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 House Judiciary Committee held a hearing titled “Examining the Sports Broadcasting Act.” The hearing featured testimony from several industry members and government officials, including FCC Commissioner Gomez and NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt. Members of both parties expressed concern that sports fans must navigate a fragmented and costly media landscape to access games. Much of the questioning centered on the migration of sports, in particular NFL games, to streaming platforms and away from free TV. Questions were raised about the need to amend the Sports Broadcasting Act, which gives professional sports leagues an antitrust exemption to negotiate contracts on behalf of all league teams for the broadcast of their games. More information on the hearing, including video and testimony, can be found here.
- Representatives of the National Association of Broadcasters met with FCC staff last week on AM service improvements, filing a summary of their discussions of proposed rule changes. The NAB proposed elimination of the minimum efficiency standards that prevent AM stations from choosing antennas that could expand their service area and allow them to locate on smaller, less expensive transmitter sites. The NAB also proposed eliminating rules complicating AM stations’ access to the expanded band (1605-1705 kHz) and asked that the FCC consider opening a filing window for applications for new stations in that band. The NAB cited AM stations’ vital public safety role as the reason to adopt these changes.
- Senators Cruz (R-TX) and Wyden (D-OR) introduced the Justice Against Weaponized Bureaucratic Overreach to Networked Expression (JAWBONE) Act, which is aimed at preventing “jawboning” (government actions pressuring companies to censor speech protected by the First Amendment). The bill allows individuals or companies adversely affected by the jawboning to sue any government agency or government employee that improperly exerts pressure on social media, AI, or broadcasting companies, regardless of whether the jawboning succeeds in blocking speech. The bill also requires that governmental agencies publicly disclose certain communications with these media companies to identify jawboning. Senator Wyden stated that “nearly all of Americans’ speech—including TV news, online streams, and social media—flows through private corporations that are highly susceptible to government pressure, and “regular Americans can’t count on those companies to stand up to government jawboning, they need a way to level the playing field.” More information on the JAWBONE Act can be found here.
- FCC Chairman Carr responded to a letter from Democratic Congressional representatives Pallone (NJ), Clarke (NY), and Matsui (CA) seeking information regarding the FCC’s alleged recent efforts to chill speech of those critical of the Trump Administration. The Congress members cited the FCC Media Bureau’s Order that Disney file its license renewals early for its ABC TV stations (see our note here), the Media Bureau’s reversal of longstanding FCC policy exempting daytime and late-night talk shows from the political equal time rule (see our note here), and the FCC’s investigations of James Talarico’s appearances on ABC’s “The View” (see our note here) and CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Carr responded that the news media has mischaracterized these recent actions, which Carr stated were instead legitimate exercises of the FCC’s authority to examine whether broadcasters were fulfilling their public interest obligations. As for Disney’s early renewals, Carr stated that early renewals were a long-established FCC practice, and the Media Bureau has called in other broadcasters’ renewals early (including Bridge News, whose renewals were requested at the same time as those of Disney) and recently concluded that a short-term renewal was appropriate for a station’s continued violations of its Online Public Inspection File (OPIF) obligations after entering into a Consent Decree for those rule violations (as we noted here). Carr said that the Disney early renewals resulted from an investigation of EEO practices rather than content-based questions. Carr also defended the Media Bureau’s updated guidance on the equal time rule, stating that the FCC could not ignore the statutory obligation that broadcasters provide equal time to opposing candidates. Carr contrasted these actions with what he alleged were political actions by the FCC under the Biden Administration, which he said included pressuring cable providers to drop right-wing news outlets, blocking the sale of broadcast stations for political reasons, and refusing to renew broadcast licenses.
- Chairman Carr also released a statement regarding the FCC’s efforts in supporting the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Carr stated that it was the FCC’s “priority number one” to “ensure the radio spectrum requirements essential to the World Cup,” including for broadcast operations, “are fully supported.” Carr stated that “the FCC has deployed a networked constellation of advanced spectrum sensors across all U.S. venues to conduct remote spectrum monitoring and help identify harmful interference.”
- The FCC released a Small Entity Compliance Guide providing broadcasters with guidelines on disclosing if they are owned or controlled by a “foreign adversary.” In January, the FCC released a Report and Order requiring all broadcast licensees and permittees to file a certification with the FCC stating if they are owned or controlled by a “foreign adversary”—which the FCC defines as the Peoples’ Republic of China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela (if related to ousted politician Nicolás Maduro). Entities certifying yes will need to disclose all foreign adversary ownership interests (including interests held by their citizens or companies organized under their laws) of 10% or greater and describe the nature of the foreign adversary’s control. Once the FCC launches the new reporting database, broadcasters will follow different reporting schedules based on their size (larger broadcasters must report more often), and the first filings will be due 60 days (120 days for smaller entities) after the database launches. The FCC may revoke authorizations if an entity fails to file the certification or fails to timely correct deficient certifications.
- The Media Bureau released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing to delete vacant Channel 288A at Selmer, Tennessee from the Table of FM Allotments because the allotment is short spaced by 9 kilometers to another FM station and is vacant after the license of a station that operated on the channel was cancelled. The Bureau noted that there were no alternate channels available at Selmer to alleviate the short-spacing. Comments and reply comments responding to the NPRM are due July 24 and August 10, respectively.
- The Media Bureau and Office of Managing Director issued Orders to Pay or to Show Cause against two Texas FM stations proposing to revoke the stations’ licenses unless, within 60 days, the stations pay their delinquent regulatory fees and interest, administrative costs, and penalties, or show that the debts are not owed or should be waived or deferred. The first station has an unpaid regulatory fee debt totaling $2,856.43 for fiscal years 2021 and 2022, and the second station has an unpaid regulatory fee debt totaling $1,849.58 for fiscal years 2020 and 2021.