Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.

  • The FCC’s Media Bureau announced that June 10 is the effective date for the FCC’s modified broadcast foreign sponsorship identification rules, but the announcement stated that the FCC would delay its enforcement until December 8 to give broadcasters time to comply with the new rules.  In June 2024, the FCC released a Report and Order providing a written certification with standardized language that a broadcaster could use to determine whether those who “lease” program time on their stations are foreign government agents (see our discussion here).  Use of this new form, or another form with comparable language, will be required after December 8.  The 2024 decision also required that, for paid PSAs and other spots that are not for commercial products or services (including issue ads), broadcasters confirm whether their sponsors are representatives of foreign governments.  The verification requirement for buyers of paid PSAs and issue ads is being challenged by the NAB in a court appeal, which does not necessarily stop it from becoming effective.  There was no specific reference in this week’s announcement as to whether enforcement of the requirement for paid PSAs and issues ads is currently effective or whether it, too, is covered by the December 8 compliance deadline.  Check with your counsel for advice on this issue. 
  • Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed “cloture” on the nomination of Olivia Trusty to fill one of the three vacancies on the FCC.  This means that the Senate will vote to end debate on her nomination and likely move to a vote on her nomination.  These votes are expected in the next two weeks, potentially quickly restoring a quorum and establishing a Republican majority on the FCC.
  • The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed a bill which would rescind $1.1 billion in funding that had previously been appropriated to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.  The Senate must now consider that bill before it becomes effective.  Senator Blackburn also introduced the Free Americans from Ideological Reporting (FAIR) Act which, if adopted, would establish into law President Trump’s Executive Order issued last month blocking the CPB from distributing federal funding to PBS and NPR (see our discussion here). 
  • Independent Senators Bernie Sanders and Angus King introduced The End Prescription Drug Ads Now Act proposing to ban ads for prescription drugs in print, broadcast, and online media (see Sanders’ Press Release for more information).  This follows up on the Make American Healthy Again report we noted two weeks ago, making a similar proposal.  Were such a bill ever to become law, we would expect First Amendment challenges (this article on our Broadcast Law Blog just a few years ago shows how the courts look skeptically at laws restricting speech about legal products – in that case, a court decision finding a law mandating price disclosures about prescription drugs to be unconstitutional).
  • The FCC released a Third Report and Order adopting new fee calculation methodology for earth stations.  In the Order, the FCC decided not to create additional earth station fee categories or to expand regulatory fees to non-operational earth stations, as it had proposed in February (see our note about that proposal here).  The FCC also declined to assess regulatory fees on receive-only earth stations because the registration of receive-only earth stations is not an authorization, but rather a record of the existence of an earth station entitled to interference protection. 
  • Reply comments were recently filed responding to the National Association of Broadcasters’ petition for rulemaking asking for a hard deadline for full-power TV stations to complete the transition to the new ATSC 3.0 transmission standard.  As we noted here and here, the NAB proposes that the transition occur in two phases: TV stations in the top 55 markets would be required to transition by February 2028; and TV stations in remaining markets would transition by February 2030.  Commenters were again mixed in their position on the NAB’s petition.  The National Association of Broadcasters, the Society of Broadcast Engineers, ABC, NBC, CBS , and FBC Television Affiliates Associations, and the Advanced Television Broadcasting Alliance repeat their support for a mandatory ATSC 3.0 transition, noting the benefits that it would have for the broadcast industry.  Other commenters, including representatives of the tech industry and several advocacy organizations, urged the FCC not to proceed with a mandatory transition because it conflicts with the deregulatory policies of the Trump Administration and the FCC’s “Delete, Delete, Delete” proceeding (see comments here, here, here, here, here, here, and here).  Public Knowledge and other public interest advocates argued that the FCC should deny the NAB’s petition, claiming that a mandatory ATSC 3.0 transition would cut off marginalized communities from over-the-air broadcast service.  LPTV broadcasters argued (here and here) that LPTV stations should not be subject to a mandatory transition and should be able to use ATSC 1.0, ATSC 3.0, or 5G Broadcast as they determine best suited to serve the local market.
  • The FCC released a Small Entity Compliance Guide for its rules allowing FM booster stations to originate limited amounts of programming.  As we noted here, in November 2024, the FCC adopted rules permitting broadcasters to originate programming on FM boosters for up to three minutes per hour for news, advertising, or other content different than that on the booster’s primary station (see our article providing more details about this permitted service, referred to as “geocasting” or “zonecasting” technology).
  • The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau issued a Notice of Illegal Pirate Radio Broadcasting to an Irvington, New Jersey landowner for allegedly allowing a pirate to broadcast from its property.  The Bureau warned the landowners that the FCC may issue a fine of up to $2,453,218 under the PIRATE Radio Act if the landowner continues to permit pirate radio broadcasting from its property.
  • The Media Bureau entered into a Consent Decree with a Vermont FM station to resolve its investigation into the station’s failure to timely file its license renewal application.  The Bureau found that the station filed its renewal application over one month late, which the station admitted was the result of an inadvertent oversight.  The Consent Decree requires that the station pay $2,250 civil penalty and enter into a compliance plan to ensure that the station’s future renewal applications are timely filed.
  • The Media Bureau affirmed its dismissal of a Florida LPFM construction permit application for the applicant’s failure to provide evidence that it was a nonprofit educational organization incorporated or recognized under Florida state law, which it needed to do to show that it was eligible to be an LPFM station licensee.  The applicant sought reinstatement of the application to provide the missing information.  The Bureau rejected the applicant’s request because the FCC’s LPFM application rules require applicants to be eligible to hold an LPFM license when their applications are originally filed and, from the evidence provided, it appears that state authorities did not recognize the formation of the applicant as being effective until after the application filing deadline.

