In January, the FCC made public its plans to open a window for the filing of applications for new FM translators in the “reserved band” – between 88.1 and 91.9 – to be operated by licensees of noncommercial stations (see our article here).  When the Commission approved this window at its February regular monthly open meeting, it announced that the Media Bureau would consider whether to implement a 10-application limit for any company seeking construction permits in this window, and it would adopt other eligibility criteria.  This past week, the Media Bureau issued a Public Notice setting out those eligibility criteria. 

In its Public Notice, the Bureau indeed adopted the 10-application limit.  While some parties suggested a higher limit – especially for applications outside of major markets – the Bureau concluded that the 10-application limit worked best to avoid speculation in translator permits and concluded that this limit would ensure a manageable number of applications for the Bureau to process.  The Bureau also adopted lower caps on any translators to be paired with LPFM stations – adopting a four-application cap on translators for Tribal LPFM applicants and a two-application cap on applications for all other LPFM applicants.

Continue Reading FCC’s Media Bureau Sets the Eligibility Rules for Upcoming NCE Translator Filing Window

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 released a Public Notice reminding broadcasters that new foreign government sponsored programming identification requirements take effect on June 7.  The FCC released a Report and Order in June 2024 providing broadcasters with standardized certification language to document their already required determinations of whether those who “lease” program time on their stations are foreign governments or their agents.  The Public Notice confirms that this standardized certification language must be used for any new program contracts or renewals of existing agreements after that date.  The June 2024 Order also required that broadcasters verify whether sponsors of ads that are not for commercial products or services are foreign governments or their agents unless those ads come from political candidates whose ads cannot be censored (see our articles here, here, and here).  This would include issue ads and paid PSAs.  The Bureau suspended compliance with this aspect of the 2024 decision for 2 years or until further notice so the FCC can review the public benefits of extending the rules to these ads.  But the Bureau stated that, if a station has actual knowledge that such an ad was provided by a foreign governmental entity, then the enhanced sponsorship identification and online public file obligations required for any program sponsored by a foreign government or its agents are required.  See the article on our Broadcast Law Blog for more on this week’s Public Notice.
  • The Media Bureau released a Public Notice reminding broadcasters of their public interest obligations.  The Bureau stated that broadcasters are public trustees of radio spectrum and must provide programming responsive to the needs and interest of their local communities, and that it can take appropriate action against broadcasters who fail to serve the public interest – including by enforcement action, granting a renewal application with conditions and/or on a short-term basis, requiring stations to file early renewals, or designating an application for hearing.  The Notice stated that the FCC will engage in a “robust review” of applications to ensure broadcasters’ compliance with their public interest obligations and encouraged broadcasters to review and modify their operations to ensure compliance with FCC rules and policies.  The Notice concluded that the FCC would exercise its authority to ensure that broadcasters either fulfill their public interest obligations or it will “provide the privilege of being a broadcast licensee to someone else that will fulfill that duty.”  While no new rules or policies were outlined in this Notice, the release of this Notice one year before the next license renewal cycle begins, and soon after the FCC called for early license renewals from a number of stations, suggests that broadcasters need to heed this warning.
    • The FCC issued Public Notices concerning the license renewal applications from Bridge News and Disney ABC, which the FCC had ordered to be filed early.  These notices discuss the FCC’s next steps in processing those applications.  As we noted last week, Bridge News has asked for reconsideration of the order requiring the early renewals, arguing that the order was not justified by prior FCC precedent.  In the Disney ABC renewal applications, it stated that the applications were filed “under protest” as the call for an early renewal was not supported by FCC precedent and raised many other legal concerns. 
  • The Media Bureau released a Public Notice announcing the adoption of an application limit and eligibility restrictions for the upcoming noncommercial reserved band filing window.  In February, the FCC released a Public Notice announcing its plans to open a filing window in 2026 for new noncommercial FM translator stations in the reserved band (Channels 201-220 – 88.1 through 91.9 MHz) and proposing an application limit and eligibility restrictions (see our article here and note here).  This week’s Public Notice confirmed that applicants must be the licensee or permittee of an existing noncommercial AM or FM station or an LPFM station that the proposed translator will rebroadcast.  Applicants will be limited to 10 applications nationwide, except that Tribal LPFM applicants would be limited to 4 applications and all other LPFM applicants would be limited to 2 applications.  The Bureau also imposed a 4-year holding period – meaning that any translator granted from this window cannot change its primary station or be assigned to an entity (except where both the primary station and the translator are sold together to a single buyer) until the translator has operated for 4 years. 
  • The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau issued Notices of Violation against two commonly owned Illinois AM and FM stations after the Bureau’s inspection of its stations’ towers revealed FCC rule violations.  The Bureau found that the FM station’s tower was not equipped with the required white obstruction lighting and the station failed to update the FCC regarding the tower’s ownership.  The Bureau also found that the paint on AM station’s tower was faded and lacked the required lighting and the station failed to register the structure with the FCC.  The stations must now explain to the Bureau how they will correct their violations and prevent future violations from occurring.  Based on the stations’ responses, the Bureau will consider whether these stations will be subject to penalties for their alleged violations.

