NVBA News Archive

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 sent to Congress its Budget Estimates request for Fiscal Year 2026.  The budget request contains a few specific references to broadcast matters (along with more general information about inflationary increases in fees and proposals for FCC staffing). 

Though school may be letting out for many, the FCC does not take a summer recess.  Instead, regulation continues.  Perhaps most importantly, Chairman Carr will have a Republican majority on the FCC for the first time since the change in administration, as Democratic Commissioner Starks has said that he is leaving the Commission before its June meeting.  See our article from earlier in the week for our views on some of the issues that may be prioritized once the Chairman’s majority is in place. 

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 U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected the FCC’s 2024 attempt to reinstate Form 395-B which,

At Thursday’s FCC monthly open meeting, FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks announced that it would be his last meeting.  In March, he said that he would be departing soon, so the announcement that he would be gone before the FCC’s next scheduled open meeting on June 26 was not a surprise.  But as one of two remaining Democratic FCC Commissioners, even though the nomination of Olivia Trusty as the third Republican Commissioner has not yet been approved by the Senate,

The FCC’s 2024 decision to reinstate Form 395-B, after its use had been paused for over 20 years, was invalidated this week by a decision of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.  In yet another instance of courts limiting the authority of administrative agencies, the Fifth Circuit judges found that the FCC has no statutory authority to require the filing and public posting of the form requiring broadcasters to report on the race and gender of all of their employees. 

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 Media Bureau extended the deadline for TV broadcasters to comply with the audible crawl rule’s until the earlier of May 27,

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.

• FCC Commissioner Simington and his Chief of Staff, Gavin Wax, published an article advocating for DOGE-style reform of the FCC.  Their article proposes several reforms of the FCC,

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.

• President Trump signed an Executive Order purporting to end federal subsidies for NPR and PBS provided through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). 

In many of the comments filed by broadcasters and their representatives in the FCC’s “Delete, Delete, Delete” docket, high on the list of rules suggested for deletion were the local broadcast ownership restrictions.  Changes in these rules were also a subject high on the discussion list in Las Vegas at the recent NAB Convention.  With all of the interest in changes to these rules,

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 May 23 is the effective date of its January Order increasing its application fees, including those for broadcast station applications,