WASHINGTON—National Association of Broadcasters President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt urged Congress to reform the Sports Broadcasting Act so that it “applies only to league-wide negotiations with media companies that will distribute games through broadcast television, not lock games behind streaming paywalls.”

The SBA, passed in 1961, gives the National Football League a limited antitrust exemption that allows it to negotiate TV rights deals with media companies on behalf of all of its teams.

In recent years, LeGeyt and others at a House subcommittee hearing argued, the NFL has pursued a policy of selling media rights to subscription streaming services that has enriched the league but harmed consumers.

“The Sports Broadcasting Act was built on a simple public-interest bargain,” he said in prepared testimony to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform and Antitrust. “Professional sports leagues received a limited antitrust exemption so they could pool and sell broadcast rights, and fans received broad public access to their games … For decades, that bargain worked. Fans could watch most games on free, local broadcast television. Leagues benefited from the unmatched reach of broadcasting.

“Yet today, it is increasingly apparent that the public access goals of that bargain are no longer being met,” he added. “Games from the four major professional leagues are now spread across Amazon Prime [Video], Netflix, YouTube TV and Apple TV. Fans increasingly need multiple paid subscriptions to watch their favorite teams, and survey after survey shows fans are confused and frustrated. Some estimates suggest that accessing every NFL game over the course of a season would cost a consumer well over $1,000. That’s a long way from the broad, free access Congress intended when it created the SBA.”

To remedy this, LeGeyt said: “NAB is not asking to eliminate the Sports Broadcasting Act. But this Committee should reaffirm that the SBA applies only to league-wide negotiations with media companies that will distribute games through broadcast television, not lock games behind streaming paywalls.”

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez also expressed serious concern about the way the NFL has sold media rights and handled its distribution strategy.

“The economics of how fans actually watch have shifted in ways that deserve serious attention,” she said. “What used to arrive through an antenna, available to anyone regardless of income, has increasingly migrated behind a growing stack of subscriptions and league-specific apps. For a family trying to follow their team through a full season, the cost of piecing together access across multiple platforms adds up quickly.”

Gomez also noted that the FCC is currently probing the state of sports rights on broadcasting.

“The FCC has a legitimate interest in helping gather information on how the Sports Broadcasting Act is functioning in a changing media environment, and I support efforts to ensure fans can access the games they love without paying a fortune,” she said. “When sports programming migrates behind paywalls, fans lose access, local broadcasters lose the revenue that keeps their stations alive, and the local journalism those stations produce loses the funding on which they depend.”

But she added that “I also want to be candid about where the FCC's authority ends. The Commission can gather information, raise concerns, and call out fouls where it sees them, but any meaningful update to the Sports Broadcasting Act will ultimately require legislative action.”

Also testifying was Jim Hallers, founder and managing partner of Tailgators Pub & Grill and Citizens Grill, a chain of sports bars in Texas, who blasted the NFL’s 2022 decision to sell the rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket out-of-market game package to YouTube. He said the general shift of sports rights to streaming has imposed significant costs on restaurants and bars.

“Because we promise customers every NFL game, we now have to figure out how to deliver multiple simultaneous streams across dozens of televisions,” he said. “One commercial video switch with enough inputs and outputs can cost in excess of $15,000. A full upgrade including equipment, wiring and the labor will cost $30,000 to $40,000 per restaurant. And then there is the bandwidth problem. It is one thing to stream a game at home. It is another thing to stream ten noon games at once while also running point-of-sale systems, credit card processing, security cameras, online ordering, music, office systems and customer Wi-Fi. When a game freezes during a key play, the customer does not blame the provider. They blame the restaurant.”

“Beginning with the 2026 season, EverPass is the commercial provider for NFL Sunday Ticket,“ he said. “But EverPass does not replace the rest of the programming my customers expect. I still need DirecTV, cable or another provider for the in-market football game, and all the other channels and programming that make a sports bar work. So instead of simplifying the business, the transition is adding another layer of cost and complexity. I cannot simply replace 40 DirecTV boxes in one venue with 40 streaming devices. It does not work like this. The internet capacity, hardware, control systems and reliability are not there yet.”

IRVING, Texas—Nexstar Media Group has named Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary Elizabeth Ryder to its board of directors.

The move comes as the company faces important legal challenges over its acquisition of Tegna.

Ryder had held the same role from 2017 to 2022, and before that was senior vice president and general counsel. At that time, she oversaw Nexstar’s legal and regulatory efforts related to its 2017 acquisition of Media General and 2019 purchase of Tribune Media. For the past four years, she has been Nexstar’s senior outside legal counsel. She joined Nexstar in 2009.

“We are very pleased to welcome Elizabeth back to Nexstar’s executive team on a full-time basis,” Perry Sook, Nexstar’s founder, chairman and CEO, said. “Her counsel over the past four years has been invaluable. She brings a depth of legal experience unmatched in the media industry, knows Nexstar and its mission intimately, and understands the evolving media landscape as very few do.”

Nexstar also promoted three senior executives to new posts:

• Scott Weaver has been promoted to executive vice president, government relations.
• Lindsey Knapp was elevated to executive vice president, human resources and associate general counsel.
• Jason Roberts advanced to senior vice president, deputy general counsel and assistant corporate secretary.

Weaver joined Nexstar in 2024 as senior VP, government relations, and has been responsible for setting the company’s legislative and regulatory priorities, representing Nexstar’s interests to the executive branch of the federal government, Congress, and a variety of regulatory bodies. He established Nexstar’s first Office of Government Affairs in Washington, D.C., shortly after joining. He will continue to report directly to Sook.

Knapp had been senior vice president, human resources and associate general counsel, since 2024, directing comprehensive due diligence during mergers and acquisitions and advising on workforce composition, culture and integration issues. She has also managed a variety of organizational changes designed to improve efficiency and productivity and was instrumental in the creation and implementation of Nexstar’s employment law compliance program. Ms. Knapp joined Nexstar in 2022 as VP, human resources and associate general counsel. She will report to President and Chief Operating Officer Michael Biard.

Roberts joined Nexstar as associate general counsel in 2019, following the company’s acquisition of Tribune Media, where he was assistant general counsel for 10 years, overseeing legal matters for approximately one-third of Tribune’s TV station portfolio, negotiating complex commercial contracts and advising on regulatory and content matters. He has had similar responsibilities at Nexstar while also managing the legal aspects of the company’s transition to ATSC 3.0 and establishing its regulatory training programs. Roberts will report to Ryder.

“Scott, Lindsey and Jason are talented and experienced leaders in their respective fields who are deeply committed to Nexstar’s long-term success,” Sook said. “Each of them has a keen understanding of our media businesses and our people, the forces that are shaping the industry and the critical role we play in the communities we serve. We are fortunate to have them as members of our management team.”

WASHINGTON—During its December open meeting, the Federal Communications Commission voted to adopt rules for Low Power TV, TV Translator and Class A (LPTV Service) broadcasters that the agency said will give them additional regulatory clarity in how they use their licenses.

The updates are designed to reflect the changes in the broadcast industry since the LPTV Service was established more than forty years ago and to strengthen LPTV Service broadcasters’ ability to compete in local media markets.

The Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the updates in a Report & Order called “Amendment of the Commission’s Rules to Advance the LPTV, TV Translator and Class A Television Service”, MB Docket No. 24-148.

In a statement on the Report & Order, FCC Chair Brendan Carr noted that in 1982, the Commission created LPTV Service to bring local television to viewers who were “otherwise unserved or underserved” by full power television broadcasters.

While those stations are now an established component of the nation’s television system, delivering free, over-the-air, including locally produced programming, to millions of viewers in both rural and urban communities, “our LPTV Service rules have not been updated to keep pace with industry realities or to address regulatory uncertainties where they exist,” Carr said.

To address that, he said “today’s action modernizes the LPTV regulatory framework so licensees can make informed business decisions about their station operations, while ensuring the American people continue to benefit from their services. Among the actions taken to achieve this goal, the item streamlines and formalizes regulatory processes, takes steps to preserve existing and promote new service, establishes a level playing field by eliminating inconsistencies within our rules, and provides certainty for licensees by establishing clear rules of the road.”

“The rules we adopt will ensure that the LPTV Service continues to flourish and serve the public interest well into the future,” he concluded. “I look forward to seeing the positive results of this action and continuing to monitor the steps that broadcasters take to address the needs of local communities across the nation.”

The FCC described the specific features of the Report and Order as follows:

• Updates how relocation distances are calculated for displaced and channel sharing LPTV/TV translators stations.
• Establishes a uniform maximum relocation distance for all minor modification applications.
• Establishes a formal method for LPTV Service stations to specify a community of license.
• Requires stations in the LPTV Service to utilize a call sign that matches their service designation (existing LPTV/Class A call signs are grandfathered).
• Establishes a formal process for LPTV Service stations to change their service designation.
• Clarifies what EAS equipment must be installed by LPTV stations.
• Clarifies the video program responsibilities of LPTV/TV translators.
• Revises and expands the displacement rule to clearly enumerate the circumstances that qualify LPTV/TV translator stations for displacement and eliminate the displacement public notice period.
• Updates technical rules to help prevent interference.
• Removes obsolete rules.
• Permits LPTV/TV translator channel sharing stations to apply for their own channels.
• Declines to adopt new LPTV minimum operating hours; limit community of license changes; restrict service designation changes; or limit applicants' ability to round distance calculations.

More information is available here.

WASHINGTON—In the runup to what could be another blackout of broadcast TV stations, the American Television Alliance (ATVA) has released a statement complaining that a retransmission dispute between Mission Broadcasting and Verizon might result in two stations being dropped from the Fios lineup next week.

Neither Verizon or Mission has commented publicly on the contract, which will expire on Dec. 15 according to The Desk.

The issue of a potential blackout was first raised by ATVA, which is funded by pay TV groups and counts Verizon as a member.

If an agreement is not reached, Verizon customers in Albany, N.Y. could lose access to Mission's WXXA (Fox) in Albany, N.Y. and WNAC (Fox) in Providence, R.I.

In a statement issued Dec. 10, ATVA attacked Mission for demanding “exorbitant retransmission consent fee increases for programming that is free over the air.”

“Mission Broadcasting is the latest broadcaster to threaten TV blackouts for FOX and CW affiliates in key markets while demanding unjustified retransmission fee hikes that raise costs for American consumers,” said ATVA spokesman Hunter Wilson. “These tactics underscore the urgent need for retransmission consent reform and exemplify how broadcasters exploit disruptions to extract excessive profits, sidelining viewers who rely on affordable access to local stations.”

TV Tech has reached out to Mission for comment.

RASTATT, Germany—Lawo and the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) have partnered to launch the SMPTE ST 2110 Practical Lab, an immersive training program to assist the industry’s transition to IP-based workflows.

The Practical Lab, hosted at Lawo headquarters in Rastatt, Germany, offers a hands-on environment to design, synchronize and troubleshoot live-production IP networks, the company said.

The lab builds on SMPTE’s education path, which includes:

• Introduction to SMPTE ST 2110 (Independent study.) — Ongoing enrollment throughout 2026. https://www.smpte.org/introduction-to-st2110
• Understanding SMPTE ST 2110 (Instructor-led, virtual/online.) — In-depth technical exploration of ST 2110 with peer learning through an online flipped classroom model. https://www.smpte.org/virtual-course/st2110
• SMPTE ST 2110 Boot Camp (Intensive instructor-led, virtual/online training) — The next Boot Camp session to be held in January. https://www.smpte.org/smpte-st-2110-boot-camp-january

Once media professionals who have completed these courses can apply their knowledge in real-world scenarios using Lawo solutions, including A__mic8 audio stagebox, .edge SDI/IP gateway, VSM, HOME management platform and HOME Apps.

