On January 19, The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) hosted a virtual town hall to brief NAB members on advocacy and business issues as Congress begins its 118th Session and the House of Representatives switches party control. NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt was joined by senior executives and public policy experts to offer updates on the association’s work, priorities and initiatives.

LeGeyt opened the town hall with excitement about NAB’s centennial year and shared a few of the organization’s top priorities for 2023. He addressed the new landscape on Capitol Hill and how NAB will continue educating policymakers on broadcasters’ irreplaceable service to their communities. LeGeyt discussed the association’s focus on furthering the deployment and adoption of ATSC 3.0, ensuring radio remains an integral part of the connected car and helping stations recruit the next generation of broadcasters.

Executive Vice President of Government Relations Shawn Donilon led a discussion with members of NAB’s public policy team about the implications for broadcasters in a narrowly divided and highly partisan Congress. NAB’s policy experts detailed bipartisan, bicameral efforts to stop Congress from imposing a performance royalty on broadcast radio stations with the upcoming introduction of the Local Radio Freedom Act. The panel also discussed the growing momentum in Congress to reign in the power of the Big Tech companies, specifically through the Journalism and Competition Preservation Act, which garnered significant support in the 117th Congress.

Executive Vice President of Industry Affairs April Carty-Sipp gave an update on the upcoming NAB Show Las Vegas, taking place April 15 – 19. With more than 1,000 exhibitors featuring new-to-market players and brands from across the globe, NAB Show is the world’s largest annual convention for broadcasters and the broader media, entertainment and technology industries. Like NAB, this year NAB Show is celebrating its 100th year.

Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice President of Legal and Regulatory Affairs Rick Kaplan moderated a panel featuring members of NAB’s legal team. The panel focused on regulatory issues facing broadcasters at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), including the need to modernize broadcast media ownership rules and the FCC’s continued focus on foreign sponsorship identification requirements. The panel also discussed the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) notice of a proposed rule to ban non-compete clauses, and how that would affect the broadcast industry.

Chief Diversity Officer and President of the NAB Leadership Foundation Michelle Duke provided an update on NAB’s DEI initiatives and events like the Human Resources and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Forum that NAB and NABLF co-hosted last November. Duke spoke about NABLF’s upcoming opportunities, including a Diversity Symposium at NAB Show and the 2023 Celebration of Service to America Awards.

Following the briefing, Carty-Sipp moderated a Q-and-A session with LeGeyt, Kaplan and Donilon. Questions were submitted by NAB members from across the country, and topics included the future makeup of the FCC, the importance of radio in the auto dashboard, broadcast innovation and NEXTGEN TV, how to support diversity in the industry and NAB’s policy priorities in the 118th Congress.