On our Broadcast Law Blog, we took a look at the June regulatory dates and deadlines affecting broadcasters including annual EEO public file reports in several states, comment dates in a number of FCC proceedings (including on annual regulatory fees, auction rules for an upcoming FM auction, modification of the TV audible crawl rule, and TV parental ratings systems) – plus the opening of a number of Lowest Unit Charge windows for primary elections in July and August.

This week, the FCC’s Media Bureau released a Public Notice to remind broadcasters that new foreign sponsorship identification requirements go into effect June 7, 2026.  These rules clarify the existing obligations of broadcasters to determine whether buyers of program time on a station are foreign governments or their representatives.  The obligation to get certifications from buyers of program time  as to whether they are foreign governments or their agents has actually have been in effect since 2022 (see our article here).  The June 7 effective date applies to a new method of compliance with the verification obligation, adopted by a Commission Order in 2024.  The 2024 Order also extended this certification obligation beyond leased program time, to cover commercial advertising on a station except for ads for commercial products or services and ads for political candidates (see our article here).  In other words, ads for Tide or Coca-Cola or by the John Smith for Congress official campaign committee are not subject to the rule, but ads that are not for commercial products and services or by political candidates are subject to the rule – including political issue ads and paid PSAs.  However, this week’s Public Notice put on hold the extension of the certification obligation to spot time while the Commission reassesses the costs and benefits of that requirement, except where the station has “actual knowledge” that the spots were provided by a foreign governmental entity.

This is a convoluted set of requirements, so let’s break it down.

As background, in 2021, the FCC adopted rules requiring broadcasters to determine whether any party “leasing” programming is a foreign government or an agent of a foreign government (a “foreign government entity”).  Broadcasters must also assure themselves that these foreign government entities have not paid for the furnishing of that time anywhere in the program’s production chain.  These rules became effective in March 2022.  Since then, broadcasters have been obligated to determine if buyers of program time are foreign government entities.  The FCC required that broadcasters obtain written certifications from program buyers as to whether or not they were representatives of foreign governments, but it did not specify the form of those certifications. 

Continue Reading FCC Announces Effective Date of New Certifications from Buyers of Program Time to Identify Foreign Government Sponsored Programming, But Puts Other Obligations on Hold

Though school may be letting out for many, the FCC does not take a summer recess.  Instead, regulation continues with the filing of Annual EEO Public File Reports due for some broadcasters on June 1.  There are also several other regulatory and comment deadlines coming up this June, including the deadline for all commercial full power TV, Class A TV, and AM and FM radio stations to begin complying with the FCC’s new foreign sponsorship identification requirements (with some exceptions), and comment deadlines in the FCC’s proceedings concerning its fiscal year 2026 regulatory fees, next year’s auction of vacant FM allotments, and the TV Parental Guidelines ratings system.  And there are political windows that open in June for elections that will occur in July and August. 

June 1 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 (OPIFs).  A station employment unit is a station or cluster of commonly controlled stations serving the same general geographic area with 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 $26,000 fine for a single late EEO report).  Note that, for radio stations in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia, this EEO Report will be one of the two assessed by the FCC in its review of their license renewal applications that will be due by June 1, 2027 – the start of a new license renewal cycle for radio and, a year later, for TV. 

The filing of the Annual EEO Public File Reports by TV station employment units with five or more employees triggers a Mid-Term EEO Review that analyzes the last two Annual Reports for compliance with the FCC’s EEO requirements.  The Mid-Term EEO Review begins June 1 for these larger TV station employment units in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming subject to this review.  See our articles here and here on broadcasters’ Mid-Term EEO Review reporting requirements.

