From Broadcast Law Blog

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 FCC released the final text of its Report and Order eliminating the 39% national TV ownership cap – an Order adopted at its August Open Meeting (see our note here).  

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.

• Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) wrote a letter to the sole Democratic FCC Commissioner, Anna Gomez, highlighting questions about whether it was legal for the FCC to operate with three Republican commissioners. 

October is another busy month of regulatory dates and deadlines for broadcasters.  Unlike previous years, there is no threat of a federal government shutdown on its October 1 start of the new fiscal year, so the dates and deadlines discussed below should not move on broadcasters.  As we detail below, all stations will need to observe EAS reporting requirements for the filing of ETRS Form One in anticipation of the upcoming Nationwide EAS Test,

On September 29, new rules go into effect requiring broadcasters to secure their EAS equipment and other equipment in their program chain that is connected to the internet – the FCC wanting to avoid false emergency alerts being transmitted on broadcast stations (see our articles providing details of this new obligation here and here). The three-point program (requiring stronger passwords,

On September 4, as we noted in our weekly update of regulatory activity of importance to broadcasters, the Supreme Court seemingly decided that Lowest Unit Rates for this year’s elections would be governed by the Media Bureau’s March Public Notice – the Public Notice announcing that ads from political parties and joint fundraising committees, when approved by a federal candidate,

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 FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau announced that the FCC, in coordination with FEMA, will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System at 2:20 p.m.

The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau this week announced in a Public Notice that, in coordination with FEMA, the FCC will conduct a Nationwide EAS test scheduled for November 17 (with a back-up date of December 3 if there is a real emergency or another reason that the test can’t be conducted on the initial date) – the first such test since 2023. 

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 FCC released a draft Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which, if adopted at its September 30 regular monthly Open Meeting,

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 FCC announced that September 24 is the deadline for paying the 2026 annual regulatory fees which were set by the FCC’s August Report and Order announcing the amounts of those fees. 

It is time for all commercial operators to pay your annual regulatory fees.  Each year, broadcasters (and other entities regulated by the FCC) are required to pay fees that are used to fund the FCC.  These fees are due each year before the October 1 start of the new federal government fiscal year.  This week, the FCC announced that 2026 Regulatory Fees must be received by the FCC no later than 11:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time on September 24,

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. 

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 FCC released a Report and Order setting its annual regulatory fees for 2026.  The FCC increased TV station fees by approximately 6.2% from last year.