2022 has begun – and we are all wondering what will lie ahead in the New Year.  Each year, at about this time, we put together a look at highlights of the regulatory dates ahead for broadcasters.  This year is no different – and we offer for your review our Broadcaster’s Regulatory Calendar for 2022.  While this calendar should not be viewed as an exhaustive list of every regulatory date that your station will face, it highlights many of the most important dates for broadcasters in the coming year – including dates for license renewalsEEO Public Inspection File ReportsQuarterly Issues Programs listschildren’s television obligations, annual fee obligations and much more.

2022 will likely be a big election year, with all of the US House of Representatives seats and a third of those in the US Senate being contested, as well as many governor’s seats as well as state and local elections.   Our calendar provides the lowest unit charge periods for the primaries and general election as they were available to us last month when this calendar was prepared.  But check locally as these dates can change – and there can be additional local and special elections which are not included here.  See our article here on how the other political broadcasting rules apply to state and local elections, and our article here on what you should be doing to prepare for these elections.

Certainly, as the year progresses, there will be plenty more dates to note.  We have already seen some big news in the first weeks of the year, as the Radio Music License Committee and performing rights organization Global Music Rights, have reached a settlement of their long-running litigation, to which broadcasters must opt in by January 31.  The FCC has also announced likely changes (though minor ones) to its political broadcasting rules, and closed as of yesterday its old database, CDBS, that had been used for many years for the filing of broadcast applications.  Follow our blog where we weekly post a summary of the prior week’s regulatory actions relevant to broadcasters and a look ahead prior to the start of each month at the regulatory dates in the coming month, read other newsletters and trade publications, and consult your own attorney to stay on top of the regulatory obligations that apply to your stations.  We hope that this 2022 Broadcasters Regulatory Calendar will give you a good start on spotting some of the important dates that may be ahead and affect your operations.