Dates to Remember 

Posted on March 31st, 2025 by

April 1, 2025 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, 2024 to March 31, 2025, upload it to the station online public inspection file and post it on the […]

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FCC Chairman Announces New Deregulation Docket

Posted on March 31st, 2025 by

On March 12, 2025, FCC Chairman Carr announced a broad deregulatory initiative dubbed “In re: Delete, Delete, Delete.”  The docket seeks comment on any FCC rule, regulation or guidance document that should be eliminated to alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens.  For broadcasters, the docket presents a unique opportunity to further reduce regulatory burdens. The public notice […]

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Commissioner Starks to Step Down

Posted on March 31st, 2025 by

On March 18, 2025, FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks announced that he intended to resign his seat in the spring of 2025, before his term officially ends in July 2027.  Starks’ resignation announcement prompted applause for his service to the nation by Chairman Carr and Commissioner Gomez. While a specific date for Starks’ resignation has not […]

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Outcome of FCC’s Payola Inquiries Remains Unknown

Posted on March 31st, 2025 by

So far, we have not seen public information about iHeart’s response to the FCC Chairman’s letter expressing concerns over payola compliance actions related to their upcoming country festival station event in Austin, Texas.  An Enforcement Bureau Advisory issued before the letter raised concerns that if stations were determining airplay based on artist participation in station […]

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FCC to Investigate Disney/ABC for Employment Discrimination

Posted on March 31st, 2025 by

On March 27, 2025, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr published a letter he sent to Disney/ABC announcing an investigation into their compliance with FCC EEO regulations by promoting “invidious forms of DEI discrimination.”  This marks the latest in a series of letters sent by the Chairman as he announces investigations of several major media ownership entities. […]

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Dates to Remember

Posted on March 1st, 2025 by

March 9, 2025 Daylight savings time begins; AM daytime-only radio stations or those operating with pre-sunrise and post-sunset authority should check their licenses or PSRA-PSSA authorizations to be sure they are operating during authorized hours April 1, 2025 Radio and TV Stations located in Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, Delaware, and Pennsylvania: if five (5) full […]

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New FCC Chairman Continues Rapid Fire Approach

Posted on March 1st, 2025 by

New FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has continued to venture into new territory on several fronts, and all broadcasters should be paying close attention. After ending the FCC’s DEI practices on his first full day as FCC Chairman, Carr recently sent a letter and announced on social media that the DEI practices of NBC Universal and […]

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FCC Enforcement Bureau Issues Payola Advisory

Posted on March 1st, 2025 by

One week after Senator Marsha Blackburn raised a payola concern in a letter to the FCC, the Enforcement Bureau issued a February 6 advisory to all broadcasters warning about compliance with its payola rules and a related criminal federal statute. The Advisory suggested that stations might be engaging in “covert manipulation of airplay” based on […]

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EEO Form 395-B Fate Still Uncertain

Posted on March 1st, 2025 by

A recent hearing on the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on the legitimacy of the FCC decision reinstating EEO Form 395-B to collect employee ethnicity, race and gender shed very little light on whether the form itself will survive judicial scrutiny.  The FCC conceded during the hearing that the addition of a “non-binary” gender […]

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Rules on Loud TV Commercials to Get a New Look

Posted on March 1st, 2025 by

Yesterday, the FCC voted to open a new proceeding to re-look at its current rules on preventing the airing of commercials on TV stations, cable, and satellite that are excessively loud compared to normal programming. The FCC first adopted loud commercial prevention rules in 2012 after Congress adopted the CALM Act. While complaints about loud […]

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