It was just a few weeks ago when we posted our article talking about how June would bring a Republican majority to the FCC, speculating as to what deregulatory issues would be on the Chairman’s agenda.  Last Wednesday morning, I was on a video call with a broadcaster’s association’s Board of Director, passing along the same message.  Only minutes after I left that call, the news came Republican Commissioner Simington had announced his departure from the FCC effective last Friday.  Shortly thereafter, Commissioner Starks, the Democrat whose planned departure was to have given the Republicans a majority on the FCC, announced that last Friday would also be his departure date.  Suddenly, the FCC had only two Commissioners – one Democrat and one Republican – not even enough for the quorum necessary to do business in the normal course.  So thoughts of quick action on changes to the FCC’s ownership rules or on the many deregulatory Delete, Delete, Delete proposals that have been made seem to be on hold for the moment.  What is likely to happen?

First, it must be remembered that already pending is the nomination of Republican Olivia Trusty to the Commission seat that was vacated when Jessica Rosenworcel left her role as Chair of the FCC upon the change in administration.  Trusty has had a confirmation hearing and was approved by the appropriate Senate committee. All that stands between her and a seat on the FCC is approval by the full Senate – which would then provide the FCC with a quorum and a Republican majority.  But, watch as there could be delays in that confirmation process. 

Continue Reading FCC Loses Two Commissioners and a Quorum – What Does It Mean for Broadcasting?

Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.

