August 2026 Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – Annual EEO Public File Reports, Political Windows, and more

Although many, including Congress, take the last of their summer vacations in August, there are still many dates to which broadcasters should be paying attention this month.  One deadline that most commercial broadcasters should be anticipating is the FCC’s Order that will set the amount of their Annual Regulatory Fees.  Payment of those fees will be due sometime in September before the October 1 start of the federal government’s new fiscal year.  These announcements usually come in late August or in the first few days of September.  So be on the lookout for that announcement.

Noncommercial broadcasters who were anticipating a filing window for new noncommercial educational FM translators in the reserved band (88.1-91.9 MHz) in August, when it was originally scheduled to be held, should instead look later in the year, as the filing window has been moved from August to November (see our discussion here).  Applications can be drafted for the November window beginning August 3, but they cannot be filed until the window opens.

Another anticipated action this month is the August 6 regular monthly Open Meeting of FCC Commissioners, when they are scheduled to vote on a draft Order eliminating the national cap on television station ownership.  This action would remove the hard limit that prevents broadcasters from owning TV stations that reach more than 39% of the national TV audience, and would instead require a case-by-case review of proposals for individuals or companies to have interests in stations above that limit.  See our article here discussing that proposal in more detail.

Also to watch is an oral argument in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals on August 7 on a challenge by a number of Democratic federal candidates to the Public Notice released by the FCC’s Media Bureau stating that ads authorized by federal candidates and bought jointly with political parties and joint fundraising committees are subject to Lowest Unit Charges.  If upheld, this Public Notice likely would have the effect of extending LUC to many more political ads.  We wrote more about this issue, and the court challenge, here.

Here are some of the other regulatory dates and deadlines that will affect broadcasters this August:

August 3 is the deadline for radio and television station employment units in California, Illinois, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Wisconsin 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 recent $26,000 fine for a single late EEO report).

The filing of the Annual EEO Public File Reports by TV station employment units with five or more full-time employees triggers a Mid-Term EEO Review that analyzes the last two Annual Reports for compliance with the FCC’s EEO requirements.  Such TV station employment units in California are subject to this review beginning August 3.  See our articles here and here on radio stations’ Mid-Term EEO Review reporting requirements.

August 21 is the effective date of the FCC’s March Direct Final Rule, in which the FCC deleted several rules that it found unnecessary or obsolete.  The deleted rules include rules for the TV broadcast spectrum reverse auction which ended in 2017 and regarding installment payments and auction procedures that are either out of date or are covered in other rules still applicable to broadcasters. 

Broadcasters located in Alaska, Delaware,and Tennessee should also be aware of the opening of the following political windows tied to state and local elections occurring in August and September 2026—meaning that Lowest Unit Rates apply to sales to candidates and their authorized committees (see our article here on the basics of computing LUR). In our summary of regulatory dates in July, we identified other political windows that are already open for LUR for elections occurring in August and early September.  The new windows opening in August are as follows

As a refresher, in the 45 days before a primary election, and 60 days before a general or special election, broadcasters must extend to legally qualified candidates their lowest unit rate and continue to follow all other applicable political broadcasting rules.  For a deeper dive on how to prepare for the 2026 elections, see our post here, which also includes a link to our comprehensive Political Broadcasting Guide.  Also, take a look at our 2026 Broadcasters’ Calendar to see if your state has any upcoming primary, general, or special election (and confirm that all dates for political windows, including those listed above, are accurate as some dates have changed since the calendar was prepared).

As always, consult your own legal and technical advisors for other dates of importance that might apply to your stations in the upcoming months.