Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past two weeks, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.
- Several AM broadcasters filed a petition for rulemaking with the FCC seeking a new opportunity for licensees of AM stations to acquire FM translators. The petitioners request that the FCC permit AM stations to acquire an existing FM translator within 500 miles of their AM transmitter site and file an application to relocate the translator to an area within 25 miles of the AM site, where the FM translator can seek approval to operate on any available frequency. The petition also proposes opening an exclusive filing window for Class C and D AM stations before other AM stations can file these applications, and to permit AM stations to purchase and relocate FM translators on an ongoing basis (not just during a defined filing window). The petition proposes that each AM station be allowed to acquire up to 3 FM translators. The petitioners argue that a reinstated AM Revitalization effort is needed as AM stations continue to experience a disproportionate decline in listenership in the modern audio marketplace. Watch for an FCC request for comments on this proposal in the coming weeks.
- Reply comments were due December 24 responding to the Media Bureau’s Public Notice seeking comment on the relationship between national TV networks and their affiliated local TV stations. As we noted here, the Bureau sought comment on barriers preventing local TV stations from meeting their public interest obligations and responding to the needs of their local communities, including the relationship between national networks and their local affiliates. Generally, network affiliate organizations ask the FCC to grant them more protections in their relationship with networks, including rights to negotiate retransmission consent agreements with virtual MVPDs, while networks argued that their relationship with their affiliates is a matter of contract and that the FCC should not interfere with these established business relationships. Comments (which were due December 10) and reply comments filed in response to the Public Notice can be found here.
- FCC Chairman Carr released a statement summarizing “all the wins” that the FCC was “able to achieve for the American people” since he became Chairman. Carr listed several FCC actions which he said exemplified how the FCC was “empowering local broadcasters.” Carr cited the FCC’s approval of the Paramount-Skydance merger, noting the company’s commitments to ensuring a diversity of political viewpoints in programming and measures to root out news bias (see our note here). Carr also noted the FCC Media Bureau’s approvals of broadcasters’ applications to acquire two of the top-4 TV stations in the same Designated Market Area (DMA) by granting a “failing station” waiver for one such combination (see our note here) and finding that another such combination was in the public interest because it ensured the continuation of local service (see our note here) (see also our note here on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit’s decision effectively doing away with the prohibition on broadcasters owning two of the top-4 TV stations in a DMA). Carr further mentioned the Media Bureau’s pending proceeding exploring the relationship between national broadcast networks and local broadcast stations (see our note here), the FCC’s pending proceeding to accelerate the ATSC 3.0 transition (see our note here), the FCC’s elimination of obsolete broadcast rules using the Direct Final Rule process (see our note here), and the FCC’s efforts to hold broadcasters accountable to their public interest obligations and empowering them to serve their local communities (without citing specific examples).
- FCC Commissioner Gomez released a statement regarding reports that CBS pulled a 60 Minutes segment regarding El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison after the Trump Administration refused to grant the network an interview for the story. Gomez condemned CBS’s decision, stating that “we are now seeing the real-world consequences of blurring the line between regulatory authority and editorial independence,” and that “a free press cannot function if the government is able to exercise veto power over critical reporting simply by refusing to engage.” Gomez also suggested that CBS’s decision to pull the story was part of efforts by Paramount, the network’s parent company, to seek favorable treatment in future regulatory approvals. Gomez further stated that she hoped “CBS provides its viewers with a clear accounting of how this decision was made and demonstrates how it will safeguard the independence of its newsroom.
On our Broadcast Law Blog, we posted our review of the regulatory dates and deadlines affecting broadcasters coming in January and in early February, including Issues Programs Lists, Children’s Television Reports, new webcasting royalties, and comment deadlines in a number of FCC proceedings – as well as lowest unit rate windows for some early 2026 primaries and local elections.