  • FCC Commissioners Simington and Starks both announced that they were leaving the FCC as of June 6.  Starks stated at the FCC’s May open meeting that he intended to resign his seat before the FCC’s regular monthly open meeting on June 26 (see our discussion here), Simington had not previously publicly disclosed his intention to leave the FCC.  With their departures, the FCC now has only two Commissioners (Chairman Carr and Commissioner Gomez) until the Senate confirms the appointment of Republican Olivia Trusty.  The FCC requires three Commissioners for a quorum.  While there are some provisions in the FCC’s rules for limited Commission activity without a quorum, with the FCC deadlocked with one Republican (Carr) and one Democratic (Gomez) Commissioner, no action on any controversial items will likely be taken until Trusty is seated. 
  • The FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing its fiscal year 2025 regulatory fees for broadcasters and for those operating earth stations.  The FCC proposes to continue calculating each full-power TV station’s regulatory fee using the population-based methodology in use since 2020.  The FCC proposes adopting a factor of $0.006379 per population served for the full-power TV station regulatory fee, representing roughly a 3% decrease from the prior year ($0.006598).  Radio fees are proposed to change very little from those paid last year.  In February, the FCC proposed expanding regulatory fees to non-operational earth stations (those which have a construction permit but are not yet licensed) and creating additional earth station fee categories beyond the current single fee category of transmit/receive and transmit-only earth stations (see our note on that proposal here).  Since that proceeding remains pending, the FCC is proposing an earth station fee of $2,840 under both its existing and proposed earth station fee methodologies because it may not finalize its proposed changes in time for the fees to be paid by September 30 – the annual deadline for payment of FCC regulatory fees before the October 1 start of the new fiscal year.  Comments and reply comments responding to the NPRM on the fees to be paid by all FCC regulated entities are due July 7 and July 21, respectively. 
  • The FCC released a draft Report and Order proposing to streamline its cable rate regulations, many of which are now obsolete or unworkable due to the end of most cable rate regulation years ago.  The draft NPRM will be considered at the FCC’s regular monthly open meeting on June 26.  If adopted, comment and reply comment dates will be set when the NPRM is published in the Federal Register.
  • The FCC imposed a $2,391,097 fine against a pirate broadcaster for operating an unauthorized radio station in North Miami, Florida.  The FCC found that the pirate operator has been illegally operating his station since at least 2012, has been fined several times and even had his equipment seized, yet continues to operate – the FCC most recently documenting illegal operation on at least 22 days during February and March 2023.  The pirate radio operator now has 30 days to pay the fine or the FCC may refer the case to the U.S. Department of Justice for collection.  The FCC itself cannot sue to collect fines or take actions against individuals who ignore the penalties issued by the FCC under the PIRATE ACT.  Instead, it must rely on the DOJ to enforce such penalties in Court.
  • The FCC’s Media Bureau granted an assignment application permitting a broadcaster to acquire all of the top-4 network affiliated TV stations in the Greenwood-Greenville, MS Designated Market Area (DMA).  The FCC’s Local Television Ownership Rule prohibits the transfer or assignment of a group of top-4 affiliated TV and LPTV stations in the same DMA using multicast channels and/or LPTV stations, subject to certain combinations being allowed where shown to be in the public interest.  Here, the Bureau found that allowing the same broadcaster to own the ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC affiliate in the Greenwood-Greenville DMA (one full power TV station carrying both ABC and Fox and two LPTV stations carrying CBS and NBC) was in the public interest because it would preserve local news and network-affiliated programming services in the market.  The Bureau found that splitting up the market’s top-4 network affiliated stations would lead to viewers losing over-the-air access to their only local source of news and network programming because the market’s geographic, population, and economic characteristics made it unlikely that the market could support independent, top-4 affiliated stations. 
  • The Media Bureau entered into a Consent Decree with a Virginia LPFM station to resolve an investigation into whether the station violated the FCC underwriting rules by broadcasting commercial advertisements which impermissibly promoted for-profit underwriters’ products or services.  LPFM stations operate under the same rules as noncommercial broadcasters, being forbidden from running commercials for for-profit businesses.  But they can run “underwriting” announcements acknowledging sponsors without being promoting those sponsors (e.g., no calls to action, qualitative claims, price information or other purchase incentives).  The Consent Decree also stated that the Bureau examined the unusual relationship between this LPFM station and other LPFM stations that had formed a co-op and hired an agent to sell underwriting and to operate facilities for the stations in the co-op. The FCC’s order did not find any violation in this co-op arrangement, but did warn that it would scrutinize such arrangements carefully in the future.  The Consent Decree requires that the station implement a compliance plan to ensure that future underwriting violations do not occur.  The Bureau noted that while consent decrees involving underwriting rule violations usually require payment of a civil penalty, the Consent Decree did not include one due to the station’s inability to pay.
  • Senator Cruz (R-TX), Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, released the text of the committee’s reconciliation version of the One Big Beautiful Bill, which includes provisions restoring the FCC’s spectrum auction authority that lapsed in 2023.  FCC Chairman Carr released a statement congratulating Senator Cruz for proposing to restore the FCC’s auction authority. In an article on our Broadcast Law Blog, we explained how the lack of auction authority has precluded the FCC from conducting any auctions for new broadcast stations, and noted last week that the FCC’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 anticipates an auction for new FM stations, presupposing that this auction authority will be reinstated. 
  • President Trump submitted his budget proposal to Congress late last week, which included clawing back $1.1 billion of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s funding for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.  Congressman Burchett (R-TN) also announced that he will file legislation to codify President Trump’s Executive Order issued last month blocking the CPB from distributing funding to PBS and NPR (see our discussion here). 
  • Late last week, the Chairs of the California State Senate Energy, Utilities & Communications Committee and the Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Bill Owens, the former Executive Producer of 60 Minutes, and Wendy McMahon, the former President and CEO of CBS News, asking them to testify before their committees regarding Paramount’s proposed settlement of President Trump’s lawsuit against CBS and whether such settlement would be intended to influence FCC approval of its merger with Skydance.  Last Fall, President Trump sued CBS for its supposed deceptive editing of the 60 Minutes interview with then-Vice President Harris which, as we noted here, here, and here, is the basis of a pending news distortion complaint at the FCC.  The letter states that the California State Senate is investigating whether Paramount’s proposed settlement violates California laws against bribery and unfair competition and requests that the former CBS executives voluntarily testify before the committees on whether there were any newsroom staff objections to, or any editorial decisions impacted by, the proposed settlement.  The state senators express concerns that the proposed settlement potentially creates a chilling effect on investigative and political journalism and could damage public trust in news outlets.  As we noted here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, the Paramount-Skydance transfer applications, which are still pending before the FCC, propose that David Ellison acquire a controlling stake in the company and become its Chairman and CEO.
  • The Media Bureau and Office of Managing Director (OMD) reinstated the licenses of two Texas FM stations that they revoked last week due to their failure to pay their delinquent regulatory fees or show that the debts are not owed or should be waived or deferred by responding to the Bureau and OMD’s Order to Pay or to Show Cause issued against the stations in February (see our discussion here and here).  The Bureau and OMD did not provide a reason for reinstating the licenses. 

Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.