Continue Reading June 2026 Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – Foreign Sponsorship Identification Requirements Compliance Deadline, Annual EEO Public File Reports, Comment Deadlines, Political Windows, 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 language of the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, which would mandate the inclusion of AM radios in all cars sold in the United States, has been added by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce to the pending surface transportation reauthorization legislation.  Attaching the bill on AM radio to the larger legislation reauthorizing funds for surface transportation increases the chances that the AM radio mandate could pass Congress this year.  The NAB issued a statement applauding the action as essential for public safety, while the CEO of the Consumer Technology Association posted on X his opposition saying that the mandate would raise the cost of cars and stifle innovation.   We wrote more about the provisions of AM bill on our Broadcast Law Blog, here and here. 
  • The FCC’s Media Bureau provided guidelines for processing broadcast applications filed while a “remedial foreign ownership petition” is pending.  Section 310(b) of the Communications Act prohibits foreign entities, individuals, and governments from holding ownership interests of more than 20% in an FCC licensee and more than 25% in a U.S. entity directly or indirectly controlling an FCC licensee.  When a broadcast company, through no fault of its own, exceeds the 25% limit, the FCC provides broadcasters with a safe harbor to avoid enforcement penalties by allowing them to either remedy their foreign ownership noncompliance (by, for instance, redeeming the foreign ownership interest) or to seek retroactive FCC approval of the foreign interest through a “remedial petition.”  While a remedial petition is pending, under the new guidelines, applications related to a station’s ongoing operations (including STA requests and minor modification applications) will generally be processed as normal.  Applications for transfers of control and assignments of license will also be processed but any grant may be conditioned on, for instance, minimizing the unapproved foreign interest holder’s involvement in the stations while the petition is pending.  The Bureau generally will not process applications for new broadcast authorizations (including applications for a new station, licenses to cover competed construction permits, and license renewals) until the petition has been granted.  For more on the background of this action, and on what it does and does not cover, see this article on our Broadcast Law Blog.
  • The Media Bureau announced that comments and reply comments are due June 22 and July 6, respectively, on Disney/ABC’s Petition for Declaratory Ruling concerning the status of “The View” as a bona fide news interview program exempt from the FCC’s equal opportunity rules.  As we noted here, Disney/ABC contended that it was unprecedented for the Bureau to order a licensee to file a Petition for Declaratory Ruling, particularly as ABC received a ruling from Bureau in 2002 that “The View” was exempt from the equal time rules.  Disney/ABC also questioned the validity of the Bureau’s January Public Notice (which we discussed here), contending that the Bureau cannot change 40 years of FCC precedent holding that, even without an explicit FCC declaratory ruling, regularly scheduled interview programs controlled by a licensee and regularly featuring newsmakers are exempt from the equal time rules.  The Bureau seeks comment on several matters, including whether “The View” qualifies as a bona fide news interview program and whether its programming decisions are politically motivated, and the broader question as to whether the equal opportunity rules can still be applied consistent with First Amendment principles. 
  • The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordered the FCC to respond within 30 days to a petition for writ of mandamus asking that the Court order the FCC to act on a November 2025 petition seeking repeal of the FCC’s news distortion policy its petition because, it is argued, it has become apparent that FCC Chairman Carr does not intend to act on it. The November petition, as we noted here, was filed by a number of former FCC chairs, commissioners, staff, and public interest groups, arguing that the policy should be repealed as being inconsistent with the First Amendment both because the FCC appears to be using it to suppress viewpoints critical of President Trump (see our note here) and because, more broadly, the policy cannot be applied without embroiling the FCC in prohibited content-based decision making. 
  • The licensee of numerous Class A, LPTV, and TV translator stations filed a petition for reconsideration of the Media Bureau’s April Order requiring it to file by May 27 license renewal applications for all of its stations – years before those applications would ordinarily be due.  The FCC, after an investigation of whether the licensee had engaged in an unauthorized transfer of control, claimed that the early renewals were needed because “additional actions” were warranted so it could assess whether the licensee was operating in the public interest.  The licensee, it its Petition for Reconsideration, made several arguments including that no “additional actions” were needed as the Bureau had the information to resolve the issue as the purported unauthorized changes in ownership were simply a clerical error in some FCC filings that the licensee itself had brought to the FCC’s attention and corrected; that even had an unauthorized transfer occurred, FCC policy was that a fine should be the only penalty (which it was prepared to pay as part of a consent decree being negotiated with the Media Bureau when the Order demanding the early renewals was released); that FCC precedent makes clear that demanding early renewals requires a “compelling reason” and cannot be invoked except when there is no other way to assess a licensee’s conduct (not necessary here as the licensee’s purported misconduct had already been investigated, admitted, and explained); and that the Media Bureau did not have the power to require this early filing (only the full Commission could take this extraordinary action).
  • The FCC announced that June 18 is the effective date of its March Report and Order updating and clarifying several broadcast rules.  These changes include conforming rules to current licensing systems (including replacing outdated CDBS application form references with those currently used in LMS); eliminating outdated and obsolete requirements (including post-incentive auction digital transition notification requirements; the rule requiring a 20% increase in AM station power for processing a power increase application, and the rule restricting Special Temporary Authorizations for technical and equipment problems to 90 days when other STAs can be granted for up to 180 days); modifying its application signatory rules to allow corporate directors and duly authorized employees of corporations, partnerships, unincorporated associations, or government entities to certify applications; and revising several broadcast rules for clarity (including clarifying when stations’ local public notice obligations are triggered for their applications).
  • The FCC released a Report and Order streamlining Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) filing obligations, which are voluntary for broadcasters.  While under FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel, the FCC proposed requiring TV and radio stations to report their operating status during disasters in the FCC’s DIRS database (see our note here), the Order does not require broadcasters to file DIRS reports.  The FCC instead adopted a “one-click” filing option to reduce all DIRS participants’ filing burdens. 
  • The Media Bureau entered into a Consent Decree with the licensee of a Pennsylvania TV station to resolve questions raised by its pending license renewal application.  The issues centered on the station’s Online Public Inspection File (OPIF).  The Bureau found that 12 Quarterly Issues/Programs Lists, 14 Commercial Limits Certifications (certifying as to compliance with the limits on commercials in children’s programming), and 11 Children’s Television Programming Reports were missing from the station’s OPIF or were uploaded late, and these issues were not accurately disclosed in the renewal application.  The Consent Decree requires the licensee make a $41,000 voluntary contribution to the U.S. Treasury.
  • The Media Bureau affirmed its previous dismissal of an application for a new Connecticut LPFM station because it proposed an operation on 87.7 MHz, which is not in the FM band and is not listed in the rules among the channels available for LPFM operation.  87.7 MHz is instead part of TV Channel 6.  The applicant sought a waiver, pointing to the lack of other frequencies for LPFM use in its area, and the fact that other FM uses of this frequency and 87.9 had been authorized by the FCC.  The Bureau rejected the waiver concluding that the use of these channels by LPFM stations is more appropriately addressed in a rulemaking where policy issues and appropriate limits on such use can be evaluated, rather than by a waiver in connection with an individual application.

