New York ? Television stations owned by big, out-of-town companies tend to produce lower-quality newscasts than those owned by smaller groups, a study by a journalism think tank has concluded.

Newscasts at stations owned by large television networks also fared poorly in the study. It was released Sunday by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, affiliated with the Columbia University School of Journalism.

The report comes as the Federal Communications Commission considers relaxing restrictions on the number of TV stations companies can own.

The five-year study, which examined roughly one-quarter of the nation’s local TV stations, gave an “A” grade to only 11 percent of stations owned by the 10 biggest media companies. Thirty-one percent of stations owned by small groups earned the top grade.

“These were really big differences,” project director Tom Rosenstiel said.