Key dates include:

• Understanding SMPTE ST 2110 (Virtual): Dec. 2–18.
• SMPTE ST 2110 Boot Camp: Jan. 12, 2026, to April 30, 2026.
• Practical Lab: Booked after the Boot Camp or SMPTE ST 2110 course and offered remotely during a one-day self-paced list of hands-on exercises.

“The transition to IP is one of the most significant evolutions in broadcast technology,” said Wim Van Roy, educational architect at Lawo and 2025 education director at SMPTE. “By partnering with SMPTE and the wider industry to deliver this Practical Lab, we’re empowering professionals to confidently design and operate ST 2110 workflows—supporting the industry’s future towards dynamic media facilities powered by SMPTE ST 2110 standards.”

More information about the Practical Lab is available online.

More information is available on the company’s website.

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission’s Media Bureau has once again delayed implementation of sponsorship identification requirements for foreign government programming.

On June 10, 2024, the Commission released rule modifications in a Second Report and Order to the sponsorship identification requirements for foreign government-provided programming, which require a public disclosure to be made, at the time of broadcast, identifying the foreign source of such programming.

But in June of 2025, the Bureau deferred requiring compliance with the revised rules for six months, or until December 8, 2025. On Dec. 5, 2025, the Bureau once again deferred complaints until 6 months after December 8, 2025, or June 7, 2026.

The FCC noted that only new leases and renewals of existing leases entered into on or after the compliance date must comply with the rule modifications.

As previously reported, the FCC has issued a Second Report and Order in June of 2024, clarifying its rules regarding the disclosure of foreign sponsorship of programming on broadcast stations.

Worried about the influence of Russian, Chinese and foreign government disinformation on recent U.S. elections, the FCC implemented new rules in 2022 imposing additional requirements on how stations investigate the sources of their programming and determine whether the programming was sponsored by foreign governments.

However, the NAB filed suit against the expanded rules in 2022 and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated some of those rules. "We hold that the FCC cannot require radio broadcasters to check Federal sources to verify sponsors’ identities,” the Court ruled. “We therefore vacate that aspect of the challenged order.” The decision would not remove the requirement that stations tell viewers when they are airing foreign government-sponsored programming.

In the Second Report and Order (Second R&O) issued on June 10, the FCC noted that “we address a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that vacated one of the foreign sponsorship identification requirements established in the First R&O. We replace the vacated verification requirement with an approach that avoids the investigatory obligation on the part of licensees that was at issue in NAB v. FCC. The new approach provides licensees with two options for demonstrating that they have met their duty of inquiry in seeking to obtain the information needed to determine whether the programming being provided by a lessee is sponsored by a foreign governmental entity. Our adopted approach addresses concerns about burdens and complexity raised by commenters in response to the Second Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Second NPRM).”

“Furthermore, in this order, we clarify that our foreign sponsorship identification rules do not apply to sales of advertising for commercial goods and services to the extent such programming falls within the exemption contained in section 73.1212(f) of our general sponsorship identification rules,” the FCC said. “In addition, we find that our foreign sponsorship identification rules will not apply to political candidate advertisements, but will apply to issue advertisements and paid public service announcements (`paid PSAs’). We also confirm that our rule changes do not alter our finding in the First R&O that noncommercial and educational broadcast stations (NCEs) are not likely to fall within the ambit of the foreign sponsorship identification rules.”

But the FCC declined “to create an exemption from the rules for religious programming and locally produced and/or distributed programming. We also conclude that, when a lessee and licensee enter into recurring leases for the same programming, the licensee will be required to exercise its reasonable diligence obligations under the rule only once per year with respect to that particular lessee and that particular programming. With respect to the rule changes adopted today, we grandfather lease agreements already in effect at the time of the required compliance date for these newly-adopted modifications, determining that such leases will need to come into compliance either at the time of renewal or when the parties to the agreement enter into a new lease. Finally, we clarify the obligations of section 325(c) permittees under the foreign sponsorship identification rules.”

The law firm Wiley noted in a blog post that the new rules “apply more broadly to include advertising (including political issue advertising and paid public service announcements),” with a number of exceptions that can be found here.

Wiley also explained that the new rules “require broadcasters to choose from two FCC-specified options to satisfy their duty of inquiry, consisting of either (1) a certification requirement (which can be satisfied using separate FCC-approved templates for the licensee and the lessee/program purchaser), or (2) a requirement to obtain from the lessee screenshots demonstrating that the party purchasing airtime is not listed in government databases that compile foreign agents under the Foreign Agents Registration Act and the FCC’s U.S.-based foreign media outlet report.”

More background on the issue can be found here.

NEW YORK—In an important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public comment.

The spec is important because it standardizes how SSPs and DSPs sync deals, cuts out manual entry errors, and brings real transparency into who is packaging and selling a deal across sellers, packagers, and curators. It is designed to fix the mismatches and under-delivery that have long held back high value private marketplaces and curated supply.

The API also gives the industry clear visibility into deal structure, improves collaboration between parties, and sets the stage for future discoverability so everyone in a deal knows where they sit and why. With deal-based monetization only growing across curation and streaming, the IAB Tech Lab believes that the new spec is a meaningful step toward a cleaner, more trusted programmatic supply chain.

"The Deals API sync capability directly addresses a key inefficiency in the programmatic supply chain for high-value, curated, private marketplaces," said Anthony Katsur, CEO, IAB Tech Lab. "The ability to prove transparency to all parties involved in packaging and selling the deal, including curators, will improve accuracy and grow confidence in deal-based media transactions, which are a vital opportunity for publisher growth in a time of reduced traffic."

This new specification introduces a standardized method for communication of programmatic deals from origin systems, typically supply-side platforms (SSPs), to receiving systems, typically demand-side platforms (DSPs), significantly reducing potential for errors due to manual input in multiple systems and improving operational efficiency. The public comment period will remain open until January 31, 2026.

While deals are a cornerstone of programmatic advertising, especially in curation and streaming environments, where they serve as a primary monetization strategy, the manual nature of current deal entry often results in mismatches, under-delivery, and a lack of clarity around deal ownership.

This is often due to entry errors or misaligned expectations between parties. Magnite’s vice president, product management, Nick Allen, notes that “two-thirds of deals are configured with the desired supply, yet deliver no or very little revenue.”

Deals API v1.0 addresses these issues by introducing greater transparency into deal structure - explicitly identifying the business entities involved in the packaging of a deal, including the seller, packager, and curator, where applicable, the Lab reported.

This visibility helps eliminate confusion, foster accountability, and strengthen trust across all parties in the transaction chain.

“While much of the Deal Sync capability in this API formalizes long-standing needs around deal management between various parties, it sets the foundation the industry needs for innovation in deal management going forward, given the growing dominance and importance of deals,” said Anna-Maria Nalepa, senior technical product manager at Basis Technologies. “Beyond enabling better collaboration and allowing for cleaner data as deal volumes grow, the API...addresses curation by bringing transparency to deals including information about who is involved and in what capacity. It paves the way for a more transparent, deal-driven programmatic marketplace in an ecosystem historically challenged by complexity and intermediaries."

Future versions of the API will support discoverability for all participants in a deal, enabling all parties to see where and how they are included, and by whom.

“As the curation category matures, media buyers and their DSP partners should have basic line of sight into the companies that are packaging inventory,” added Chris Kane, founder of Jounce Media. “A standardized deal API is one critical step toward more trusted sell-side decisioning."

To participate in the public comment process or to review the full specification visit https://iabtechlab.com/standards/dealsapi/.

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission said it has closed 2,048 inactive proceedings, the largest number of dormant dockets ever terminated in a single proceeding by the regulator.

Terminating these proceedings was part of an effort to promote good governance, increase efficiency and modernize agency processes in the digital age, the regulator said.

“This is…just the latest example of good governance here at the FCC,” FCC Chair Brendan Carr said in a statement. “By closing dormant proceedings, the FCC can help provide the regulatory certainty needed for investments and deployments in communities across the country. I commend the entire agency for all of their hard work in this record-breaking proceeding.”

The dockets closed in today’s termination order were reviewed by the Consumer and Government Affairs Bureau in coordination with the responsible bureaus and offices for the Ninth Dormant Proceedings Termination Public Notice, the FCC said.

The proceedings listed in the file attachment to the order will be terminated in the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System once published in the Federal Register. The record in the terminated proceedings will remain part of the commission’s official records, and the various pleadings, orders and other documents in these proceedings will continue to be accessible to the public.

The action is distinct from the commission’s recent “In Re: Delete, Delete, Delete” proceeding. While both proceedings seek to streamline commission operations and reduce regulatory burdens, the termination order seeks to eliminate inactive dockets. “Delete, Delete, Delete” seeks to reduce unnecessary regulations and outdated rules, the agency said.

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission has opened a docket for comments on the proposed $6.2 billion Nexstar acquisition for Tegna and set deadlines for comments.

Nexstar reported that the combined company would serve 54.5% of the national audience, which means it would need a waiver of the National Television Multiple Ownership Rule limiting station groups to 39% reach of the national audience.

It is also seeking a waver of rules that prevent it from owning more than two full power stations in 23 markets.

On December 1, 2025, the FCC began accepting filing applications at MB Docket No. 25-331 on the proposed transfer of all outstanding equity interests in Tegna, the parent company of 64 full power television stations, one AM radio station, one FM radio station, and other related FCC licenses, to Nexstar Media Inc.

The FCC said that any Petition to Deny filings must be received by December 31, 2025; Opposition filings must be submitted by January 15, 2026 and Reply filings by January 26, 2026.

The FCC noted that the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has issued its mandate in Zimmer Radio of Mid-Missouri, Inc. v. FCC. The ruling in that case vacated and remanded the portion of the Commission’s Local Television Ownership Rule prohibiting common ownership of two of the top four ranked stations in the same Nielsen Designated Market Area (DMA) (Top-Four Prohibition), subject to certain exceptions.

In that ruling the court also vacated an amendment to Note 11 of 47 CFR § 73.3555 that included multicast and low-power television streams in the Top-Four Prohibition.

As a result, the remaining portion of the Commission’s Local Television Ownership Rule 47 CFR § 73.3555(b) now permits common ownership of two television stations in a single DMA without restriction.

Even so, Nexstar is seeking a waiver of the Commission’s Local Television Ownership Rule with respect to the 23 DMAs in which Nexstar proposes to own more than two full power television stations.

The FCC also reported that its National Television Multiple Ownership Rule prohibits a single entity from owning television stations that, in the aggregate, reach more than 39% of the total television households in the United States, after taking into account a 50% discount to UHF stations.

Because the combined companies would serve 54.5% of the national audience, Nexstar is seeking a waiver of the National Television Multiple Ownership Rule.

More information is available here.

Filings in the docket can be accessed here.

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission’s Media Bureau has issued a reminder that stations in DMAs 111 through 120 must implement its audio description rules by Jan. 1, 2026.

The FCC's 2023 Audio Description Order expands the commission’s audio description rules to an additional 10 designated market areas (DMAs) per year until all areas are included.

As previously reported, audio description aims to makes video programming more accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired through “[t]he insertion of audio narrated descriptions of a television program’s key visual elements into natural pauses between the program’s dialogue,” the FCC said.

The commission’s audio description rules require certain television broadcast stations and multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) to provide audio description for a portion of the video programming they televise to consumers.

The geographical areas impacted by the rules are DMAs determined by Nielsen as of Jan. 1, 2023. Those markets are:

• 1. Tyler-Longview (Lufkin & Nacogdoches), Texas
• 2. Sioux Falls (Mitchell), S.D.
• 3. Fargo, N.D.
• 4. Springfield-Holyoke, Mass.
• 5. Lansing, Mich.
• 6. Youngstown, Ohio
• 7. Yakima-Pasco-Richland-Kennewick, Wash.
• 8. Traverse City-Cadillac, Mich.
• 9. Eugene, Ore.
• 10. Macon, Ga.

For general information about audio description, visit www.fcc.gov/audio-description.

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for its Dec. 18 Open Commission Meeting that will include a vote on a report and order regarding LPTV rules.

