Sunday he was "thrilled" that Carr is looking at licenses held by some media companies.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Nia Williams)
((David.Shepardson@thomsonreuters.com; 2028988324;))
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