  • The FCC sent to Congress its Budget Estimates request for Fiscal Year 2026.  The budget request contains a few specific references to broadcast matters (along with more general information about inflationary increases in fees and proposals for FCC staffing).  Included in the request was a reference to an auction of FM broadcast channels at some point in Fiscal Year 2026 (October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026)(which assumes FCC auction authority is reinstated – see our Broadcast Law Blog article here about the current state of that authority).  The request discussed FCC strategic goals, mentioning that: “The FCC will work to pursue policies that protect free speech and access to information, including efforts to foster media competition and ensuring access to local news sources” and “Ensure broadcasters operate in the public interest to include protecting freedom of expression across traditional and non-traditional media platforms.”  The report also promised to continue to ensure accessibility for all to media platforms and to gather information about foreign adversaries with interests in US media outlets.
  • In connection with gathering information about the media interests of foreign adversaries, the FCC released the full text of its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adopted at is last Open Meeting, mentioned in our last summary of regulatory news.  The NPRM proposes to require certain FCC-regulated entities and auction applicants, including all broadcast licensees and permittees, to file a certification stating if they are owned or controlled by a foreign adversary, which the FCC proposes to mean the Peoples’ Republic of China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela.  This includes proposals not only for reports on ownership interests or other investments by these countries, but also by their citizens.  The FCC made some changes in the final version of the NPRM from the draft it had released several weeks before the meeting, including seeking comment on how to treat individuals holding dual citizenship or multiple citizenships, and whether to adopt different rules for publicly traded companies who may have difficulty in promptly identifying all of their shareholders.  The FCC also added extensive discussion on their authority to ask for this information, perhaps in response to the recent Court decision we discussed on our Blog here, a decision which not only threw out the FCC’s attempt to reimpose Form 395-B, but also stated that the FCC’s authority to impose rules was strictly limited to areas in which Congress had specifically delegated to the FCC the authority to regulate.
  • FCC Commissioner Simington and his Chief of Staff, Gavin Wax, published an article advocating the modernization of the FCC’s media ownership rules.  Simington and Wax state that the rules no longer reflect the current media market dominated by digital streaming platforms, who do not face the same regulatory obstacles as broadcasters and can grow larger and more monopolistic while avoiding basic public interest obligations.  To correct this, they argue that the FCC must reclassify streaming providers as multichannel video programming distributors to regulate them like cable and satellite providers.  They also argue that the FCC must modernize its ownership rules to provide broadcasters with greater flexibility to consolidate and compete through targeted reforms that reflect economic realities – without leaving broadcast transactions entirely unregulated.  They contend that doing so would enable broadcasters to scale, pool capital, and share infrastructure – particularly in rural areas.  Simington and Wax’s article follows their articles earlier this month calling for a DOGE-style reform of the FCC (which we noted here), and proposing that the FCC impose a 30% cap on reverse retransmission fees (which we noted here).
  • FCC Commissioner Gomez continued her “First Amendment Tour to Challenge Government Censorship and Control“ with remarks at an event hosted by Free Press in Los Angeles.  The event also featured comments from Congressman Ruiz (D-CA), member of the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Subcommittee.  Gomez restated her call that the FCC must cease its investigations into broadcasters’ editorial decisions in their newsrooms, and into public broadcasters’ fulfillment of their noncommercial programming obligations, since these investigations are aimed at chilling speech.  Both Gomez and Ruiz also stated that the FCC’s potential roll back of its media ownership rules is part of an effort to manipulate and maintain an independent free press for either corporate or political interests, noting that journalists are an important check on political power in a democracy. 
  • The FCC’s the Enforcement Bureau issued a Notice of Illegal Pirate Radio Broadcasting to Bronx, New York landowners for allegedly allowing a pirate to broadcast from their property.  The Bureau warned the landowners that the FCC may issue a fine of up to $2,453,218 under the PIRATE Radio Act if the landowners continue to permit pirate radio broadcasting from their property after receiving this notice.
  • The Enforcement Bureau issued a Notice of Violation against a Michigan AM station after a site inspection by the Bureau’s field agents revealed that the station’s chief operator failed to maintain Emergency Alert System logs and failed to conduct weekly reviews of the station’s records as required by the FCC’s rules.  The station must now explain to the Bureau how it will correct the rule violations and prevent future violations from occurring. 
  • The FCC’s Media Bureau and Office of Managing Director (OMD) took two actions against broadcasters for failure to pay their regulatory fees:
    • The Bureau and the OMD revoked two Texas FM stations’ licenses due to their failure to pay their delinquent regulatory fees or show that the debts are not owed or should be waived or deferred in response to the Order to Pay or to Show Cause issued against the stations in February, which we discussed here.  The stations have a combined unpaid regulatory fee debt totaling $14,222.60 for fiscal years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2024.  The Bureau and the OMD also noted that the revocation of the stations’ licenses does not relieve them of their debt obligation to the FCC. 
    • The Bureau and the OMD also issued an Order to Pay or to Show Cause against a Tennessee AM station proposing to revoke the station’s license unless, within 60 days, the station pays its delinquent regulatory fees and interest, administrative costs, and penalties, or shows that the debts are not owed or should be waived or deferred.  The station has an unpaid regulatory fee debt totaling $16,752.12 for fiscal years 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.

On our Broadcast Law Blog, we took a look at the upcoming regulatory dates and deadlines in June impacting broadcasters.

Though school may be letting out for many, the FCC does not take a summer recess.  Instead, regulation continues.  Perhaps most importantly, Chairman Carr will have a Republican majority on the FCC for the first time since the change in administration, as Democratic Commissioner Starks has said that he is leaving the Commission before its June meeting.  See our article from earlier in the week for our views on some of the issues that may be prioritized once the Chairman’s majority is in place.  In addition, there are some routine deadlines – including EEO filing deadlines for broadcasters in several states across the country and deadlines for comments or reply comments in a number of rulemaking proceedings.  And there are political windows that open in June, principally for elections that will occur in August.

June 2 is the deadline for radio and television station employment units in Arizona, the District of Columbia, Idaho, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming with five or more full-time employees to upload their Annual EEO Public File Report to their stations’ Online Public Inspection Files.  A station employment unit is a station or cluster of commonly controlled stations serving the same general geographic area having at least one common employee.  For employment units with five or more full-time employees, the annual report covers hiring and employment outreach activities for the prior year.  A link to the uploaded report must also be included on the home page of each station’s website, if the station has a website.  Be timely getting these reports into your station’s OPIF, as even a single late report can lead to FCC fines (see our article here about a recent $26,000 fine for a single late EEO report).

Continue Reading June 2025 Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – Annual EEO Public File Reports, Comment Deadlines, and More

Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.