In an item that the FCC is calling “Advancement of the Low Power Television, TV Translator and Class A Television Service,” the commission will consider a Report and Order amending its rules to provide regulatory certainty and clarity to LPTV broadcasters and reflect changes in the broadcast industry since the establishment of the LPTV service. (MB Docket No. 24-148)

The full public draft of the document, which may change before the December vote, is available here.

It will also take up two additional items at the December meeting. The FCC described those items as follows:

• Updating Rules to Curb Robocallers' Access to Phone Numbers—The Commission will consider a Third Report and Order and Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to strengthen and modernize the Commission's requirements that all providers of Voice over Internet Protocol service must meet to maintain direct access to telephone numbers and protect consumers from illegal robocalling. The Commission would seek comment on ways to further bolster numbering resource protections as bad actors continue to seek new and creative methods for exploiting consumers and causing harm. (WC Docket Nos. 13-97, 07-243, 20-67)
• Delete, Delete, Delete—The commission will consider a Direct Final Rule that would continue its efforts to modernize its regulatory framework by eliminating approximately 35 obsolete, outdated, and unnecessary rules from Parts 2, 15, and 18, totaling 11,970 words or approximately 25 pages of the Code of Federal Regulations. (GN Docket No. 25-133)

The Open Meeting is scheduled to commence at 10:30 a.m. ET in the Commission Meeting Room of the Federal Communications Commission, 45 L Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. Open Meetings are streamed live at www.fcc.gov/live.

In a social media post on Nov. 23, President Donald Trump linked to a Newsmax article that said lifting FCC station ownership caps would be a “disaster for conservatives.” Trump also complained that if proposals to lift the cap “would allow the Radical Left Networks to ‘enlarge,’ I would not be happy…If anything make them SMALLER!”

The attachment of the Newsmax story indicated that the post clearly backed positions taken by Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy in articles and filings with the Federal Communications Commission that oppose lifting the ownership caps. One America News, another staunchly pro-Trump cable network, has also come out against ownership deregulation.

It’s unclear, though, if Trump’s post will have any impact on the FCC’s ongoing reexamination of ownership caps. Regulations currently limit the audience reach of a single TV station group to no more than 39% of total U.S. television viewership.

FCC Chair Brendan Carr has repeatedly signaled his willingness to lift at least some of the ownership caps as a way to strengthen local broadcasters. He phrases his support as a means of limiting the power of national networks, which he says are biased, and strengthening local affiliates.

As part of that effort, the FCC recently launched a widespread probe into broadcast network-affiliate relations.

But Carr has gone out of his way to support and praise Trump in ways not seen for many decades at the supposedly independent regulatory agency. He has also been criticized by former FCC chairs and commissioners for investigating network affiliates who have provided critical coverage of President Trump or shows, such as “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” that Trump wants to see taken off the air.

The impact of the post is also difficult to interpret because Trump has repeatedly issued statements that either confuse the authority of the FCC or simplify regulatory issues in ways that are misleading.

Trump, for example, has repeatedly called on the FCC to yank the licenses for broadcast networks even though the FCC does not license broadcast networks like ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox.

The FCC does have licensing authority over all broadcast stations, including network affiliates that carry network news and programming. Attempts to regulate the content of those newscasts are, however, highly controversial.

In addition the station groups owned by major companies like Disney, NBCUniversal and Fox are not close to the ownership limits and would not be immediately impacted by raising or dropping the 39% cap.

Currently the Fox station group is the largest in terms of the way the FCC measures coverage at 26%, followed by CBS (owned by Paramount) at 24%. Both ABC (Disney) and NBC (Comcast) have about 20%, according to BIA Advisory Services data posted by TVNewsCheck.

Failure to lift the caps could have an important impact on pending deals by several station groups, most notably Nexstar Media Group’s acquisition of Tegna, which would give it about 54% coverage.

In response to Trump's post, Nexstar issued a statement. “We continue to believe that the landscape is ripe for regulatory reform and that we are on the path to completing our transaction,“ the station group said. “We agree with President Trump that the status quo is no longer acceptable, nor should the government do anything to strengthen the stranglehold of legacy media and Big Tech on the marketplace of ideas. Those platforms already reach into every pocket, purse, and backpack in America, and the best way to disrupt their monopolistic power is to allow local broadcasters an opportunity to compete on a level playing field.

“Americans want more access to local news and a variety of voices without the filter of the coastal elites,” Nexstar continued. “By modernizing the FCC’s rules, regulators will ensure that local communities benefit from an array of fact-based local journalism—the anti-fake news—for years to come. This is an historic opportunity to change the status quo and deliver a win for Americans across the country who are weary of legacy media’s leverage over local broadcasters.”

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission has set deadlines for comments on its newest proposals for NextGen TV, aka ATSC 3.0, with comments due on Jan. 20, 2026 and reply comments by Feb. 18.

As previously reported, the regulator released a “Fifth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM)" on NextGen TV on Oct. 29 (GN Docket No. 16-142, Fifth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 25-72).

The FCC commissioners voted to go ahead with the FNPRM at its October meeting.

As part of FNPRM, the FCC is seeking comments on proposals that would make it easier for broadcasters to cut off ATSC 1.0 signals and transition to 3.0 broadcasts.

More specifically, the NPRM would end some simulcasting rules that currently require broadcasters who launch 3.0 broadcasts to also offer 1.0 signals. That would allow broadcasters to make their own decision on when to end ATSC 1.0 transmissions, which in turn could free up bandwidth for new services.

In addition it is seeking comments on a wide range of issues relating to the transition that are covered here.

The current proposals do not include provisions for a firm cutoff date for ATSC 3.0 or a mandate for 3.0-capable receivers.

The FNPRM can be found here.

WASHINGTON—After the previously announced schedule for lifting a freeze on major change applications and applications for new LPTV and TV translator stations was disrupted by the government shutdown, the Federal Communications Commission’s Media Bureau has issued a revised schedule.

Prior to the Sept. 3 public notice seeking to reopen these applications, applications for new LPTV stations had been frozen since 2010.

As part of the process for opening up those applications, the FCC said it will initially freeze certain applications. The agency said these freezes are necessary to provide a stable database for stations to prepare for the filing of major modification applications.

The FCC described the revised schedule as follows:

• Except for the revised dates announced below, all processes and procedures previously announced by the bureau pertaining to these filing opportunities remain the same.
• The freeze on major change applications implemented by the bureau on Sept. 3, remains in effect until it is lifted pursuant to the revised schedule set forth below.
• Dec. 11. Temporary application filing freeze implemented on all minor change applications (including displacement applications) for Class A, LPTV, and TV translator stations. Minor change applications filed once the freeze is imposed will be dismissed and need to be re-filed after the freeze is lifted.
• Dec. 18.Major modification filing freeze lifted to permit Class A, LPTV, and TV translator stations to file major change applications, on a first come, first served basis. Facility relocations are limited to no more than 121.0 kilometers (km). Major change applications submitted during this filing opportunity must meet the 121.0 km distance limit and otherwise comply with the Commission’s part 73 and 74 rules. All other applications will be dismissed. Freeze lifted on all minor change applications (including displacement applications) for Class A, LPTV, and TV translator stations.
• Jan. 29, 2026. Temporary application filing freeze implemented for all major change applications for Class A, LPTV, and TV translator stations. Major change applications filed once the freeze is imposed will be dismissed and need to be re-filed after the freeze is lifted.
• March 12, 2026. Temporary application filing freeze for all minor change applications (including displacement applications) for Class A, LPTV, and TV translator stations. Minor change applications filed once the freeze is imposed will be dismissed and need to be re-filed after the freeze is lifted.
• March 19, 2026.Major modification filing freeze lifted, without limit or restriction, to permit the filing of Class A, LPTV and TV translator major change applications and acceptance of applications for new LPTV and TV translators stations. The acceptance of applications for new Class A stations has been limited by statute and therefore applications for new Class A stations will not be accepted during this filing opportunity.

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission by a 3-0 vote opened a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to advance Congress’s mandate to clear a minimum of 100 Megahertz of Upper C-band spectrum no later than July 2027 for auction and eventual use for 5G and 6G wireless service.

The vote comes four months after Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB Act), restoring the commission’s authority to conduct spectrum auctions, and directed the FCC to free up spectrum in the 3.7-4.2GHz band for competitive bidding for terrestrial wireless flexible use. The NPRM seeks comment on clearing between 180 MHz (from 3.98 GHz to 4.16 GHz) to the 100 MHz Congress mandated (between 3.98 GHz and 4.08 GHz).

The OBBB Act reauthorized the FCC to grant licenses through competitive bidding until September 2034. It set up a path to eventually repurpose 800 MHz and at least 500MHz for full-power commercial licensed use cases.

The commission is looking for comments on a range of issues related to clearing the band and auction, including:

• The impact of the move on fixed satellite service (FSS) space station operators if their existing customers relocate out of the C-band.
• Application of the existing rules used for clearing the Lower C-band (3.7-3.9GHz) to new terrestrial service operators in the cleared Upper C-band.
• Basing any other rules that would be required on the those applied to the Lower C-band.
• Competitive bidding procedures for an auction.
• Licensing, operating and technical rules for any new wireless service.
• Transitioning incumbent FSS operations.
• Promoting co-existence with adjacent band radio altimeters.

Rules to clear the Lower C-band required new 3.7 GHz licensees to reimburse reasonable relocation costs of eligible FSS space station operators, incumbent FSS earth station operators and incumbent microwave fixed service (FS) via a third-party relocation payment clearinghouse. The commission at that time also set up a deadline to complete the clearing and an accelerated clearing process for eligible space station operators.

“Under any of the reconfiguration options under consideration, our baseline proposition is that we would apply the existing 3.7 GHz service rules to any newly authorized terrestrial wireless operations,” the NPRM said. “Any other rules and requirements, including those related to the transition process, would be modeled to the greatest extent possible on those that applied to the Lower C-band transition.”

The FCC will decide how much spectrum will be reallocated based on several factors, including the economic benefits and costs of repurposing spectrum for terrestrial wireless, how the value of that spectrum is affected by how much is repurposed and the clearing timeline, the NPRM said.

“We also will consider the capabilities of adjacent band radio altimeters which are expected to undergo upgrades that will further enhance their signal rejection capabilities and bolster the existing successful spectral co-existence environment to facilitate a further repurposing in the Upper C-band,” the NPRM said.

Comments are due at the commission 30 days after the NPRM is published in the Federal Register.

Reply comments are due 60 days after publication.

To download a PDF of the NPRM, visit the commission’s website.

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission has opened a wide-ranging inquiry into the relations between broadcast networks and their affiliates that could make it easier for affiliates to preempt network programming, redefine how negotiations with vMVPDs like YouTube TV are handled and even air programming from other networks.

Carr announced that the regulator had issued a Public Notice seeking comments on market dynamics of national programmers/affiliates in a post on X.

“The FCC has an obligation to ensure that local broadcast TV stations meet their public interest obligations,” Carr wrote. “Yet National Programmers operating out of New York & Hollywood are reportedly preventing those broadcasters from serving their local communities—including by punishing them for exercising their right to preempt national programming. The FCC has now started a proceeding to examine ways we can empower local broadcasters to meet their public interest obligations by reviewing the network / affiliate relationship for the first time in more than 15 years.”

In his tenure as FCC Chair. Carr has repeatedly argued that he would like to change the balance of power between broadcast networks, who he regularly attacks for “bias”, and local broadcasters, who provide much needed local news and information.

The new Public Notice, reflects that view in its title: “Empowering Local Broadcast TV Stations to Meet Their Public Interest Obligations: Exploring Market Dynamics Between National Programmers and Their Affiliates.”

It also stresses the public interest standards that broadcasters are required to uphold and that Carr has used to launch investigations into ABC, CBS and NBC affiliates for “news bias.”