Several recent broadcast trade press articles summarized a Public Notice released this past week by the FCC’s Media Bureau.  The Notice deals with the processing of certain broadcast applications when a licensee has a pending “remedial” petition for declaratory ruling seeking to correct noncompliance with the Commission’s foreign ownership rules.  The articles suggest that the Public Notice would have wide impact, and that several pending applications would be held up by the FCC’s new processing policy.  In fact, this decision is limited in its application only to broadcasters who, through no fault of their own, find that they no longer comply with the foreign ownership limits set out in Section 310(b) of the Communications Act and ask in a “remedial petition” for what is essentially retroactive approval of the foreign ownership that exceeds the 25% limit imposed on aggregate foreign interests (voting or equity) in companies that control broadcast licensees. 

The Public Notice does not deal with companies who ask for permission to have foreign ownership in excess of 25% in advance of those owners acquiring their interests.  In cases where a controlling interest in the company is proposed to be held by foreign owners who have not previously been approved by the Commission, specific FCC approval is required for that acquisition to occur through a forward-looking petition for declaratory ruling.  That is not a “remedial petition.”  Similarly, the Public Notice has no impact on companies that filed Petitions seeking approval for future changes in ownership that would exceed the 25% ownership threshold but would not involve a change in control.  Where a company is seeking advance approval for a non-controlling foreign interest in excess of 25%, the processing of currently pending applications by the company should not be impacted. 

