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It is time for our look at September’s regulatory dates and deadlines to which broadcasters should be paying attention, and the deadline that probably is most important to all commercial broadcasters is not yet known.  That, of course, is the deadline for the payment of annual regulatory fees, which must be made before the federal government’s October 1 start of the new fiscal year.  The FCC on Friday announced the amount of those fees, and we expect that this coming week, the payment window will be set, and the FCC will issue fee filing guides for all the industries regulated by the FCC – including a Media Bureau filing guide for broadcasters.  Stay alert for those announcements. 

Later in the month is the filing window for broadcasters to submit their Auction 114 “short-form” construction permit applications necessary to participate in the action of 132 construction permits for new FM stations, (see the list of available channels here).  The filing window opens at 12:00 p.m. ET on September 14 and closes at 6:00 p.m. ET on September 30.  Bidding is scheduled to begin on February 2, 2027.  These “short-form” applications on FCC Form 175 are necessary to participate in the auction.  Among the information required from an applicant in the Form 175 is the identification of which of the 132 vacant allotments they intend to bid on, any bidding credits for which they may be eligible, and certain ownership information.  Applicants may also specify specific coordinates for tower sites that an applicant plans to use for any channel to protect that site from being precluded by subsequent applications by other FM stations.  For more on the process, see our article here and the FCC’s instructions for auction participation here.  In addition, the FCC just released a Small Entity Compliance Guide summarizing the requirements and procedures for the upcoming Auction.

Continue Reading September 2026 Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – FCC Regulatory Fees, Auction 114 Short-Form Applications and Filing Freeze, Deadline for Implementation of EAS Security Practices, LUC Window for the November Election and More

Last week, we wrote about the appeal pending in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals reviewing the Public Notice issued by the FCC’s Media Bureau which “reminded” broadcasters that they had to extend Lowest Unit Charges to political advertising not only from candidates but also to advertising from joint fundraising committees and political parties whose advertising was authorized by a federal candidate.  An appeal was filed by a group of Democratic candidates who argued that the purported “reminder” was in fact new law which, these candidates claim was not justified by governing laws.  In our last article, we suggested that broadcasters be on alert, as a Court decision on the Democrats appeal could come quickly.  It did!  On Tuesday, the Court issued its ruling and, in a 2 to 1 decision, determined that the Public Notice did not correctly interpret the Communications Act and that its extension of LUC to these non-candidate groups was “for naught.” 

The Republican Congressional Campaign Committee and the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee almost immediately filed an emergency motion for stay of the Court’s decision, but on August 27 the Court denied the motion and issued the Court’s mandate, meaning that the FCC Public Notice no longer has any effect.  Thus, barring a stay of the 4th Circuit’s decision by the Supreme Court (where the Republican parties have said that they will next go for relief from the 4th Circuit decision), it appears that, for the upcoming general election, stations will not be bound by the Public Notice’s extension of LUC to parties and joint fundraising committees but could instead limit those rates to candidates and their own principal campaign committees.

Continue Reading 4th Circuit Court of Appeals Rejects FCC Media Bureau’s Extension of LUC to Ads by Political Parties and Joint Fundraising Committees – What Comes Next? 

On Friday, the FCC released its first EEO audit notice for 2026 – and the second to feature questions introduced last year to look for evidence of “invidious DEI” programs in place at broadcast stations.  The FCC’s Public Notice, audit letter, and the list of the 400 radio and TV stations (both commercial and noncommercial) selected for audit is available here.  Those stations, and the station employment units (commonly owned or controlled stations serving the same area sharing at least one employee) with which they are associated, must provide to the FCC (by uploading the information to their online public inspection file) their last two years of EEO Annual Public File reports, as well as backing data to show that the station in fact did everything that was required under the FCC rules.  The response to this audit is due to be uploaded to the public file of affected stations by October 20, 2026. The audit notice says that, if an employment unit selected in this audit was audited in 2024 or 2025, or if their renewal was granted after June 1, 2024, it should notify the FCC, and it might be exempted from the audit. Any station having a question, or needing more time to respond, is instructed to contact the FCC at least 5 days before the October 20 deadline. 