“Television broadcasters are required by both the Communications Act and the terms of their FCC-issued licenses to operate in the public interest,” the Notice said. “Television broadcasters have this public interest obligation because the government has given them the privilege of using a scarce national resource—the public airwaves—and in doing so has necessarily excluded others that might want to broadcast their own programming over that spectrum. This public interest obligation distinguishes television broadcasters from other types of program distributors, including cable companies, streaming services, podcasts, and more, that were never given free access to the public airwaves or a federal license to broadcast on that spectrum.”

The Public Notice also laid out a number of arguments rebutting free-speech rights of broadcasters. “[C]ourts have long held that the First Amendment does not relieve a licensee of its public interest obligation, nor does it absolve the Commission of its statutory duty to ensure those licensees meet public interest requirements,” the Notice explained.

“By this Public Notice, the Media Bureau continues its efforts to empower local television broadcasters to meet their public interest obligations,” the Public Notice explained.

As part of that effort, the Notice argued that “an imbalance has developed in this relationship” between affiliates and networks with the rise of “horizontally and vertically integrated companies that now own national programming networks.”

“This imbalance...frustrates local broadcasters in their efforts to fulfill their public interest obligations,” the FCC argued. “Although the FCC does not directly regulate the national programmers as such, the Supreme Court has held that the relationship between networks and affiliates is well within the Commission’s regulatory jurisdiction.”

More specifically the FCC is seeking comment on changes in the network/affiliate relationship, in terms of the bargaining power of networks versus affiliates.

In a lengthy discussion of the inbalance of power between networks and affiliates, the FCC noted that "In the early 1940s, radio broadcasting in the United States was almost exclusively provided by four national AM radio networks, similar to today’s television broadcast market...In the Chain Broadcasting Report, the Commission found that certain regulations were necessary to address unfair practices in negotiations between the radio networks and local affiliate stations."

To address these unfair practices in the 1940s, "the report stated that affiliates should be allowed to broadcast programs of other networks as well as to schedule their own programs. Should the Commission consider adopting regulations similar to these in light of the changes in the broadcast market that have led to anticompetitive leverage and behavior by large networks?"

It also raised a number of questions about the ability of stations to preempt network programming without financial penalties.

“Consistent with the FCC’s right to reject rule, we seek comment in particular regarding the preemption of national programming by local broadcast TV stations,” the Notice stated. “As indicated in that rule, the FCC has determined that affiliation agreements should not include provisions that limit right-to-reject preemptions for “greater local or national importance” to breaking news events or any other specific type of programming; prevent affiliates from rejecting a program as “unsatisfactory or unsuitable or contrary to the public interest” because they have carried a similar network program in the past; or impose monetary or nonmonetary penalties on affiliates based on preemptions protected by the right-to-reject rule.”

It also raised the issue of whether networks should continue to negotiate retransmission agreements with vMVPDs like YouTube, something that station groups would like to change.

The Public Notice also dived into a number of issues about how the FCC might address problems in the affiliate relationship. “If the FCC subsequently determines that certain contract provisions and related network practices should be prohibited by rule, we seek comment on how to address offending affiliate agreements in order to restore full control of the license to the affiliate,” the Notice stated. “Parties to affiliation agreements that violate existing rules are already subject to enforcement action. Particularly egregious behavior could result in an order to file an early license renewal application, a short-term renewal period, or designation for hearing.”

The FCC said that comments on due on December 10, 2025; reply comments are due on December 24, 2025

The full Public Notice is available here.

IRVING, Texas—Nexstar Media Group and Tegna filed applications on Nov. 18 with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeking its consent to transfer broadcast licenses currently controlled by Tegna to Nexstar.

Earlier on Nov. 18, Tegna shareholders approved the $6.2 billion merger in a special meeting.

The redacted filings weren’t immediately available on the FCC site, but a copy obtained by TV Tech stressed the importance of the agency’s approval and pushed for the Commission to waive certain ownership rules so that the deal could be approved.

“The Applications demonstrate that the Transaction unequivocally will serve the public interest and its approval is urgently needed,” the filing said. “Despite Nexstar’s and Tegna's positions as industry leaders, both are susceptible to intense market forces conspiring against their ability to sustain operations at their current level, and these challenges are amplified by the specific circumstances in the markets in which waiver of the Commission’s rules may be necessary to allow the proposed combinations.”

The broadcasters cited the importance of their local news, their ability to alert local communities about threats to public safety and severe weather and their investments in technologies like ATSC 3.0 as examples of their public service.

“Each has demonstrated leadership in moving the broadcast industry forward toward technologies that better serve consumers. Yet, against the backdrop of existential changes to the market in which they compete, maintaining the status quo simply is not an option for either company,” they told the FCC.

“In short, this Transaction is absolutely critical to preserve the ability of the local television stations owned by Nexstar and Tegna to continue as viable, reliable sources of trusted, locally-focused news and information,” it concluded. “Local television stations are among the few remaining such sources—particularly given the gutting of local newspapers—in a media landscape that is more and more dominated by national and global technology and media behemoths…The Transaction will provide the combined Nexstar with economies of scale and the reach needed to successfully compete with giants like Alphabet (Google, YouTube, YouTubeTV), Amazon (Amazon Ads, Prime Video, Twitch), Apple (AppleTV), Comcast (Peacock), Disney (Disney+, Hulu, ESPN, Fubo), Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp), Netflix, Paramount (Paramount+, Pluto TV), TikTok, and Warner Bros. Discovery (HBO Max), all of which are unshackled in their ability to reach a national audience.”

In connection with the filing, Nexstar’s founder, chairman, chief executive officer, Perry Sook, reiterated those arguments and praised the Trump administration.

“Nexstar’s acquisition of Tegna is vitally important to the future of local television and local journalism,” he said. “We are grateful that the Trump administration and the FCC recognize that the current television ownership regulations are outdated and do not reflect the competitive media landscape as it has evolved over the past 25+ years. Like the Trump administration, we are focused on achieving deregulation, and we continue to advocate for the elimination of the antiquated constraints on local television ownership as the best solution to level the competitive playing field for all media.”

“While waiting for the FCC to complete its rule-making process, we submitted waiver requests to bypass the major barriers that prevent us from competing fairly—including with legacy media and Big Tech— massive entities with vast resources that afford them enormous influence that extends into every pocket, purse and backpack of Americans everywhere,” he added.

“To be clear, in an age of disinformation and political agendas, we are the anti-fake news,” he also noted. “Our news is delivered by trusted, familiar voices—journalists who live in the community—not a chat-bot or social media influencers. And yet, we are prohibited from broadcasting trusted local news and programming to hundreds of communities across the country because of antiquated regulatory constraints. In an era where political discourse has turned increasingly polarized and violent, our democracy requires that Americans have easy access to reliable fact-based journalism and community forums to debate the issues of the day safely and respectfully.”

“Nexstar’s acquisition of Tegna will provide us with the scale necessary for local journalism to thrive amidst a media landscape that is dominated by Big Tech and the legacy media companies, enabling us to continue not only investing in high-quality journalism and local news, but in serving our local communities in the best possible way,” he concluded.

(Editor’s note. When the filings become available on the FCC site we will post a link.)

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission, which is continuing to rapidly ramp up its operations after the end of the federal government shutdown, has set deadlines for comments and reply comments in its 2022 Quadrennial Review (MB Docket No. 22-459).

On September 30, 2025, the Commission adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to seek comment on the Commission’s media ownership rules pursuant to section 202(h) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which directs the Commission to review such rules every four years to determine whether they remain “necessary in the public interest as the result of competition” and to “repeal or modify any regulation [that it] determines to be no longer in the public interest.”

The 2022 Quadrennial Regulatory Review – Review of the Commission’s Broadcast Ownership Rules and Other Rules is a particularly important one for broadcasters as several station groups have announced or seem to be pursuing deals that would put them over existing ownership caps.

The 2022 Quadrennial review will take up three rules, the Local Radio Ownership Rule, the Local Television Ownership Rule, and the Dual Network Rule. The NPRM set deadlines for filing comments and reply comments at 30 and 60 days, after publication of the NPRM in the Federal Register.

In a newly filed Public Notice the FCC's Media Bureau announce that the NPRM was published in the Federal Register on November 17, 2025, shortly after the end of the government shutdown. That means comments must be submitted no later than December 17, 2025 and that reply comments must be submitted no later than January 16, 2026.

The NPRM is available on the Commission’s website at https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-25-64A1.pdf.

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission has issued detailed guidance on filings that were disrupted by the government shutdown. While many of those filings are now due on Nov. 18, the regulator also provided a long list of exceptions and laid out a staggered schedule for political filings.

As previously reported, the government shutdown prompted the FCC to suspend most operations from Oct. 1-Nov. 12. Certain electronic filing and database systems were unavailable during this time.

On November 13, 2025, the commission further extended all such deadlines until at least Nov. 18 and said it would provide additional guidance on specific deadlines to address the processing of what promised to be a backlog and flood of filings.

In providing the new guidance, the agency said, “While we recognize that these extensions do not afford an extension of time equal to the length of the funding lapse in all cases, we believe these extension periods are reasonable under the circumstances. Commission staff will consider requests for further extensions in individual matters, as appropriate.”

It also stressed that the new public notice on filing deadlines “supersedes any filing deadline or time period set forth in the Public Notices of September 30, October 1 and November 13 to the extent that they are inconsistent with any deadlines or time periods set forth herein…The extensions contained in this Public Notice do not apply to NORS and DIRS filings and filings related to spectrum auction activities authorized by section 309(j).”

More specifically, the FCC described exemptions to the filing schedule as follows: :