Continue Reading FCC Media Bureau Public Notice on Processing Applications When “Remedial” Foreign Ownership Petition Is Pending – What Is It All About?

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 announced that it will hold Auction 114, beginning on February 2, 2027, making available 132 channels on which new FM stations can be built.  This includes 33 construction permits that were offered but not sold in prior auctions.  The FCC’s Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA) released a Public Notice proposing procedures for the auction.  The OEA seeks comment on its proposed procedures including the auction timeline, minimum bid amounts, bidding eligibility, and default payments.  A list of the vacant FM allotments to be offered for sale in Auction 114 can be found here.  Comments and reply comments responding to the OEA’s Public Notice are due June 9 and June 24, respectively. For more on Auction 114, see our discussion on our Broadcast Law Blog here.
    • To allow Auction 114 to occur, the FCC’s Media Bureau also released a Public Notice announcing a filing freeze on applications proposing modifications to any of the vacant FM allotments included in the auction.  The Bureau states that the freeze, which began on May 11, will continue until the day after the post-Auction 114 long-form construction permit applications are due.
  • The FCC announced that comments and reply comments are due June 15 and June 29, respectively, responding to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing to amend the Audible Crawl Rule, which requires TV broadcasters to provide an audio description of visual, nontextual emergency information (radar maps or other graphics) displayed during non-newscast programming on a secondary audio stream (the SAP Channel).  The FCC proposes dropping the requirement if a station provides a textual crawl on screen with the same information as in the visual image and if audio of the text is aired on the SAP Channel (as already required for such textual alerts). 
  • State broadcast associations representing broadcasters in all 50 states plus those in DC and Puerto Rico issued a resolution asking that Congress reexamine the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 to determine if the antitrust exemptions provided to sports leagues to negotiate collectively for rights to telecast their games still made sense given the radical change in the television marketplace and the migration of many sports to streaming and other pay services.  The NAB applauded that call for Congressional review.  These actions appear to be related to the recent FCC proceeding to review sports broadcasting and its relationship to the FCC’s obligation to regulate broadcasting in the public interest (see our article here). 
  • FCC Commissioner Gomez sent a letter to Disney/ABC regarding the FCC’s recent investigations of the company for alleged violations of the FCC’s rules.  Gomez asserts that the investigations were politically motivated attempts to put pressure on Disney to dictate its programming choices, which violated the company’s First Amendment right citing, among other things, that the FCC pursued investigating Disney on alleged equal time issues while ignoring other broadcasters’ activities subject to the same rule because the FCC was seeking protecting speech that it favors while punishing speech it opposes.  Gomez also claims that the Media Bureau’s January Public Notice (see our discussion here), which changed the common interpretation of a fundamental principle of political broadcasting law for the last thirty years that the “news interview” exception from the equal time rules was to be interpreted broadly, was issued specifically to create new exposure for broadcasters that the FCC wanted to target. 
  • The FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology and the Media Bureau announced the release of Version 2.3.1 of TVStudy, which broadcasters use to perform TV station coverage and interference analysis for allotment petitions and modification applications.  More information on the changes can be found here.
  • The FCC announced that comments are due July 13 in response to the following radio station community of license change proposals: WJZA(AM), from Hapeville, Georgia, to North Decatur, Georgia; WNJE(AM), from Trenton, New Jersey, to Jobstown, New Jersey; WKTQ(FM), from Oakland, Maryland, to Chalkhill, Pennsylvania; KDFM(FM), from Falfurrias, Texas, to Premont, Texas; WKBC-FM, from North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, to Stony Point, North Carolina; and WWZG(FM), from Tompkinsville, Kentucky, to Park City, Kentucky.
  • The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau issued Notices of Violation against four Texas and Illinois LPFM and FM translator stations after the Bureau’s inspection of their stations revealed FCC rule violations.  The Bureau found a Texas FM translator failed to rebroadcast its designated primary station and failed to file a modification application to change its antenna.  A Texas FM translator and a Texas LPFM station were cited for failing to notify the FCC that they were silent after their equipment was removed from their transmitter sites.  An Illinois LPFM station was found to be operating at a location not authorized by its license, as was its studio transmitter link.  The stations must now explain to the Bureau how they will correct their rule violations and prevent future violations from occurring and, based on their responses, it will consider whether these stations will be subject to penalties for their alleged violations. 
  • The FCC submitted its semi-annual report to Congress on U.S.-based foreign media outlets.  The John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (NDAA) requires U.S.-based foreign media outlets to register with the FCC.  These are entities that produce or distribute video programming transmitted, or intended for transmission, by multichannel video programming distributors in the United States and are agents of a foreign entity or government.  Under the NDAA, the FCC must update Congress every six months with a list of the U.S.-based foreign media outlets that registered with the FCC between October 12, 2025 and April 11, 2026.  As was the case with many past reports, the report stated that no foreign-based media outlets registered with the FCC.
  • The Media Bureau released an Order deleting vacant FM Channel 277C at Freeport, Texas from the FM Allotments Table because the allotment did not comply with the FCC’s minimum distance separation requirements.  The Bureau deleted the allotment after a staff engineering analysis determined that the vacant FM channel was short-spaced by 182 kilometers to vacant Channel 277C2 at Wharton, Texas, and there were no alternate channels available to resolve the short-spacing conflict.