  • The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected the FCC’s 2024 attempt to reinstate Form 395-B which, had it become effective, would have required broadcasters to annually classify all of their employees by race, gender, and employment position and upload that information to their FCC-hosted online public inspection files.  The Court found that the collection of this data was beyond the statutory authority of the FCC.  The Court said that the general public interest standard set forth in the Communications Act, upon which the FCC relied for its authority to collect the data, merely tells the FCC how to regulate; it does not tell the FCC what it can regulate.  The Court found that as this employee data was not needed to regulate in any of the areas that the FCC was authorized to regulate by the Act, its adoption was not a proper exercise of the FCC’s statutory authority.  On our Broadcast Law Blog, we delved deeper into the Fifth Circuit’s decision and how it may limit the FCC in other areas where it attempts to justify regulation solely by the Communication Act’s public interest standard.
    • In a post on X about the Fifth Circuit’s decision, FCC Chairman Carr cited to his dissent to the FCC’s February 2024 decision to reinstate the Form where he said that the reinstatement “was an unlawful effort to pressure businesses into discriminating based on race & gender.”  FCC Commissioner Gomez also released a statement stating that although she was disappointed in the Court’s decision, she thought that the ruling established that the FCC lacked authority to police private companies’ DEI practices.
  • FCC Commissioner Starks announced at the FCC’s regular monthly Open Meeting that it would be his last monthly meeting as a commissioner.  In March, Starks announced his intent to resign his seat “this spring.”  Starks’ departure will leave the FCC with a 2-1 Republican majority, which may soon increase to 3-1.  Olivia Trusty has been nominated for the third Republican seat and has been approved by the relevant Senate committee, and her confirmation may soon come from the full Senate.  President Trump has not nominated a replacement to fill Starks’ seat.  FCC Commissioners Gomez and Simington released statements thanking Starks for his service and professionalism.  See our Broadcast Law Blog article for our thoughts on what actions we can expect from a Republican-controlled FCC. 
  • At its Open Meeting, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing to require certain FCC-regulated entities and auction applicants, including all broadcast licensees and permittees, to file a certification identifying if they are owned or controlled by a foreign adversary. The final version of the NPRM has not yet been released, but the FCC did issue a news release announcing its action. The draft of the NPRM released in anticipation of this action proposed to define foreign adversaries as the Peoples’ Republic of China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela.  Entities certifying yes would then need to disclose all ownership interests held by a foreign adversary (including interests held by their citizens or companies organized under their laws) of 5% or greater and describe the nature of the foreign adversary’s control.  They would also need to report changes in such interests within 30 days.  The FCC proposes to revoke FCC authorizations for entities filing false or incomplete certifications or for failing to file certifications when required.  For broadcasters, the FCC seeks comment on whether to use the broadcast ownership rules’ attribution criteria for determining a foreign adversary’s attribution to a broadcaster, and whether to make any changes to the existing foreign sponsorship identification rules to require disclosures for programming provided by foreign adversaries. Watch for the release of the final version of the NPRM for any changes from the draft, as well as for the comment deadlines.
  • The FCC’s Media Bureau announced that May 23 was the effective date of the FCC’s modified rules for the use of asymmetric sidebands for digital operations by FM stations.  As we noted here, the FCC released a Report and Order in September 2024 permitting digital FM radio stations to operate at different power levels on their upper and lower digital sidebands.  In that Order, the FCC said that to initiate operations with asymmetric sidebands, a notification of digital FM operations would have to be made using the Form 335-FM.  That form that was just recently approved, leading to this effective date. 
  • The FCC released a Public Notice reminding broadcasters and others that the increases in its application fee became effective May 23, and announcing that Application Fee Filing Guides will be available on the FCC’s website here Though, thus far, no new fee guides have been posted).  The fee increases were approved by the FCC in January, increasing broadcast application fees by an average of more than 17% to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index.  When they were adopted, we provided more details on our Blog about these increases.
  • The Presidential Commission to Make America Healthy Again, created by an Executive Order of the President, released its assessment identifying what it saw as the key drivers behind “the childhood disease crisis.”  Media companies should be aware that the report identified distorted marketing to children of ultra-processed foods (pp. 29-30), the overuse of technology and excess “screen time” (Section Three), and prescription drug advertising (p. 70) among the causes of unhealthy outcomes.  Be alert for regulatory actions which may follow the release of this report. 
  • Committees in the House and Senate held hearings regarding regulation of artificial intelligence use:
    • The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing titled: “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: AI-Generated Deepfakes in 2025.”  The hearing featured testimony from Martina McBride (country music singer), Mitch Glazier (Recording Industry Association of America), Christen Price (National Center on Sexual Exploitation), Justin Brookman (Consumer Reports), and Suzana Carlos (YouTube).  The hearing discussed possible ways to minimize the harms of AI-generated deepfakes, including by passing the No Fakes Act and the Take It Down Act.  The hearing also discussed the role of service providers in removing deepfakes, and concerns for artists about AI-generated content.  A video of the hearing and copies of witness testimony can be found here.
    • The House Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee held a hearing titled: “AI Regulation and the Future of U.S. Leadership.”  The hearing featured testimony from Sean Heather (U.S. Chamber of Commerce), Adam Thierer (R Street Institute), Marc Bhargava (General Catalyst), and Amba Kak (AI Now Institute).  Key lines of questioning included the status of state AI regulations and the U.S.’s AI regulatory approach.  The hearing memo is available here.  A video of the hearing can be found here. 
  • The Media Bureau entered into a Consent Decree with the licensee of three Montana TV translator stations for failing to timely file their license renewal applications and operating without FCC authorization after their licenses had expired.  The Consent Decree requires that the licensee enter into a compliance plan to ensure that future FCC violations will not occur.  Noting that the translators provided essential public safety and weather information to the public by rebroadcasting three network-affiliated TV stations, the Bureau declined to impose a monetary penalty as part of the Consent Decree because doing so could negatively impact the licensee’s ability to operate the locally tax-funded translators.
  • The Media Bureau granted several construction permit applications for new NCE FM and LPFM stations on time-sharing bases because applicants were tied in the FCC’s points system analysis used for resolving conflicts between applications for new noncommercial stations:
    • The Bureau granted two Wisconsin NCE FM station construction permit applications on a time-sharing basis over the objections of one applicant who claimed that it had a superior technical proposal (where its proposed service area and population served are 10% greater than those of the other applicant).  The Bureau rejected that claim because its calculations demonstrated that the objecting applicant would only serve 8.4% more area and only 5.1% more population than the other applicant.  Since the Bureau found that the applicants qualified for the same number of points under the points system analysis, the Bureau ordered the applicants to operate under a time-sharing arrangement where each operates for 12 hours each day on the same channel.
    • The Bureau also granted three Puerto Rico LPFM construction permit applications on a time-sharing basis out of a group of six mutually exclusive applications.  Under the time-sharing arrangement, each applicant was assigned an 8 hour period each day in which to operate, the FCC basing the selection of hours on how long each applicant had an established community presence in their proposed LPFM station’s community of license (the applicant existed as a nonprofit educational organization either physically headquartered or 75% of its board members resided within 10 miles of its proposed station’s transmitter site).  The Bureau assigned the longest established local applicant the 10:00 a.m. to 5:59 p.m. timeslot (its first choice), the second longest applicant the 2:00 a.m. to 9:59 p.m. timeslot (its second choice), and the third longest applicant the 6:00 p.m. to 1:59 a.m. timeslot (the remaining timeslot). 