• ULS Applications and Notifications. "All ULS applications and notifications originally due to be filed in accordance with the Commission’s rules (e.g., sections 1.913, 1.946) on October 1, 2025, through and including December 5, 2025, are now due on December 5, 2025 (except certain Personal Radio Services renewals as described below). This extension does not apply to filings associated with spectrum auction activities authorized by section 309(j). In addition, all ULS filings that applicants attempted to file on October 1, 2025 (before ULS became unavailable on that day) will be considered received on November 18, 2025. For personal radio licensees (i.e., Amateur, Ship, Aircraft, GMRS, and Commercial Operator Licenses), renewal filings originally due on October 1, 2025, through and including March 5, 2026, are now due on March 5, 2026. Further, we confirm that licensees whose licenses have expired and whose renewal filing deadlines have been extended above may rely on their timely renewal filing (by the extended deadline) to support continued operation pursuant to section 1.62 of the Commission’s rules. 47 CFR § 1.62."
• Licensing and Management System. "The Media Bureau will release an additional public notice that outlines the filing and processing deadlines for all Media Bureau filings in LMS."
• Informal Consumer Complaints. "Service providers’ ability to respond to informal complaints was not affected by the partial lapse in funding. Nothing in this Public Notice changes any associated filing dates."
• Quarterly Issues Report Filings: "All quarterly issue report filings that were to be filed by October 10, 2025, will now have a deadline of December 1, 2025. The Media Bureau encourages licensees to file earlier than the deadline noted above."
• EEO Filings: "All EEO filings that were to be filed by October 1, 2025, will now have a deadline of November 24, 2025. The Media Bureau encourages licensees to file earlier than the deadline noted above. Broadcast EEO audit responses that were to be filed by October 17, 2025 as per the September 12, 2025 Public Notice See Enforcement Bureau Extends Deadline for 2025 EEO Audits and Issues Further Guidance to Respondents, Public Notice, DA 25-847 (EB Sept. 12, 2025) will likewise be due by November 24, 2025."
• LPTV Major Modification Filing Opportunities. "On September 3, 2025, the Media Bureau issued a Public Notice announcing a phased approach for permitting Class A television, low power television (LPTV), and television (TV) translator stations to file major modification applications and new LPTV and TV translator station applications. Media Bureau Announces a Phased Resumption of First-Come, First-Served Processing of Applications for Major Changes for Class A, LPTV, and TV Translator Stations and Applications for New LPTV and TV Translator Stations, Public Notice, DA 25-792 (MB Sept. 3, 2025). The Media Bureau will release a further public notice providing revised deadlines for these filing opportunities. All major modification applications remain frozen. Id. at 2 (freezing all LPTV, TV translator and Class A major modification applications effective September 3, 2025). Minor modification applications (including displacement applications) may still be filed."
• DIRS Modernization, PS Docket Nos. 21-346 and 15-80 and ET Docket No. 04-35. "Comments in response to the Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on modernizing DIRS were due on October 2, 2025, and reply comments were due on November 3, 2025. Resilient Networks, PS Docket No. 21-346, Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order on Reconsideration, FCC 25-45 (Aug. 6, 2025); Federal Communications Commission, Resilient Networks; Disruptions to Communications, 90 Fed. Reg. 42355 (Sept. 2, 2025). To ensure that there is sufficient time for commenters to review the record and submit reply comments, comments shall be due on November 18, 2025, and reply comments shall be due on December 18, 2025."
• Petition for Rulemaking on Part 90 Signal Boosters, RM-12009. "Comments in response to the Public Notice seeking comment on Part 90 signal boosters were due on October 16, 2025, and reply comments were due on October 31, 2025. Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau and Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Seek Comment on Safer Buildings Coalition Petition for Rulemaking on Part 90 Signal Boosters, RM-12009, Public Notice, DA 25-853 (PSHSB, WTB Sept. 16, 2025). To ensure that there is sufficient time for commenters to review the record and submit reply comments, comments shall be due on November 18, 2025, and reply comments shall be due on December 18, 2025."
• 911 Reliability Certifications, PS Docket 13-75. "Covered 911 service providers may have been prevented from filing their annual 911 reliability certifications on or before October 15, 2025 during the partial lapse in funding. The 911 reliability certification deadline will be extended to December 12, 2025."
• Next Generation 911 Requests, PS Docket 25-143. "NG911 valid requests that 911 Authorities filed in the Commission’s NG911 Registry in ECFS during the funding lapse may not have appeared to the public until after ECFS became available on November 13, 2025. The compliance deadlines for originating service providers from a request filed in the NG911 Registry during the funding lapse will run from the date the request is posted to ECFS, and is therefore available to the public to view. If a 911 Authority instead directly notified an originating service provider of its NG911 valid request during the funding lapse (i.e., the 911 Authority did not use the NG911 Registry), the originating service provider’s compliance deadlines are unchanged."
• Equipment Authorization System – TCB and Test Lab Recognitions. "Telecommunications certification bodies (TCBs) and testing laboratories recognized by the FCC on September 30, 2025 may have been prevented from seeking timely renewal of recognition during the funding lapse. TCB and test lab recognition expiration dates will be extended until December 31, 2025 for TCBs and labs that were: (a) recognized by the FCC on September 15, 2025; (b) had their recognitions expire between September 15 and December 1, 2025; and (c) may be considered for recognition under 47 CFR § 2.951. Deadlines will not be extended for any laboratory in which a prohibited entity has, possesses, or otherwise controls equity or voting interests of 10% or more. 47 CFR § 2.951(b)(1)."
• 11. Tower Construction Notification System (TCNS); Electronic Section 106 System (E-106); Antenna Structure Registration (ASR) System, and Environmental Assessments (EAs) submitted pursuant to section 1.1308(a) of the Commission’s rules. "Due to the unavailability of these systems during the period of time that the Commission suspended operations, deadlines and Tribal review timelines for filings made in connection with these systems or programs, including related submissions for environmental and historic preservation review, are tolled between October 1, 2025 and November 17, 2025. Regarding the TCNS database, Tribal Nations have a 30-day period to review an application once it is uploaded to the E-106 system. Tribes that fail to respond after 30 days may be referred to the Commission to conclude review obligations. For example, if an applicant uploaded a Form 620 into the E-106 system on September 29, 2025, the TCNS review clock would have stopped on October 1, 2025, and resumed on November 18, 2025. In this example, two days would have elapsed for purposes of Tribal notification, and the earliest that a non-responsive Tribe may be referred would be December 15, 2025. As to ASR and EA filings, the public comment deadline is similarly tolled during the Commission’s suspended operations. Commission staff will adjust dates accordingly for applications that were pending within any of these systems at the time the Commission suspended operations. Any questions about TCNS/E-106 timelines should be sent to tcnshelp@fcc.gov. Questions regarding EA and ASR filings should be directed to the FCC WTB Help Desk (1-877-480-3201). In addition, Bureaus and Offices may, by further public notice, set filing deadlines different than those specified in this Public Notice for filings in specific proceedings or classes of proceedings."
• Responsive Pleadings. "Where reply comments or responsive pleadings are permitted with respect to initial filings with due dates extended by this Public Notice, the filing deadlines for such reply or responsive pleadings will be extended for a period of time equivalent to the extension provided for initial filing so as to afford responding parties the same amount of time. Thus, for example, if comments in a rulemaking proceeding were originally due on October 15 and reply comments were due fifteen days later, comments are now due on November 18, as set forth above, and reply comments are due fifteen days thereafter on December 3. The due dates for reply or responsive pleadings to pleadings filed prior to the suspension of operations, other than pleadings related to spectrum activities authorized by section 309(j), are extended according to the general extension schedule set forth above unless otherwise specified."
• Statutory Deadlines. "The Commission cannot waive statutory filing deadlines such as those associated with petitions for reconsideration. Nonetheless, because of the disruption and uncertainty associated with the suspension of Commission activities and the relaunch of Commission filing systems, we will consider the Commission closed for purposes of section 1.4(e) of our rules until Tuesday, November 18, 2025 with respect to the filing of documents with statutory deadlines, other than for filings related to spectrum auction activities authorized by section 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. This determination does not impact statutory deadlines unrelated to filings with the Commission, such as broadcast operation requirements under section 312(g) of the Communications Act. 47 U.S.C. § 312(g). Also, extensions of deadlines for filing license applications or notifications of completion of construction of station facilities will not serve to extend existing deadlines for completion of construction. Existing rules and procedures for seeking extensions of deadlines unrelated to filings should be followed."
• Special Temporary Authority (STA). "Any STAs that would have expired from October 1, 2025, through December 5, 2025, are extended until December 5, 2025."
• Fee and Other Payments. "Due dates for fee payments that can only be made through the FCC’s Fee Filer System and that otherwise fell due between October 1, 2025, and December 5, 2025, are extended according to the same schedule set forth above for regulatory filings. All other payments remain due on their originally scheduled dates."
• Transaction Shot Clock. "The Commission’s informal 180-day shot clocks for review of transactions that were suspended on September 30, 2025, due to the suspension of operations, are restarted as of November 13, 2025. For example, if September 30, 2025 was day 101 of the shot clock for a particular transaction, November 13, 2025 is day 102. This Public Notice has no effect on the timeframes for review of transactions as to which the informal shot clock was suspended on or before September 30, 2025, for reasons unrelated to the partial lapse in funding."
• Enforcement Matters. "With the exception of broadcast EEO audit responses discussed above, the extension of filing deadlines does not apply to any enforcement matters for which other deadlines have been set by the Enforcement Bureau."

The FCC’s Media Bureau also established a staggered filing window approach for commission licensees required to upload records of requests to purchase broadcast time. It described these windows for broadcasters in different states as follows:

• Nov. 19-26 for licensees in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
• Dec. 1-8 for licensees located in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
• Dec. 9-16 for licensees located in California.
• Dec. 17-24 for licensees in all other states and territories.

More details can be found here and here (for political).

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission has released an updated agenda for its Open Meeting on Thursday, November 20, 2025, which is scheduled to commence at 10:30 a.m. in the Commission Meeting Room of the Federal Communications Commission, 45 L Street, N.E., Washington, D.C.

As previously reported, the meeting will include important votes on proposals to sell more C-Band spectrum and changes in the agency's cybersecurity policies.

The draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the C-Band proposals is available here.

The FCC described the items tentatively on the agenda as follows:

• “Freeing Up Large Swath of Upper C-band Frequencies” (GN Docket No. 25-59). The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that explores options for reconfiguring the Upper C-band (3.98 GHz to 4.2 GHz) in the contiguous United States, in furtherance of Congress’ direction in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
• “Modernizing Telecommunications Relay Services” (CG Docket No. 03-123); Speech-to-Speech and Internet Protocol (IP), Speech-to-Speech Telecommunications Relay Services (CG Docket No. 08-15). The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would seek comment on terminating the mandatory status of TTY-based relay service for state-based TRS programs; facilitate the transition of analog TRS users to Internet-based forms of TRS; propose and seek comment on recognizing IP STS as a compensable form of TRS; explore certifying a national analog relay provider; and seek comment on streamlining TRS provider certification and data collection processes, updating or eliminating obsolete rules, and closing an outdated docket.
• “Delete, Delete, Delete” (GN Docket No. 25-133). The Commission will consider as part of the Delete, Delete, Delete proceeding a Direct Final Rule that would move to delete approximately 21 rules and requirements that have sunset by operation of law; govern an expired event; regulate an obsolete technology; are no longer used in practice by the FCC or licensees; or are otherwise duplicative, outdated, or unnecessary.
• “Protecting the Nation’s Communications Systems from Cybersecurity Threats” (PS Docket No. 22-329). The Commission will consider an Order on Reconsideration that advances an agile and collaborative approach to protecting the nation from cyberattacks by rescinding an unlawful and ineffective January 2025 Declaratory Ruling and NPRM.

The meeting will be webcast at: www.fcc.gov/live. Open captioning will be provided as well as a text only version on the FCC website.

WASHINGTON—As the federal government shut down comes to an end, the Federal Communications Commission has further extended some filing deadlines and issued some guidance on its plans for restoring the agency to normal operations.

On Sept. 30, the FCC issued a Public Notice providing guidance on FCC operations in the event of a partial lapse in funding. As part of that plan, the FCC said that all filings that would have been due during the suspension of operations would become due on the business day following the resumption of normal operations.

In its new guidance, the agency said that “we now further extend deadlines for all filings that would have been due from October 1, 2025, through November 17, 2025. The deadline for all such filings is now extended at least until Tuesday, November 18, 2025. The FCC and components of the FCC will issue further guidance prior to November 18, 2025, that will provide additional flexibility on filing deadlines for certain specific systems, matters, and programs, including the FCC’s Universal Licensing System and Equipment Authorization System.”

The agency also noted that given the unprecedented length of the shutdown, they anticipated that the public will have an exceptionally large number of filings and submissions that they will want to file in a relatively short period of time as the FCC resumes normal operations.

In response to that potential backlog, the agency said “FCC staff will work in good faith with parties to resolve and address issues that arise with an influx of new filings and requests. We anticipate that complications may arise in some cases. FCC staff will bring a flexible, commonsense approach to resolving the range of issues that may arise upon re-opening in these circumstances.”

The FCC also said that they would “waive the Commission’s rules to the extent necessary to effectuate this extension. This extension of filing deadlines does not apply to filings in the Network Outage Reporting System (NORS) and Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) or to filings related to spectrum auction activities authorized by section 309(j).”

In addition the agency said that “any Special Temporary Authorities (STAs) that would have expired from October 1, 2025, through November 17, 2025, are extended at least until November 18, 2025, except to the extent that such STAs relate to activities authorized under section 309(j).”

Finally, “until such further guidance is issued, we ask parties to limit filings and submissions except where immediate authority is needed and to refrain from submitting filings seeking additional relief from filing deadlines for the time being,” the agency said.

In response to controversial efforts by the Federal Communications Commission to investigate broadcasters for airing biased news coverage, a group of seven former commissioners and chairs, plus additional senior-level former staff, have submitted a sternly worded petition to the agency slamming its attempts “to mold the speech of private broadcasters to the FCC’s own view of what is correct.”

The petition asks the agency to rescind the news distortion policy, which has “significantly chilled and otherwise altered the content of broadcasters’ speech, undermining First Amendment values.”