The FCC this week proposed an auction for the rights to construct new FM stations on 132 FM channels – the first such auction of new FM stations since 2021.  The auction is proposed for February 2027, although interested parties will need to submit “short form” applications to participate in the auction at some point prior to that date.  The proposed procedures for the auction are set out in a Public Notice – and those procedures contain new wrinkles from those of past FM auctions. The list of available channels is in a separate document here,  That document also lists the proposed minimum bids for those channels.  The FCC also issued a Press Release about the auction and a Public Notice announcing an immediate freeze on any application or rulemaking petition that would affect any of the channels listed in the auction notice.

The channels available to be auctioned comprise a mix of channels available in previous auctions that were not sold in those auctions, plus new channels that have been allotted since the last auction, and a few channels where active licenses for operating stations had been cancelled.  Following the last auction, we wrote about the number of channels that had gone unsold, and suggested that the high minimum bids might have been one reason that some channels did not sell in that auction. The Commission seemed to take the same message from the number of unsold channels in the last auction, as the opening bids in this auction are substantially lower for some of the holdover channels.

Continue Reading FCC Proposes Auction for New FM Stations – 132 Channels to be Available in February 2027 Auction

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.

  • Disney/ABC filed a Petition for Declaratory Ruling, at the order of the FCC’s Media Bureau, concerning the status of “The View” as a bona fide news interview program exempt from the FCC’s equal opportunity rules.  ABC contended that it was unprecedented for the Bureau to order a licensee to file a Petition for Declaratory Ruling, particularly as ABC received such a ruling from Bureau in 2002 concluding that the View is a bona fide news interview program.  As that 2002 ruling has never been modified or repealed, any new petition is unnecessary.  ABC’s petition also questions the validity of the Media Bureau’s January Public Notice (which we wrote about on our Broadcast Law Blog here), contending that the Bureau cannot change 40 years of prior FCC precedent that programs are exempt from the equal time rules as bona fide news interview programs exempt from equal time even without an explicit FCC declaratory ruling when, like “The View,” they are regularly scheduled and controlled by the program’s producers and where candidate appearances are chosen based on newsworthiness and not to benefit particular candidates.  Citing the FCC’s investigation of whether the February appearance of Democratic Texas Senatorial candidate James Talarico on the “The View” violated the equal time rules (see our note here), ABC also argues that any attempt by the FCC to find that the appearance was contrary to the rules would violate the First Amendment, and that such an action would be prohibited viewpoint discrimination based on the perceived political viewpoints expressed on the program, noting that no similar investigation has been taken against radio stations in Texas who had Republican candidates on the air before the recent Texas primaries.
  • FCC Commissioner Gomez called on the FCC to conduct a full review of the foreign ownership interests involved in the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger.  Gomez stated that Paramount’s recent petition to exceed the Communications Act’s foreign ownership limits set out in Section 310(b) (see our note here) raised concerns about the involvement of wealth funds run by foreign governments which have “documented records of press suppression and a troubling willingness to silence journalists.”  Absent FCC approval, Section 310(b) prohibits foreign entities, individuals, and governments from holding ownership interests of more than 20% in an FCC licensee and more than 25% in a U.S. entity directly or indirectly controlling an FCC licensee.  Gomez asked the FCC to initiate a rigorous review of Paramount’s foreign interests by releasing all related investment agreements, allowing public comment, and coordinating with national security agencies—including CFIUS and the DOJ National Security Division—before ruling on the merger.  Gomez noted that multiple members of Congress have also requested that the FCC closely scrutinize Paramount’s proposed foreign interests before any action.