In the past, poor EEO performance has led to substantial penalties.  A 2023 proposed fine of $25,000 for some Kansas radio stations that had not fully met their EEO obligations (see our article here) showed that it is important to review your EEO compliance, even if your stations are not subject to this audit.  As the response (and the audit letter itself) must be uploaded to the public file, it can be reviewed not only by the FCC, but also by anyone else with an internet connection anywhere, at any time.  The Kansas fine proposal, plus a $26,000 fine imposed on Cumulus Media in 2024 for a late upload of a single EEO Annual Public File Report (see our article here), shows how seriously the FCC has in the past taken the EEO obligations.  To date, the FCC under Chairman Carr has not proposed any EEO fines.  Instead, the FCC’s focus when reviewing employment issues seems to be DEI programs, and this audit, as with the first EEO audit of the Carr administration in 2025, includes a number of questions, discussed below, designed to identify DEI programs at broadcast stations that this Commission may want to review. 

Continue Reading FCC Announces EEO Audit of 400 Stations – All Broadcasters Should Review the Requirements to Be Prepared for the Next EEO Review
  • The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau released an EEO Audit Notice targeting 400 radio and TV stations for review of their EEO
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Two weeks ago, a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit heard an oral argument on the challenge by a number of Democratic candidates to the FCC Media Bureau’s March Public Notice which purported to “remind” broadcasters of their obligations to give Lowest Unit Rates not only to ads purchased by political candidates and their own campaign committees but also to Joint Fundraising Committees and Political Party ads when those ads are authorized by a candidate.  We wrote here about the issues raised by the Public Notice and the importance of the pending appeal and other requests for clarification, as the Notice did not address many issues crucial to broadcasters, especially when we are in the middle of an important election season.  The oral argument and its aftermath at the FCC should have broadcasters regularly refreshing their newsfeeds prior to the September 4 start of the Lowest Unit Charge window for the November election to see how they should be treating these ads during the window.  A decision of the court could come down before September 4, and that decision could dictate whether or not broadcasters and local cable operators need to give LUC to political parties and joint fundraising groups when their purchases are coordinated with federal candidates.

At the argument, two of the three judges appeared skeptical of the FCC’s defense of the Media Bureau’s actions, directing many questions to the FCC’s attorney as he attempted to argue that any action by the court was premature, as the Media Bureau action was not a final decision over which the court had jurisdiction given that the full Commission had not had a chance to rule on the application for review by the same Democratic candidates.  Those candidates have sought review of the Media Bureau Public Notice by the Commissioners.  Historically, it has been rare that courts review decisions of the FCC staff until the Commissioners have first had the opportunity to review the staff decision and decide if that decision was correct. 

In this case, counsel for the Democratic candidates argued that the plain language of the law governing court review of FCC decisions did not require that the FCC actually rule on an application for review of a staff decision before the court could review that decision, only that the application for review be filed.  And, given the impending September 4 deadline, the skeptical judges asked whether, by not acting by the September 4 deadline, the FCC might have constructively denied the application for review as, without a ruling, the guidance in the Media Bureau Public Notice would stand during the upcoming LUC window (and FCC counsel indicated that he did not expect a ruling by the full Commission by September 4).  The oral argument was light on discussion of the substance of the issues raised by the Public Notice, and it was instead much more focused on the procedural questions of whether the court could review the issues at all.  Since the argument before the court, unexpectedly, there have been further actions from the FCC and responses to those FCC actions at the court, all seemingly looking to head off a court decision on the case.

Continue Reading Court of Appeals Hears Oral Argument on FCC’s Extension of LUC to Joint Fundraising Committees and Political Party Ad Buys – While FCC Moves to Resolve Appeals of the Same Decision – Where Do These Actions Leave Broadcasters? 