The petition is in response to several highly controversial investigations by the FCC into allegations of “biased” news coverage by ABC, CBS and NBC of President Trump and comments by FCC Chair Brendan Carr that the regulator has the power to punish broadcasters and potentially even remove broadcast licenses from stations violating “public interest” and “news distortion” rules.

The petitioners are a bipartisan group of former FCC chairs, commissioners, and other senior leaders who served the agency between 1981 and 2017. Signing on were Andrew C. Barrett, Rachelle B. Chong, Ervin S. Duggan, Mark S. Fowler, Dennis R. Patrick, Alfred C. Sikes, Thomas E. Wheeler, Christopher J. Wright, Kathryn C. Brown, Jerald N. Fritz and Peter Pitsch. The petitions were represented by Protect Democracy, TechFreedom, Andrew Jay Schwartzman and Gigi Sohn.

That controversy became particularly heated after Carr used the news distortion policy to accuse ABC and Disney of news distortion and threaten ABC affiliates’ licenses for airing controversial comments by late night host Jimmy Kimmel’s regarding the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

The news distortion policy also provided the basis earlier this year for threats against CBS News during the lengthy FCC review of the Paramount-Skydance merger.

Skydance won approval for the merger after it agreed to end Paramount’s DEI efforts, paid $16 million to settle a libel suit filed by President Donald Trump and promised to name an ombudsman to ensure unbiased coverage at CBS News.

"As the Supreme Court has made clear, the government has no legitimate role in un-biasing or balancing the media," said Fowler, the FCC chair from 1981-87 under Republican President Ronald Reagan. "The news distortion policy allows the government to threaten censorship of speech it doesn't like; it cannot stand.”

“The Commission should focus on ensuring that all Americans are connected and have access to information and ideas — not imposing on broadcasters its vision of what presentation of the news is correct,” added Wheeler, who served as chair under Democratic President Barack Obama from 2013-17 and also joined in the petition. “The news distortion policy is being used by the current FCC leadership as a tool of speech coercion and that abuse will not stop until the agency repeals it.”

“The FCC has no business policing free speech,” said Conor Gaffney, counsel at Protect Democracy, a not-for-profit that works to combat authoritarian threats. “It is not for the federal government to decide what is ‘biased’ any more than it is for the government to decide what is ‘news.’ The Supreme Court has ruled time and again that policing speech is not the government’s job.”

“Carr’s threats have worked despite their unconstitutionality because the FCC has extraordinarily vast leverage over broadcasters,” added Berin Szóka, president of TechFreedom, a think tank dedicated to defending free speech, the Constitution and the rule of law. “Carr so clearly abused that leverage that even his fellow Republican, Sen. Ted Cruz, compared his tactics to a ‘mafioso, … right out of Goodfellas.’ Critical speech has been, and will be, chilled. Disney bent, even if it didn’t break. Fearing retaliation, many comedians and journalists will self-censor, or their corporate employers will muzzle them. The news distortion policy is too dangerous a weapon to entrust to any Chair.”

The petition argues that the FCC’s crackdown on news distortion violated longstanding free speech precedents and Supreme Court rulings while creating a climate of fear designed to chill free speech and reduce criticism of the Trump administration.

“The petitioners request that the FCC repeal the news distortion policy in full,” the petition said. “In Moody v. NetChoice, LLC, the Supreme Court, applying the First Amendment, reaffirmed that the government has no role in ‘un-biasing’ the media. In direct contradiction to that decision, the news distortion policy seeks to mold the speech of private broadcasters to the FCC’s own view of what is correct, complete, and accurate news. The First Amendment forbids the government from embarking on such a project.

“Furthermore, the application of the news distortion policy is constitutionally problematic,” the petition continued. “The vast scope and vague language of the news distortion policy cast an omnipresent shadow over broadcasters’ freedom of expression while leaving the policy open to partisan weaponization. Wielding the news distortion policy, the FCC has already opened or threatened to open investigations against private broadcasters due to disagreements with editorial decisions or statements made in a comedic monologue. Even if the FCC never tries to take enforcement action in these cases, the specter of government interference alone chills broadcasters’ speech and suppresses their message.”

“Because the FCC has no legitimate interest in correcting or punishing what it considers to be slanted news coverage, the news distortion policy lacks a meaningful function,” the petition concluded. “Over a period of 60 years, the FCC only enforced the policy eight times, typically in cases involving an intentional hoax. However, such cases are now covered by the FCC’s broadcast hoax role, rendering the news distortion policy a vestigial organ. In light of its redundancy and obsolescence, as well as its actively harmful effects, amply demonstrated as of late, the petitioners respectfully request the repeal of the news distortion policy.”

Both Carr and Commissioner Olivia Trusty, who make up the FCC’s Republican majority, argue Congress clearly gave the commission the power to enforce public-interest standards on stations because they receive licenses to use scarce spectrum.

The Nov. 13 petition by seven FCC chairs and commissioners follows comments made earlier this year by five former FCC chairs and commissioners in opposition to the onging investigation of CBS News for “news distortion.” They accused the FCC of acting as the “White House’s personal censor.”

The full petition can be found here.

A groundbreaking new study by the BBC and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has found serious problems with news summaries generated by AI assistants.

In nearly half (45%) of the AI-generated news summaries, researchers found at least one significant error. In addition, some AI tools performed even worse, though all showed significant problems. Google’s Gemini performed worst with significant issues in 76% of responses, more than double the other assistants, largely due to its poor sourcing performance.

The finding raise serious doubts about the widespread use of AI-generated news summaries by consumers and plans to use those summaries by news organization.

Tech giants like Google, Facebook and Amazon have been investing hundreds of billions of dollars in AI, in part because AI-generated summaries could potentially replace existing search tools and provide them with the kind of massive advertising revenue currently enjoyed by Google.

The study is also notable for the scale and scope of the research, which was coordinated by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and led by the BBC.

In arguably the largest study of its kind, the research involved 22 public service media (PSM) organizations in 18 countries working in 14 languages. Professional journalists from participating PSM evaluated more than 3,000 responses from ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, and Perplexity against key criteria, including accuracy, sourcing, distinguishing opinion from fact, and providing context, the BBC reported.

The study also found that the poor performance of the AI-assistants was in fact a slight improvement over an earlier BBC study. “First – there have been improvements since the earlier BBC study,” the report noted. “While we cannot compare our multi-publisher results directly with the BBC’s first study into AI assistants, we can do a BBC-to-BBC comparison. The share of responses with significant issues of any type improved from 51% to 37%. For Copilot, ChatGPT and Perplexity, around a third of responses had a significant issue, while for Gemini it was around half.”

In a second major conclusion, the study noted that, “despite the improvement seen in the BBC-to-BBC comparison, the multi-market research shows errors remain at high levels, and that they are systemic, spanning all languages, assistants and organizations involved. Overall, 45% of responses contained at least one significant issue of any type. Sourcing is the single biggest cause of significant issues (31%)."

"Of particular concern for publishers are sourcing errors that misrepresent them, such as when a response misattributes an incorrect claim to them," the study found. "Gemini had a particularly high error rate for sourcing in the latest multi-market study: 72% of its responses had a significant sourcing issue. All other assistants were below 25%.”

The full study can be found here, with additional commentary and tools from the BBC here.

WASHINGTON—Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has weighed in on the blackout of ABC, ESPN and other Disney programming on YouTube TV with a post on X says that said the two parties “need to get a deal done and end this blackout.”

“People should have the right to watch the programming they paid for — including football,” he added.

After failing to reach a deal on new retransmission consent payments for ABC and a carriage agreement for Disney’s ESPN and other cable channels, the Disney services were removed from the vMVPD at the end of October when the old agreement expired..

Since the dispute first went public in late October, both sides have traded barbs, blaming the other part for the blackout. YouTube TV has attacked Disney for insisting on terms that would push up prices for pay TV subscribers, while Disney complained that “with a $3 trillion market cap, Google is using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms we’ve successfully negotiated with every other distributor.”

YouTube has offered subscribers a $20 credit and in a separate post on X said they were "working to negotiate a deal with Disney that pays them fairly for their content and returns their programming to YouTube TV."

WASHINGTON—Despite the ongoing government shutdown, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr has announced a tentative agenda for the agency’s previously scheduled November 20, 2025 open meeting.

Earlier this week Carr and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer traded barbs over the shutdown and the FCC on social media. “You should end the Schumer Shutdown-which is imposing real pain on American families-rather than nonsense posting,” Carr said in a post on X. “You should open the government, rather than using Americans' pain to pander to your far left flank.”

Carr made the comments after Schumer posted, “Maybe I should file a complaint with the FCC against the Trump White House for editing his unhinged ‘60 Minutes’ interview,” and complained that the complaint could use “the exact same language Trump lodged against Vice President Harris.”

That prompted Carr to say the shutdown means "your frivolous filing could not be processed by the FCC" and blame Schumer for the shutdown.

As previously reported, the meeting will include important votes on proposals to sell more C-band spectrum and changes in the agencies cybersecurity policies.

The draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the C-band proposals is available here.

The FCC described the items tentatively on the agenda as follows:

• "Freeing Up Large Swath of Upper C-band Frequencies – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that explores options for reconfiguring the Upper C-band (3.98 GHz to 4.2 GHz) in the contiguous United States, in furtherance of Congress’ direction in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. (GN Docket No. 25-59)
• "Modernizing Telecommunications Relay Services – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would seek comment on terminating the mandatory status of TTY-based relay service for state-based TRS programs; facilitate the transition of analog TRS users to Internet-based forms of TRS; propose and seek comment on recognizing IP STS as a compensable form of TRS; explore certifying a national analog relay provider; and seek comment on streamlining TRS provider certification and data collection processes, updating or eliminating obsolete rules, and closing an outdated docket. (CG Docket Nos. 03-123, 08-15)
• "Delete, Delete, Delete – The Commission will consider as part of the Delete, Delete, Delete proceeding a Direct Final Rule that would move to delete approximately 21 rules and requirements that have sunset by operation of law; govern an expired event; regulate an obsolete technology; are no longer used in practice by the FCC or licensees; or are otherwise duplicative, outdated, or unnecessary. (GN Docket No. 25-133)
• "Protecting the Nation’s Communications Systems from Cybersecurity Threats – The Commission will consider an Order on Reconsideration that advances an agile and collaborative approach to protecting the nation from cyberattacks by rescinding an unlawful and ineffective January 2025 Declaratory Ruling and NPRM. (PS Docket No. 22-329)"

Open Meetings are streamed live at www.fcc.gov/live.

WASHINGTON—Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr said he has circulated a proposal for the agency to auction additional midband spectrum in the Upper C-band to commissioners.

The proposal would allow the FCC to take an important step towards implementing actions mandated in President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which restored the agency’s auction authority and requires it to complete a system of competitive bidding for at least 100 MHz in the Upper C-band no later than July 2027.

The commission will vote on the draft notice at its November open meeting.

Few details about the draft are available. It is being circulated among the commissioners, but is not on the agency’s website.

The proposals, however, are likely to be controversial among broadcasters because some of the spectrum in question is widely used for satellite delivery of TV, radio, video, sports, news and other media.

The Oct. 29 draft notice of proposed rulemaking is in addition to a proposal Carr made in February to auction additional spectrum. As part of a notice of inquiry adopted at the FCC’s Feb, 27 open meeting, the agency is seeking comment on the possibility of opening up additional portions of the midband spectrum range known as the Upper C-band (3.98-4.2 GHz) to help meet projected spectrum demand, spur economic growth, and advance American security interests.

If the draft of the newest spectrum auction proposal is adopted on Nov. 20, the FCC will seek comment on a range of options, including auctioning up to 180 megahertz of spectrum in the 3.98-4.2 GHz band for next-gen wireless services.

The FCC said it will consider "all options within that range, with the ultimate goal of maximizing the amount of spectrum to be repurposed as generational aviation safety upgrades occur in the adjacent band."