At Thursday’s FCC monthly open meeting, FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks announced that it would be his last meeting.  In March, he said that he would be departing soon, so the announcement that he would be gone before the FCC’s next scheduled open meeting on June 26 was not a surprise.  But as one of two remaining Democratic FCC Commissioners, even though the nomination of Olivia Trusty as the third Republican Commissioner has not yet been approved by the Senate, this announcement guarantees that Chairman Carr will have a Republican majority in time for next month’s open meeting.  With that majority, what issues affecting broadcasters might be affected?

Probably highest on the list is the broadcast ownership rules.  We noted in our recent article on the ownership rules that the FCC had not yet released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking teeing up the issues that it expected to address in its 2022 Quadrennial Review – even though that review needs to be completed this year so that the 2026 review can begin on time.  As both Chairman Carr and Republican Commissioner Simington have recently been quoted as acknowledging that the current ownership rules are antiquated and in need of change to allow local broadcasters to compete with the plethora of new digital competition, a Republican majority may well make it possible for a proposal for aggressive relaxation of the rules to be advanced soon – something that might not have been possible had the Commission been locked in its partisan deadlock.

Continue Reading A Republican FCC Majority Coming Soon as Commissioner Starks Announces Imminent Departure – What Broadcast Issues May be Affected? 

The FCC’s 2024 decision to reinstate Form 395-B, after its use had been paused for over 20 years, was invalidated this week by a decision of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.  In yet another instance of courts limiting the authority of administrative agencies, the Fifth Circuit judges found that the FCC has no statutory authority to require the filing and public posting of the form requiring broadcasters to report on the race and gender of all of their employees.  In reaching this decision, the Court made clear that the FCC’s authority to regulate “in the public interest” is not an authority that is unlimited, but instead is one that must be grounded in specific duties that the FCC has been given by Congress in the Communications Act.  The Commission cannot impose obligations on broadcasters under the public interest standard simply because a majority of the Commissioners believe that new rules would somehow make broadcast service better – they can only act in areas that Congress specifically said that they can act.  That aspect of the Court’s decision may have a significant impact in assessing the validity of current and future obligations imposed by the FCC on broadcasters.

The FCC’s decision to reinstate the Form 395-B was very controversial.  In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the FCC’s EEO policies were twice struck down by the courts as unconstitutional as they forced hiring based on racial or gender.  The Form 395-B provided the information used by the FCC to make the decisions that the courts found to be discriminatory.  Given the form’s direct relationship with the FCC actions that had been found unconstitutional, after these court decisions, the FCC suspended the use of the form. 

Continue Reading Court Finds FCC Has No Authority to Require EEO Form 395-B – And Narrows Scope of the Public Interest Standard

Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.

