Dates to Remember 

Posted on April 30th, 2026 by

June 1, 2026 Radio and TV Stations located in Michigan, Ohio, Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming Maryland, Washington DC, Virginia and West Virginia:  if five (5) full time employee threshold is met, prepare EEO public file report covering the period from ‘June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026, upload it to the station […]

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FCC Orders Two Television Groups to File Early License Renewal Applications During Ongoing Investigations

Posted on April 30th, 2026 by

On April 28, 2026, the FCC’s Media Bureau Video Division Chief issued an Order requiring Disney’s ABC to file early renewal applications for its eight owned television stations as part of an ongoing investigation. The Order cites to the ongoing investigation launched last year into the stations’ DEI practices and for non-compliance with the Communications […]

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DOJ Reclassifies Marijuana as Schedule III Drug

Posted on April 30th, 2026 by

In a 33-page final order effective April 22, 2026, the Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Agency reclassified marijuana as a Schedule III drug.  Previously, it was a Schedule 1 drug. In addition, the DEA has announced an expedited hearing for June 29, 2026 to consider other federal law changes that may be needed as a […]

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FCC Launches Inquiry into TV Ratings

Posted on April 30th, 2026 by

On April 22, 2026 the FCC’s Media Bureau opened a docket seeking public comment on TV parental guidelines and television content ratings. Comments are due by May 22 and reply comments by June 22. Industry adopted TV ratings (by age and content) have been in place for over 25 years and is used voluntarily by […]

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FCC Media Bureau Extends Waiver of TV Audio Crawl Rule

Posted on April 30th, 2026 by

On April 8, 2026, the FCC’s Media Bureau extended its current waiver for TV stations to provide an audio crawl of certain emergency information.  The FCC’s rule adopted years ago requires television broadcasters to provide an aural representation of visual, nontextual emergency information that is displayed during non-newscast programming, such as radar maps or other […]

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Dates to Remember 

Posted on March 31st, 2026 by

April 1, 2026 Radio and TV Stations located in Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, Delaware and Pennsylvania:  if five (5) full time employee threshold is met, prepare EEO public file report covering the period from ‘April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026, upload it to the station online public inspection file and post it on the […]

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Media Bureau Issues Political Ad Lowest Unit Charge Guidance

Posted on March 31st, 2026 by

The FCC’s Media Bureau has issued a public notice with guidance on who is entitled to “lowest unit charge” rates for political ads.  The notice reminds broadcasters of when federal candidate campaign committees / parties are eligible for LUC rates and encourages stations to request documentation from advertisers if necessary. Specifically, in addition to the […]

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FCC Updates/Eliminates Numerous Broadcast Rules

Posted on March 31st, 2026 by

The FCC has continued with its process of eliminating rules or making regulations current with present practices, recently adopting an order updating rules to reflect current systems and nomenclature, while also eliminating several obsolete rules. Among other changes, the order (1) replaced references to FCC legacy filing systems with newer systems, (2) updated rules to […]

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FCC Launches Sports Broadcast Inquiry

Posted on March 31st, 2026 by

The FCC has issued a public notice asking for comments on the current sports video programming distribution landscape, citing consumer frustration with the number of video platforms now required to watch live sports or select teams and the paywalls preventing access without subscriptions. According to the notice, “many sporting events that were previously available through […]

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FCC Enforcement Bureau Issues Violation Notices

Posted on March 31st, 2026 by

In recent weeks, the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau has issued notices of violation for towers that are non-compliant with tower lighting and painting requirements. In one instance, the FCC’s regional personnel in the Dallas, Texas office inspected a tower that needed painting and was out of compliance, requiring a response within 20 days.  In another, the […]

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