“President Trump has been clear that America is going to lead the world in next-generation technologies,” Carr said in a statement announcing the new proposals on Oct. 29. “That is why the FCC’s Build America Agenda prioritizes the work needed to restore U.S. leadership in wireless. And thanks to President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, the Commission now has the tools to deliver on that goal. Specifically, the Bill authorizes and requires the FCC to auction prime, mid-band spectrum in the Upper C-Band, and my proposal aims to maximize the amount of spectrum available for 5G and 6G services.”

“Restoring America’s leadership position is important," Carr added. "After all, freeing up spectrum drives down prices for consumers, creates jobs, and increases competition. It also plays a vital role in promoting our national security and geopolitical interests. We’ve seen how the Lower C-band powers in-home and high-speed mobile broadband across the country."

WASHINGTON—Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has called for an end to the government shutdown while providing some updates on the agency’s ongoing work if the shutdown continues through the end of the year.

During his press conference at the end of the October open meeting, Carr said the agency would hold an open meeting on Thursday, No. 20, to vikte on items and issues it had been working on before the shutdown.

[Editor’s note: Detailed coverage of FCC operations impacted by the shutdown can be found here. That article was originally published in our sister publication, Radio World. ]

Carr also said the FCC has been working with about 20% of its staff and said it had enough other items for a December meeting.

Carr did not specify what items it might consider in November or December. Those agendas are typically announced about three weeks before the Open Meeting.

In remarks to reporters, Carr, a Republican appointee, complained about the shutdown, which he called “the Schumer shutdown.”

“I think there's been a dozen votes to try to reopen the government, and we are seeing negative consequences, obviously, already at the FCC, for one, we've got our own national security officials who are…here working without pay,“ he said. ”There's been a lot of our equipment certification work that obviously has had to push pause on as you know, where there's no piece of electronics or communications device that can be sold or used in the U.S. without an approval for the FCC. And so we're starting to see a backlog there of licensing requests. We’re having issues there as well. And obviously the consumer complaint portal itself is also down. So I think it is, you know, past time…to reopen the government fully, and would be again fully staffed at the FCC.”

Carr also noted that about 20% of FCC employees were working. “We have employees that are sort of vital for national security and….additional set issues that are here and working,” he said. “We have exempted employees, which are a very small number of employees that we have back in the building doing significant work for the agency.

“In terms of the ability to pay, there's been an amount of carryover funds that the FCC has had, and also we have a separate appropriation for work on auctions-related spectrum issues,” he continued. “For this [October] meeting [where] obviously, we had nine [items]. We're not going to have nine, unfortunately, at the November meeting. But the nine were obviously, you know, largely baked fully before the shutdown hit, and we had sort of a skeleton crew able to take any…meetings people wanted, be able to respond to edits, obviously, come in and present the items.

“We're trying to be really good stewards of the limited dollars we have all the same time urging the full reopening of the government,” he said, adding: “Our plan is to try to continue to hold [Open] meetings as long as we can. Again, they won't be as full as this meeting because we have fewer staff. We're roughly 20% staffing at this point, and you know, we're gonna try to move ahead with November meeting...But again, the [items for]...November was largely done before the shutdown…I think you're gonna start to see a bit more difficulty going forward” after that.

Carr also reported that pre-shutdown the agency had an equivalent of about 1,300 full-time employees, one of the lowest headcounts in recent years.

“I think we're…below the lowest number of FTEs [full-time employees], at least from the chart that I've seen, in terms of the number of years that it goes back, and we're still churning out a tremendous amount of really good work product, at least before the shutdown.”

During a separate press conference, Commissioner Anna Gomez, the agency’s lone Democrat, criticized Carr for pushing ahead with votes on controversial items during the shutdown.

“You [might] imagine that the work the agency does would slow down while the government is closed, but the opposite happened for this meeting,” she complained. “Instead of focusing on only absolutely necessary items, the FCC voted on a whopping nine items today. This is the most items I have voted on in a single meeting since I became a Commissioner; nine items is a lot of work for a small team to handle at a meeting. But what made the decision to pad the FCC agenda during a government shutdown even more outrageous is that most of my staff is furloughed. My decades of experience in telecom policy helped me to keep up with a wide array of substantive subjects we covered at this month's meeting. But it was [still] like playing volleyball, with one hand tied behind my back. You have to be really good at spiking.”

This also created many problems for the public, she said.

“Stakeholders were affected as well,” she said. “Stakeholders were confused on whether the commissioners were still taking meetings to discuss the items…They didn't know who to reach out to because they knew staff was furloughed. I was even asked if the meeting was still taking place and still open to the public, a logical question, since the government at large is closed.”

“Overloading the agency's agenda during a government shutdown and providing no guidance to stakeholders about how to still reach decision makers is concerning enough,” she concluded. “Even more concerning was the theme that this month's agenda initially displayed based on the drafts initially circulated. This was set up to be the most anti-consumer agenda ever put forth during my time as a commissioner, and that was really troubling. Cloaked by a government shutdown, the FCC was set to propose a slew of anti-consumer measures in the name of deleting regulations.”

Gomez was referring to the fact that the Commission voted 2-1 to revise rules on broadband labels, robocalls and the regulation of prison telecommunications services that she opposed.

WASHINGTON—FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty has announced a temporary staff change in her office.

Will Holloway, who serves as legal advisor managing the wireless, space, international, engineering and technology, and public safety portfolios, will be on paternity leave for the next three months.

During his absence, Nellie Foosaner will serve as acting legal advisor.

“Nellie brings deep technical and policy expertise to the role,” said Commissioner Trusty. “Her experience across multiple bureaus and her thoughtful approach to complex spectrum and technology issues make her an invaluable asset to our office. I’m grateful for her leadership and excited to have her step into this position while we congratulate Will on the newest addition to his family.”

In the role of acting legal advisor in the Office of Commissioner Trusty, Foosaner will lead legal and policy analysis on wireless, space, international, engineering and technology, and public safety issues. She joins the Commissioner’s office from the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, where she served as an acting legal and policy advisor providing support on matters related to wireless communication services and spectrum policy.

Previously, Foosaner served in the Mobility Division as a senior attorney advisor focusing on 5G broadband services, maritime and aviation interests, and offshore spectrum access. She began her career at the FCC as an honors attorney in the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau and the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau.

Foosaner earned her Juris Doctor from The George Washington University Law School and her undergraduate degree from the University of Miami.

WASHINGTON—In response to criticism that the Federal Communications Commission has been “threatening” broadcast stations but has not actually taken any enforcement actions against them, FCC Chair Brendan Carr reiterated his plans to vigorously the “public interest standard” for broadcast stations and said that the agency was still investigating the complaints.

During a press conference following the agency’s October Open Meeting, Carr said that the agency was still investigating complaints against ABC, NBC and CBS affiliates for violating the public interest standard in their coverage of President Donald Trump. No decision had been made in those ongoing investigations, but they could still result in fines or other actions, he insisted.

Carr made the comments in response to a question about why the agency had threatened the stations but had not taken action against them. Critics have argued that the FCC is on shaky legal ground in trying to enforce "public interest" standards on broadcast stations. As a result, the agency has avoided taking enforcement actions, such as imposing fines or removing broadcast licenses, that could be easily challenged in court on First Amendment grounds.

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the only Democrat among the three Commissioners, has argued those threats are “empty” and that their real purpose is to stifle critical coverage of the Trump administration. .

“We may very well get” to the point of issuing fines or taking other action against the broadcasters Carr said in response. “Remember, we've got a number of investigations that are underway right now. We have investigations going into NPR and PBS member stations as to whether or not they've been running commercial advertisements rather than permissible identifications. We have DEI inquiries going on [for] a number of providers right now. We have sought comment on complaints that have been filed under various FCC rules that have to do with broadcasters. And again, you'll remember where we are in a process here [that is] 10 months in. At this point, we have a number of investigations that are underway, we are getting documents and information back…”

“So when you look at how you run these things, I'm not sure that there would be [any] sort of enforcement action that would have proceeded to an official document at this point in time,” Carr said. “But we may very well get back there.”

Carr also reiterated his view that “the FCC should be enforcing the public interest standard. That's not a threat. That's just something that Congress has asked us to do.”

Carr also responded to a separate question as to why the FCC has not acted on complaints by the Center for American Rights, against CBS, ABC and NBC stations. The CAR complaint alleged they offered biased coverage of Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign and that the FCC should investigate them for "news distortion."

“That was one of the complaints that I indicated earlier,” Carr said. “…We are ten months in, and you're developing a record, and you're looking at all the facts, you're weighing the record as it develops, we may move forward that [or] we may not. We haven't made a decision there again. Ten months in, I think we're at an appropriate place with the number of investigations and the complaints that we have sought public comment on.”

Carr admitted that only the CBS case has been opened to public comment.

In addition to criticism from Gomez and other Democrats, Carr has faced criticism from some conservatives, such as Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) who fear that his investigations could limit free speech in ways that could eventually backfire on conservatives.

WASHINGTON—Despite the government shutdown, the Federal Communications Commission has passed, with some revisions, a previously announced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that the agency believes will accelerate the nation’s ongoing transition to Next Gen TV aka ATSC 3.0.

Commissioners unanimously approved the NPRM. It continues the agency’s longstanding market-driven, voluntary approach, which tries to remove regulatory obstacles to the transition and provide broadcasters with greater flexibility on how they make the transition.

More specifically, the NPRM would end some simulcasting rules that currently require broadcasters who launch 3.0 broadcasts to also offer 1.0 signals. That would allow broadcasters to make their own decision on when to end ATSC 1.0 transmissions, which in turn could free up bandwidth for new services.

But perhaps most significantly, the NPRM does not require broadcasters to end 1.0 broadcasts on any specific date, something smaller broadcasters and LPTV stations had opposed, and does not mandate 3.0 tuners in new sets, which had been opposed by the electronics industry.

The NAB and larger broadcast groups had argued tuner mandates and a firm sunset was needed jumpstart the transition.

The NPRM also askes for public comment on a long list of questions that the agency wants to consider as it reviews the transition to ATSC 3.0.

The NPRM approved by the Commission contains some questions that Commissioner Anna Gomez asked to be added. Those relate to maintaining access to free over the air broadcasts in all homes and how ATSC 3.0 capable devices might be financed.

In addition, the FCC will seek comment on how to minimize the costs and impact of this transition on all stakeholders, including consumers, manufacturers, MVPDs, and smaller broadcasters.

The NAB applauded the action even though it did not take a position on a firm ATSC 1.0 sunset date or 3.0 tuner mandates.

In a statement NAB president and CEO Curtis LeGeyt said “The FCC’s action today is a meaningful step toward realizing the full benefits of NextGen TV, and NAB applauds Chairman Carr and Commissioners Gomez and Trusty for their leadership on this important issue. By moving to eliminate outdated rules, the Commission is clearing the path for broadcasters to better serve viewers with enhanced picture and sound, robust emergency alerts and new interactive features.”

“NextGen TV is already on the air in more than 80 markets, and today’s vote signals important momentum,” LeGeyt added. “Broadcasters remain committed to delivering trusted local journalism, vital information and innovative new services for viewers across America, regardless of geographic or economic status. NAB looks forward to working with the Commission and industry partners to complete this transition.”

The FCC’s NPRM, which emphasized a voluntary, market-driven approach, was also welcomed by the Consumer Technology Association, which represents over 1,200 tech companies. The CTA has consistently opposed proposals by the NAB and broadcasters to mandate a fixed date for the end of ATSC 1.0 broadcasts and a mandate for 3.0 tuners in new sets.

“Thank you to the FCC for taking another step toward a fully voluntary transition to Nextgen TV. Americans should be able to choose the features they want in their TVs,” said Gary Shapiro, CEO and vice chair, CTA in a statement. “Innovation thrives when consumers - not the government - pick the technology that works best for them.”