  • FCC Chairman Car responded to a letter from Senators Cruz (R-TX) and Cantwell (D-WA) expressing their concerns about the FCC delegating the approval of the Nexstar-TEGNA merger to the Media Bureau (see our note here), writing that the Media Bureau had full authority to approve the transaction.  He noted that the Bureau had previously approved similarly sized mergers, and that it had the authority to waive the national TV ownership cap.  Carr also stated that the Bureau’s decision was not a final agency action and that parties have already petitioned the full Commission for review of the Bureau’s decision.
    • In another ownership decision, the Media Bureau granted the assignments of several TV stations from SagamoreHill and Block Communications to Gray Media, resulting Gray owning 2 full-power TV stations in the Columbus, GA-Opelika, AL DMA and 3 full-power TV stations in the Lubbock, TX and Louisville, KY DMAs.  As with its recent approvals of similar TV station assignments (see our notes here, here, here, and here), the Bureau rejected claims that the applicants had to show that the public interest justified owning two stations in a market as no special showing is needed after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated the restriction on owning two top-4 stations in any market (see our article here).  The Bureau waived the Local TV Ownership Rule to allow Gray to own 3 stations in the Lubbock and Louisville DMAs finding successful independent ownership of the third stations was unlikely given their low ratings and revenue, and Gray’s common ownership of multiple stations in each market would enhance those stations’ local programming offerings.  The Bureau also found that other arguments about the harms from the proposed assignments were speculative. 
  • The Media and Wireless Telecommunications Bureaus jointly announced the designated Broadcast Auxiliary Service frequency coordinator for the 2026 FIFA World Cup this summer.  Frequency coordination periods at each World Cup venue will cover a 5-kilometer radius around the venue and will start 5 days before a venue’s initial match, ending one day after the venue’s last match.  The Bureaus will permit low-power auxiliary stations to operate near the venues at power levels not exceeding 1 watt, on TV channels at least 40 kilometers from a TV station on that channel.  These actions are like those adopted for other major events such as national political conventions, presidential inaugurations, the Olympic Games, and the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

On our Broadcast Law Blog, we discussed the impact of the U.S. Department of Justice’s decision to move medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III on broadcaster ability to advertise marijuana products.

The Trump administration recently announced that it was taking steps to legalize some marijuana use under federal law.  In a Press Release from the Department of Justice, much was made of the relaxation of the marijuana rules – and many headlines trumpeted the action as if all marijuana use that has been “legalized” by state governments was now legal under federal law.  But a close reading of the accompanying Order released by the Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration reveals that the actions have only moved medical marijuana legalized in any state from Schedule I (those drugs with no approved uses that are not permitted to be sold or distributed in almost any circumstance), to Schedule III (drugs that have approved uses and can be distributed under rules set out by the FDA).  Non-medical marijuana, so-called “recreational marijuana” approved in many states, remains on Schedule I.  We have written many times (see, for instance, our articles here and here) about concerns with advertising marijuana on a federally-licensed broadcast station when marijuana was on Schedule I and its sale, possession and marketing, including broadcast and other advertising, constituted a felony under federal law even when “legal” under state law.  The recent action to legalize state-approved medical marijuana may, over time, lead to legal advertising, but it appears that there are still hurdles that remain.

Before looking at the steps that appear to be needed before legal advertising of marijuana is possible, there are a couple of things that readers should keep in mind.  First, we need to emphasize that the Trump administration’s actions affect only FDA-approved marijuana products (of which there are very few currently) and medical marijuana that is distributed and sold subject to a state medical marijuana license.  Recreational marijuana remains on Schedule I with no approved medical uses, and with advertising and distribution prohibited outside of some very limited, federally approved testing.  So, all of the concerns about advertising recreational marijuana continue – and are perhaps amplified by the decision to retain recreational marijuana on Schedule I.

Continue Reading Medical Marijuana Removed from Schedule I – Moving Closer to Broadcast and Online Advertising but Concerns Still Remain