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  • The FCC’s Media Bureau released a Public Notice reminding broadcasters that new foreign government sponsored programming identification requirements take effect
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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

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
  • The FCC’s Media Bureau released a Public Notice requesting comment on the TV Parental Guidelines ratings system.  In 1996, Congress
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  • The FCC’s Media Bureau released a Public Notice purporting to remind broadcasters about their lowest unit charge (LUC) obligations for
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With April showers come routine regulatory dates for broadcasters, including the requirement for posting Quarterly Issues/Programs Lists to the Online Public Inspection Files of all full-power radio and TV stations, and EEO Public File Reports for stations in a number of states.  Among the other dates in April is the reply comment deadline in the…

Every year at about this time, with April Fools’ Day right around the corner, we need to play our role as attorneys and ruin any fun that you may be planning by repeating our reminder that broadcasters need to be careful with any on-air pranks, jokes or other on-air bits prepared especially for the day.  While a little fun is OK, remember that the FCC has a rule against on-air hoaxes, and there can be liability issues with false alerts that are run on a station.  Issues like these can arise at any time, but a broadcaster’s temptation to go over the line is probably highest on April 1.  This year, the warning takes on new urgency, as the Chairman of the FCC has placed renewed emphasis on broadcast stations serving the public interest, and specifically citing the hoax rule as one that stations should be particularly cognizant to avoid license renewal issues.  While some of these warnings came in the context of broadcasts not covered by traditional interpretations of the hoax rule, these warnings have nevertheless given more publicity to the existence of this rule. 

The FCC’s rule against broadcast hoaxes, Section 73.1217, prevents stations from running any information about a “crime or catastrophe” on the air, if the broadcaster (1) knows the information to be false, (2) it is reasonably foreseeable that the broadcast of the material will cause substantial public harm and (3) public harm is in fact caused.  Public harm is defined as “direct and actual damage to property or to the health or safety of the general public, or diversion of law enforcement or other public health and safety authorities from their duties.”  If you air a program that fits within this definition and causes a public harm, you should expect to be fined by the FCC.

Continue Reading With April Fools Day Almost Upon Us, Broadcasters Beware of the FCC Hoax Rule

The unusual story of the sale of TEGNA Inc. has seemingly (more on that below) come to an end after a four-year FCC review process, encompassing two attempted purchases, two administrative actions involving multiple rule waivers and novel questions of law, but no rulings by the Commissioners themselves. On Thursday, the FCC’s Media Bureau issued an order approving the transfer of control of the company to Nexstar Media and the deal was closed by the parties that same day.  Today, we look back at the unusual actions leading to the sale of TEGNA and at what last week’s approval may preview as to major changes ahead for the broadcast industry .

The unusual nature of the sale of TEGNA did not start with last week’s decision but instead began in 2022 when TEGNA first announced its plan to be acquired by Standard General.  After an application seeking approval for that sale was filed, objections were submitted from labor organizations, public interest groups, and representatives from the multichannel video provider community.  Despite divestiture plans to bring Standard General into compliance with the FCC’s television ownership rules, in 2023, the FCC’s Media Bureau, after a full year of consideration, decided that it could not reach a decision on the case, but that the case had to be reviewed by an FCC Administrative Law Judge to hold a hearing to decide two issues – neither of which had ever been the source for the rejection of a broadcast sale in the past. 

Continue Reading FCC Media Bureau Approves Nexstar’s Acquisition of TEGNA – What Does It Mean for Consideration of the Broadcast Ownership Rules?