Legal File
Comment Dates Set on the FCC Request to Update the Record on the 39% National TV Ownership Cap
Only three weeks ago, we published an article on the FCC’s request for public comment to update the record in the 2018 proceeding looking at whether to change the 39% national cap on the ownership of television stations. That request for comments was published in the Federal Register July 8, setting the deadline for comments. Comments are due August 4, 2025 and reply comments are to be filed by August 22. Although we published our look at the issues in this proceeding only a few weeks ago, we thought that we would republish it for those who may have missed it.
Read MoreJuly 2025 Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters –Quarterly Issues/Programs Lists, Comment Deadlines, Political Windows and More
The lazy days of summer provide little respite from the regulatory actions of importance to broadcasters. July brings quarterly requirements, including most importantly, the obligation to upload Quarterly Issues/Programs Lists to a station’s online public file. There are comment deadlines in July in three FCC proceedings: on regulatory fees, on a proposal for LPTV stations to operate under the 5G Broadcast transmission standard, and in the FCC’s proposal to expand foreign ownership disclosure requirements for FCC-issued licensees, including broadcasters.
Read MoreFCC Loses Two Commissioners and a Quorum – What Does It Mean for Broadcasting?
Last Wednesday morning the news came Republican Commissioner Simington had announced his departure from the FCC effective last Friday. Shortly thereafter, Commissioner Starks, the Democrat whose planned departure was to have given the Republicans a majority on the FCC, announced that last Friday would also be his departure date.
Read MoreJune 2025 Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – Annual EEO Public File Reports, Comment Deadlines and More
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.
Read MoreCourt Finds FCC Has No Authority to Require EEO Form 395-B – And Narrows Scope of the Public Interest Standard
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.
Read MoreLocal Broadcast Ownership Rules – How Could Ownership Deregulation Play Out?
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.
Read MoreMay 2025 Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – Comment Deadlines on ATSC 3.0 and EAS, Application Fee Increases, Audible Crawl Rule, Political File Windows and More
While May is one of those months that does not have any routine, scheduled FCC filing deadlines, there are still a number of regulatory dates and deadlines that are worthy of note for broadcasters.
Read MoreSettlement Between NAB and SoundExchange on Webcasting Royalty Rates for 2026-2030 – Rates are Going Up for Broadcast Simulcasts
A proceeding before the Copyright Royalty Board to set the rates to be paid to SoundExchange for the public performance of music by a non-interactive commercial webcasting service for 2026-2030 started last year, and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025. SoundExchange and one of the major webcasting parties remaining in the case, the NAB, this week filed with the Copyright Royalty Board a proposed settlement of the current litigation over the royalty rates to be paid to performers and copyright holders.
Read MoreNAB Requests the End of the 39% Cap on Nationwide Television Station Ownership – Looking at the Issues
The NAB last week submitted a letter asking the FCC to quickly repeal the 39% cap on national ownership of television stations. This cap precludes the ownership by one company or individual of an attributable interest in television stations capable of reaching more than 39% of the television households in the United States. The rule has been in place since 2004.
Read MoreThe More Things Change, the More They Remain the Same: Risks of Using or Accepting or Engaging in Advertising or Promotions that Use FINAL FOUR or Other NCAA Trademarks: 2025 Update
This is my tenth annual column on the subject of the potential pitfalls to broadcasters in using the NCAA’s FINAL FOUR and other trademarks or accepting advertising that use the marks. I began last year’s post with the comment that the last few years had been filled with changes in college sports. I also noted that the NCAA’s hard line against unauthorized uses of FINAL FOUR or its other marks had not changed.
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