In May, the FCC announced that it would be conducting an auction in February 2027 for construction permits to build over 130 new FM stations in various locations around the country (see our article here). Last week, the FCC issued a Public Notice that provided the remaining details about the auction, including a September filing window for “short-form” applications to participate in the auction, the December 3 deadline for submitting “upfront payments,” and a detailed discussion of the rules for participating in the auction.  An attachment to that Public Notice provides the final list of available channels and their minimum bids.  In addition, the FCC issued a second Public Notice that announced that there will be a filing freeze on minor change applications for any FM station during the short-form filing window to avoid possible conflicts between sites specified by auction applicants and those specified in the minor change application of previously authorized FM stations.

In connection with the auction, the FCC will also hold tutorials and a mock auction to ensure that bidders know the process for filing applications and for participating in the auction.  Even if you have participated in FM auctions in the past, you may want to monitor these tutorials and mock auctions because the auction procedures have changed, as discussed below.

The dates and deadlines for the auction are as follows:

  • Auction Application Tutorial Available (via Internet) (August 21, 2026)
  • Short-Form Application (FCC Form 175) Filing Window Opens (September 14, 2026, 12:00 p.m. ET)
  • Short-Form Application (FCC Form 175) Filing Deadline (September 30, 2026, 6:00 p.m. ET)
  • Upfront Payments (via wire transfer) (December 3, 2026, 6:00 p.m. ET)
  • Bidding Tutorial Available (via Internet) (January 6, 2027)
  • Mock Auction (January 29, 2027)
  • Auction Bidding Begins (February 2, 2027)

The short-form applications are the first step in participating in the auction.  Anyone who wants to participate in the auction must file one of these applications in the window set out above – with the deadline being September 30 at 6 p.m. Eastern Time. As with any other FCC filing, do not wait until the last minute to file, as the FCC’s electronic filing system has been known to have slowdowns and glitches, and not getting the short-form application on file by the deadline is fatal to any hopes of participating in the auction.

Continue Reading Applications to Participate in February Auction for 132 New FM Stations Due by September 30 – FCC Releases Auction Rules and Procedures
  • The FCC’s Order adopted in June that requires broadcasters to quickly adopt new security practices to protect their EAS systems
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In early July, we wrote about the FCC’s decision to require that all broadcasters take measures to secure their EAS operations – and in the process secure their entire program chain – to make sure that malicious actors can’t hack into their systems and send false alerts.  The FCC today published in the Federal Register the order making those changes, which will require broadcasters to meet these security requirements in 60 days – by September 29.

By that date, the FCC requires that broadcasters have strong passwords for any part of their program chain that is connected to the internet, that they have the latest security updates installed in all hardware and software, and that they put all access to their program chain behind a firewall.  We wrote about the FCC’s decision and what is required back in early July and, now that the deadline for compliance is set, we reprint below much of that article to remind broadcasters of the details of what they need to do by the September 29 deadline:

At its regular monthly open meeting [in June], the FCC adopted an Order meant to enhance the security of the Emergency Alerting System.  Citing past hacks of the system that have resulted in false EAS alerts being transmitted to the public by broadcast stations, the FCC proposed in 2022 that broadcasters adopt a comprehensive cybersecurity plan with an annual filing requirement detailing how risks were managed and controlled (see our article here).  The Order adopted this week did not go that far, but it did adopt a mandatory three-point plan to secure not only EAS equipment at a station, but also to secure the entire program chain to ensure that bad actors can’t access station programming to insert false emergency information or other malicious content. 

While the first two requirements of the mandated plan should be relatively simple for broadcasters to quickly implement, the third may require some outside help – and the FCC has given broadcasters only a short time to implement this requirement.  The Order requires implementation within 60 days of the date that the Order is published in the Federal Register (see the just-released FCC Erratum correcting the Order to reiterate that the effective date will be 60 days after Federal Register publication).  As Federal Register publication should come soon, the Order requires quick action by broadcasters.  Let’s look at the new obligations.

Continue Reading New Security Obligations for Broadcasters Required by September 29 – Strong Passwords, Updated Software and Hardware, and Firewalls to Protect All Parts of the Program Chain