  • The FCC’s Media Bureau extended the deadline for TV broadcasters to comply with the audible crawl rule’s until the earlier of May 27, 2026 or until the FCC rules on the National Association of Broadcasters’ petition for rulemaking proposing that broadcast stations be permitted to comply by providing “textual crawls that provide emergency information duplicative or equivalent to the information conveyed by the visual image” (see our previous coverage here, here, and here).  The audible crawl rule requires all commercial and noncommercial full-power TV, Class A TV, LPTV, and TV translator stations to use the station’s secondary audio channel to provide aural descriptions of visual but non-textual emergency information (e.g., weather radar images) broadcast during non-news programming.  This requirement has been consistently delayed since the FCC adopted it in 2013, most recently through May 27, 2025 (see our note here), because no technology yet exists to automatically convert this graphic information into speech.  The Bureau noted that any harm caused by extending the compliance deadline was minimal because the graphic information is generally duplicative of textual information that stations already describe aurally.  The FCC urged broadcasters to make any emergency information accessible to all while the revision of the rule is being considered. 
  • FCC Commissioner Simington appeared in two media interviews this week discussing various FCC matters including the future of broadcast regulation:
    • Simington posted a cable news interview on X in which he stated that there are “too many people regulating broadcast media and micromanaging it to a degree where there’s almost not even predictability over whether a deal will go through or whether a practice will be allowed,” and expressed his support for calls to “DOGE the FCC.”  This follows an article published last week by Simington and his Chief of Staff, Gavin Wax, advocating for DOGE-style reform of the FCC, which we noted here.
    • Simington also appeared on a British podcast in which he discussed various matters regarding broadcast regulation.  On FCC regulation of news distortion, Simington stated that while the FCC should not be “a ministry of truth,” it should step in during limited but important circumstances, such as such the deliberate misrepresentation of a newsworthy event, citing the Center for American Rights’ news distortion complaint against CBS.  On reverse retransmission consent fees, Simington stated that the government must take a serious look into whether they serve the public interest because the fees force broadcasters to choose between disaffiliating and losing access to network programming or staying affiliated and absorbing financial losses that force cuts to their newsrooms (earlier this month we noted Simington’s proposal to cap such fees). 
  • Related to the news distortion complaint against CBS, Senators Markey (D-MA) and Lujan (D-NM) sent FCC Chairman Carr a letter urging him to ensure that the Paramount-Skydance merger is approved through an affirmative vote by the full Commission, as opposed to delegating the matter to the Media Bureau for consideration, given the high-profile nature of the deal and because of the need for transparency because Paramount is considering settling what the letter terms its “frivolous” litigation with President Trump.  The Senators state that the transaction is unique among mergers reviewed by the Commission given the unrelated lawsuit by President Trump against CBS for its supposed deceptive editing of the interview with then-Vice President Harris which, as we noted here, here, and here, is the basis of the news distortion complaint pending with the FCC. As we noted here, here, here, here, here, and here, the Paramount-Skydance transfer applications propose that David Ellison acquire a controlling stake in the company and become its Chairman and CEO.
    • Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez continued her “First Amendment Tour” with a speech to the DC-based Media Institute, expressing concerns that the FCC licensing process is being used for political purposes, alluding to fallout from the CBS investigation in her examples of instances where she thinks that the FCC is stepping on First Amendment freedoms.   
  • The Enforcement Bureau has recently issued several Notices of Violation against tower owners warning them of observed violations of the FCC’s tower rules.  These NOVs were issued after the Bureau’s field agents conducted investigations of the tower sites prompted by complaints about tower lighting outages.  The Bureau issued an NOV against a New York tower owner for failing to comply with the FCC’s rules governing tower lighting and painting, the requirements to notify the FCC regarding tower ownership changes, and the tower lighting observation and outage reporting requirements.  The Bureau also issued an NOV against a California tower owner for failing to provide the FCC with its updated contact information, failing to extend its Notices to Airmen (NOTAM) with the FAA concerning its tower lighting outage (a NOTAM is to be submitted by a tower owner to the FAA when there are tower lighting outages to warn pilots of the potential hazard), and failing to repair that outage.  Last month, the Bureau issued an NOV against another New York tower owner for failing to notify the FCC regarding its acquisition of the tower.  The tower owners must now explain to the Bureau how it will correct their FCC rule violations and prevent future violations from occurring.  These NOVs should put all tower owners on notice that the Bureau is actively investigating tower lighting outage complaints, which can result in the Bureau finding additional FCC rule violations and potentially issuing fines for those violations.  See our Broadcast Law Blog articles here, here, and here for more information about rule violations that led to FCC fines for failing to update the required Antenna Structure Registrations (FCC records of who owns a tower), for not keeping accurate records of the monitoring of tower lights, and for not reporting tower lighting outages. 
  • The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau entered into a Consent Decree with a Floria pirate broadcaster to resolve its investigation of his illegal operations.  In January 2024, the Bureau proposed a $358,665 fine against the individual for its pirate broadcasting.  Due to the individual’s demonstrated inability to pay the fine and because he ceased pirate broadcasting, the fine was reduced by the Consent Decree to a $11,000 civil penalty, but the individual must pay a further penalty of $347,665 if he engages or assists anyone else in pirate broadcasting during the Consent Decree’s 20-year term.
  • Also on pirate radio, the Enforcement Bureau issued a Notice of Illegal Pirate Radio Broadcasting to a Bronx, New York landowner for allegedly allowing a pirate to broadcast from its property.  The Bureau warned the landowner that the FCC may issue a fine of up to $2,453,218 under the PIRATE Radio Act if the landowner continues to permit pirate radio broadcasting from its property after receiving this notice.
  • The Media Bureau granted a Massachusetts LPFM construction permit application over an objection alleging that the applicant did not provide acceptable evidence of its established community presence (meaning that the applicant existed as a nonprofit educational organization for at least two years and was either physically headquartered or 75% of its board members resided within 10 miles of its proposed station’s transmitter site) to qualify for points under the FCC’s point system analysis.  The Bureau found that the applicant’s submission of documentation showing that it was incorporated in Massachusetts and a list of board members’ addresses was acceptable evidence of its established community presence. 

Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.

  • FCC Commissioner Simington and his Chief of Staff, Gavin Wax, published an article advocating for DOGE-style reform of the FCC.  Their article proposes several reforms of the FCC, including streamlining the FCC’s Media Bureau – noting that much of its resources are dedicated to broadcasters, who “continue[] to contract in relevance.” The article suggests that the Media Bureau has exceeded its legal authority by increasingly becoming involved in content regulation and competition policy yet, nevertheless, they reiterate their call for the Media Bureau to investigate reverse retransmission agreements between broadcast stations and networks (we discussed that proposal in our weekly summary last week, here) and broadcaster carriage negotiations with virtual Multichannel Video Programming Distributors.  Simington and Wax also suggest that manual application processing by the Bureau staff be replaced by automated workflows to reduce staffing needs. 
  • A group of 22 Republican Senators, led by Senator Jerry Moran (Kansas) sent a letter to FCC Chairman Carr urging the Commission to move swiftly to modernize the broadcast ownership rules so that broadcasters can better compete against digital media services offered by the big tech companies that now vie for audience, content, and advertising.  The letter suggests that a relaxation of the rules is needed so that broadcasters can survive in the digital age and continue offering the local services that local communities need.  A copy of Moran’s press release and the text of the letter are available on his website here. 
  • Comments were filed responding to the National Association of Broadcasters’ petition for rulemaking asking for a hard deadline for full-power TV stations to complete the transition to the new ATSC 3.0 transmission standard.  As we discussed here, the NAB proposes that the transition occur in two phases: TV stations in the top 55 markets would transition by February 2028; and TV stations in remaining markets would transition by February 2030.  Comments were mixed in their position on the NAB’s petition.  Among the comments filed were those from broadcasters (see here, here, here, and here) and other commenters (see here, here, and here) stating that setting a hard transition deadline is necessary for a smooth and effective transition and urging the FCC to end broadcasters’ obligation to simulcast in ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 because doing so is preventing broadcasters from deploying ATSC 3.0’s full benefits.  Public interest groups and other commenters (see here, here, and here) state that the ATSC 3.0 transition should remain voluntary for broadcasters because a mandatory transition would impose significant and unjustifiable burdens on consumers who would have to absorb new equipment costs, navigate technical complexities, and potentially lose access to free over-the-air television.  If the NAB’s petition is granted, Public Knowledge and other commenters urge the FCC to impose rigorous regulatory oversight of broadcasters to protect consumer privacy and to prevent anticompetitive conduct, which they claim will result from ATSC 3.0 operations due to the standard’s dependance on internet connectivity and data encryption.  Multichannel Video Programmer Distributors (see here and here) urge the FCC to deny the NAB’s petition due to the costs and burdens that the transition would impose on cable and satellite providers without creating any benefits for their subscribers.  The MVPDs also claim that the must carry and retransmission consent rules should not be extended to ATSC 3.0 signals because they are now unconstitutional due to changes in the video marketplace. 
    • At the same time, a consumer interest group submitted a letter to the Senate Commerce Committee urging it to intervene at the FCC to oppose the NAB’s ATSC 3.0 transition petition because mandating ATSC 3.0 tuners in all new television sets would force Americans to pay for a product which consumers have not yet demanded in the free market. They suggest that the ATSC 3.0 transition be voluntary and driven by consumer demand and market forces.
  • The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing titled “Field of Streams: The New Channel Guide for Sports Fans” which examined changes in how Americans watch live professional sports on television, including how traditional over-the-air broadcasts are increasingly supplemented or replaced by streaming platforms.  The hearing featured testimony from Kenny Gersh, Executive Vice President of Media and Business Development, MLB, William Koeing, President of Global Content and Media Distribution, NBA, David Proper, Senior Executive Vice President of Media and International Strategy, NHL, and John Bergmayer, Legal Director, Public Knowledge.  A recording of the hearing can be found here.
  • The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau issued two Notices  of Illegal Pirate Radio Broadcasting against landowners in New York City and Springfield Gardens, New York for allegedly allowing pirates to broadcast from their properties.  The Bureau warned the landowners that the FCC may issue fines of up to $2,453,218 under the PIRATE Radio Act if the FCC determines that the landowners continue to permit pirate radio broadcasting from their properties after receiving this notice.
  • The Media Bureau entered into a Consent Decree with a New York AM station to resolve its investigation resulting from an objection claiming that the station did not comply with its Online Public Inspection File requirements.  The Bureau found that the station failed to timely upload Issues/Programs lists between Q2 2022 and Q4 2024 and its renewal post-filing notification certification, but that it did not violate its political file requirements as it did not receive any political advertising requests during the period investigated. The Consent Decree requires the station to enter into a compliance plan to ensure future compliance with its OPIF requirements.