The Federal Communications Commission has opened an inquiry into NBCUniversal and its parent company, Comcast, over their handling of local broadcast television affiliate stations, according to a letter from commission chair Brendan Carr.

The letter, dated Tuesday and released publicly Wednesday, was addressed to Comcast CEO Brian Roberts. In it, Carr, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, said he had directed the FCC’s Media Bureau to conduct the inquiry to “ensure compliance with FCC regulations as well as the public interest standard.”

“FCC has an interest in and the authority to promote the public interest and to ensure that local broadcast TV stations retain the economic and operational independence necessary to meet their public interest obligations,” Carr wrote.

“I want to ensure that Comcast’s relationships with local broadcast TV stations comply with all of the relevant federal regulations — again, regulations designed to ensure that local stations meet their public interest obligations,” Carr wrote.

Carr added that the inquiry came amid reports that large networks like NBC and others were attempting to “extract onerous financial and operational concessions from local broadcast TV stations” during negotiations with their affiliates. As part of the inquiry, Carr said he has directed the commission to obtain and review the affiliation agreements Philadelphia-based Comcast and NBC have with local broadcasters.

In a statement, Comcast said it had received the inquiry and would “cooperate with them to answer their questions.”

“We are proud that for many decades we have supported local broadcast TV stations with world-class sports and entertainment, enabling them to drive viewership in a media environment that has grown increasingly competitive,” the company said. “Local stations are a critical part of Americans’ lives as a trusted source for news and life-saving weather information, and we will continue to invest heavily in this partnership to keep the broadcast business strong.”

Carr has long focused on the relationships national networks have with their local stations. In an April news conference, Carr discussed his approach, saying that “affiliation agreements potentially are being used to exercise potentially too much control over local broadcasters.”

“We don’t want local broadcasters to ultimately go the way of newspapers,” Carr said. “When you look at the current dynamic, I’m not sure it’s entirely healthy. I want strong local broadcasters that feel empowered to serve their local communities.”

The inquiry is the second time the FCC has targeted Comcast this year. The commission launched an investigation into Comcast’s diversity, equity, and inclusion practices in February.

Carr’s letter regarding that investigation said that the commission hoped to ensure that Comcast was “not promoting invidious forms of discrimination.” In April, the company told The Inquirer it was “making certain changes to reinforce our long-standing commitment to equal opportunity for all.”

This week’s FCC inquiry is not the first of its kind from Carr. In December, he penned a similar letter to Disney CEO Robert Iger regarding ABC’s negotiations with local stations and later launched an investigation into that company’s DEI programs, similar to the earlier Comcast probe.

The new inquiry into Comcast comes following the FCC’s approval last week of the $8 billion merger between Skydance Media and CBS owner Paramount Global. As part of that approval, Skydance agreed to not create DEI initiatives and committed to ensuring that “CBS’s reporting will be fair, unbiased, and fact-based,” according to an FCC statement on the merger’s approval.

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