The CTA also stressed that it plans to continue to oppose any government mandate requiring TVs to include ATSC 3.0 tuners.

WASHINGTON—The ATSC broadcast standards group has outlined a growing list of international activities that the group said is expanding its influence and solidifying its position as an international leader in next-generation broadcasting standards.

Those activities include a growing portfolio of influential contributions to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) that underscore ATSC’s commitment to international collaboration.

“This level of involvement and recognition reflects ATSC’s growing stature as a key voice in international broadcasting innovation and standards,” said Madeleine Noland, president of ATSC. “Our participation helps underscore that ATSC 3.0 is not just an American standard, but a truly international technology — one that’s adaptable to the needs of broadcasters and regulators around the world as they explore new opportunities and reimagine how to serve audiences. More importantly, we’re opening eyes to what broadcasting can do when powered by advanced technologies — and once that potential is seen, the continued, evolving value of broadcasting becomes clear.”

At the recent semi-annual meetings of the ITU-R Study Group 6 and its Working Parties (6A, 6B, 6C), ATSC participated as an official Associate Member for the first time, marking a significant milestone in its international engagement. ATSC and its collaborators successfully advanced seven ATSC-related documents, including three that were formally approved for publication — bringing the total number of ATSC contributions adopted or recognized by ITU-R to an impressive 23 documents.

More specifically, in terms of ATSC’s ITU-R contributions, key ITU documents recently approved or advanced include:

• Report BT.2526-1: Field trials of mobile multimedia broadcasting systems – approved for publication;
• Report BT.2343-10: Field trials of UHDTV over terrestrial networks – revisions accepted and awaiting further contributions;
• Expanded scope of the Rapporteur Group on ATSC 3.0 to include the development of new documents, reinforcing ATSC’s role as a forward-looking partner in global broadcasting innovation.

These ITU-R reports serve as valuable tools for national regulators and broadcasters worldwide to harmonize their policies with emerging international standards, accelerating the global transition to next-generation television.

“Globally, regulators and broadcasters are looking for trusted, interoperable, and scalable solutions. ATSC 3.0 offers exactly that,” said standards expert Aldo Cugnini, who represented ATSC at the ITU meetings in Geneva alongside other international delegates. “Our contributions to the ITU are helping align global standards and pave the way for broader adoption.”

The growing international interest in ATSC 3.0 was also evident at the 45th meeting of CITEL PCC.II (the Organization of American States’ Inter-American Telecommunication Commission), held recently in Salvador, Brazil, the group reported.

ATSC President Noland serves as Chair of the Working Group on Broadcasting, the group that guides regional conversations on spectrum, broadcasting modernization, and the evolution of radio and television services in the Americas.

Working alongside the group’s Vice Chairs from Brazil, Paraguay, and Trinidad & Tobago, ATSC said that it is helping guide the region toward a cohesive digital broadcasting future.

Notably, ATSC 3.0 technologies like Broadcast-to-Everything (B2X) and Direct-to-Mobile (D2M) are being actively promoted for integration into national strategies.

The Brazilian Ministry of Communications also took advantage of their country hosting the meeting to showcase various aspects of their new ATSC 3.0-based digital TV system, TV 3.0, also known as DTV+. An impressive group of 300 delegates from the Caribbean and the Americas was treated to 6 large TV sets with 6 different demonstrations – from user interface to emergency alerting to accessibility and more. The North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) briefed attendees on a groundbreaking project underway in Calgary, Canada, whereby NextGen broadcast infrastructure is being tested for novel “smart city” municipal use cases. This project is headed via a partnership with the City of Calgary, Humber Polytechnic, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), and ATSC.

ATSC also reported that plans are already in motion for the upcoming PCC.II meetings in Dominica and Colombia in 2026. Building upon the Calgary Smart City presentation this year, future ATSC demonstrations and engagement are also in the works for CITEL’s 2027 PCC.II meetings in Ottawa, Canada, including potential “smart city” and Direct-to-Mobile showcases that highlight how ATSC 3.0 can transform public services and information delivery.

Brazil’s recent Presidential Decree outlining new TV frequency allocations has opened up exciting opportunities for digital TV throughout the Americas, while South Korea continues to lead in deployments and innovation around ATSC 3.0 technologies, the group also reported.

“With growing adoption across the globe and strong partnerships in key international forums like the ITU and CITEL, ATSC is committed to delivering future-ready solutions that meet the diverse needs of broadcasters and audiences worldwide,” Noland said.

NEW YORK—-IAB Tech Lab, the global digital advertising technical standards-setting body, has announced two major developments in a work on privacy-focused standards by unveiling updates to the Global Privacy Protocol (GPP) and releasing Version 2 of the Data Deletion Request Framework (DDRF).

Both initiatives, developed with leadership from the Global Privacy Working Group, are now open for public comment through December 1, 2025.

Global Privacy Protocol (GPP) H2 2025 Update

The latest GPP updates introduce four new U.S. state sections — Maryland (effective October 1, 2025), Indiana, Kentucky, and Rhode Island (all effective January 1, 2026) — to reflect recently enacted consumer privacy laws.

Updates also include a rearchitecture initiative designed to future-proof U.S. sections and increase signal transparency in the core GPP specifications, the IAB Tech Lab explained.

"By expanding the Global Privacy Protocol to cover additional states and enhancing the core framework, we're helping the industry plan with confidence," said Anthony Katsur, CEO, IAB Tech Lab. "The bi-annual release cycle gives companies predictability while keeping transparency and user choice at the core."

Starting in 2026, regular bi-annual updates will give companies the predictability they need to align product roadmaps with shifting regulatory timelines.

"The bi-annual release cycle is especially valuable for companies like ours," said Andrea Wheeler, senior privacy manager, Quantcast. "It gives us the predictability to align development roadmaps with regulatory timelines, while the added transparency ensures we can continue to uphold user trust as privacy requirements evolve."

The update also introduces improved clarity around how supported and applicable sections are communicated within the GPP framework. In the CMP API, the PingReturn.supportedAPIs field provides information about which sections the CMP supports, as directed by the first party.

The IAB Tech Lab noted that until now, there has been no equivalent mechanism that downstream vendors could rely on server-side. Two implementation options have been proposed, and IAB Tech Lab is inviting industry feedback to identify the most effective path forward.

Data Deletion Request Framework (DDRF) Version 2

Building on broad industry adoption, DDRF V2 strengthens interoperability, consistency, and security for processing consumer deletion requests. The update introduces clearer object formats, standardized encoding methods, and enhanced safeguards to secure sensitive consumer data as it flows across the digital advertising supply chain, the Lab reported.

"We designed DDRF V2 to help reduce complexity and risk for the industry," said Rowena Lam, senior director, product, IAB Tech Lab. "By standardizing formats and processes, organizations can easily comply with regulatory requirements while protecting consumer data rights."

"With this release, we are not only improving interoperability and transparency but also strengthening the security of the framework," added Katsur. "These enhancements will help foster trust with consumers while reducing compliance risks across the ecosystem."

Recognized by regulators globally, such as the Information Commissioner's Office, and already a cornerstone for deletion request processing, DDRF V2 reduces complexity while providing organizations with more robust compliance mechanisms, the IAB Tech Lab reported.

Both the GPP and DDRF initiatives are part of IAB Tech Lab's ongoing global effort to develop privacy-centric, interoperable solutions that sustain trust in digital advertising. By introducing predictable release cycles, clearer frameworks, and stronger safeguards, IAB Tech Lab continues to help companies navigate evolving regulations with confidence.

To learn more about the Global Privacy Protocol 2nd Half 2025 updates, click here: https://iabtechlab.com/2h-2025-gpp-and-ddrf-updates/

To review the Data Deletion Request Framework Version 2 standards, click here: https://github.com/InteractiveAdvertisingBureau/Data-Subject-Rights/pull/9

Both are now open for public comment through December 1, 2025.

NEW YORK—During a high-profile session at NAB Show New York, new survey data was shared that revealed significant public concern over artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential to erode trust in journalism.

“The Future of News: AI, New Revenues and Risks, and the Policy Response” panel discussed the survey and AI’s growing influence in the media ecosystem, including threats to the sustainability of local news and the need for government action.

More specifically, the research, conducted by OnMessage Inc., revealed that:

• 76% are concerned about AI stealing or reproducing journalism and local news stories, with 51% being very concerned.
• 77% support, and 59% strongly support, Congress passing a law that would make it illegal for AI to steal or reproduce journalism and local news stories that are published online without permission or compensation.
• Only 26% trust information produced by AI, while 68% say it is not trustworthy.
• 72% believe the federal government should place guardrails on AI to protect consumers.

“This data reflects a real and growing concern among Americans that AI could erode the integrity of journalism and undermine the trusted connection between broadcasters and the communities we serve,” said NAB president and CEO Curtis LeGeyt. “Scraping broadcasters’ content without permission or compensation strips away context and threatens the credibility of local news. This conversation at NAB Show New York is just the beginning of a critical national dialogue to ensure new technologies support, rather than exploit, trusted local journalism, as well as the necessity of a level playing field for broadcasters to fairly negotiate the terms of use with AI platforms.”

Several major news organizations, including News Corp. and the New York Times, have already sued major tech companies over copyright violations and the unauthorized use of their content in training AI models.

The panel also explored the business pressures AI creates for local newsrooms — where shrinking margins, high production costs and increasing content misappropriation by AI systems threaten the sustainability of fact-based, community-focused journalism.

WASHINGTON—The National Association of Broadcasters is applauding a draft notice from the Federal Communications Commission that would potentially speed up the transition for NextGen TV/ATSC 1.0.

In an Oct. 9 blog, the NAB called the draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking a notable example of how “momentum is building for America’s transition to the next generation of free television service.”

The FCC released the draft NPR earlier this week. It isn't clear how the government shutdown might impact the agency's plan to vote on the proposal on October 28.

The draft notes that the FCC has "tentatively" concluded that television stations should be allowed to choose when to stop broadcasting via the ATSC 1.0 standard and begin broadcasting exclusively in 3.0.

It also has "tentatively" concluded television stations should be allowed to broadcast in both 1.0 and 3.0, as many are doing today, but with fewer restrictions and requirements on the 1.0 version of their signal. This would free up more spectrum for advanced ATSC 3.0 services.

In a blog post, the NAB said that the “(FCC) has proposed eliminating key barriers that have slowed broadcasters’ ability to bring viewers the full benefits of this cutting-edge technology…The proposal reflects the Commission’s growing recognition that the future of broadcasting depends on innovation, not regulation, and that local stations are already leading the way.”

“We look forward to working with the Commission as it removes these barriers and establishes dates by which the broadcasting industry and viewers will take this exciting leap into the next generation of television.” the NAB also said.

The blog post did not address the fact that the FCC draft notice seems to have tentatively concluded that stations should decide when they make the transition. The NAB has pushed for a hard cut-off of ATSC 1.0 broadcasts starting in February of 2028, arguing that a firm date is required to firmly push consumers and consumer electronics manufacturers towards making the transition.

The NAB, Pearl TV and larger broadcasters have also been pushing for FCC rules mandating 3.0 tuners in new TV sets. Those mandates are opposed by set manufacturers and the CTA.

“The FCC’s draft notice comes on the heels of new investment in ATSC 3.0 across the government and industry,” the NAB blog noted. “The U.S. Department of Transportation recently awarded NAB a $744,000 contract to advance field testing of the Broadcast Positioning System (BPS), which uses NextGen TV signals to enhance GPS resilience and strengthen national security. And earlier this year, all 50 state broadcaster associations united behind a resolution urging the FCC to establish a clear plan for completing the transition.”

“NextGen TV progress is also evident in communities across the country,” the group also stressed. “Today, more than 125 television stations in 77 markets reaching roughly 75% of viewers are already broadcasting with the ATSC 3.0 standard, delivering enhanced interactive services to local communities.”

“NextGen TV represents the most significant leap forward in television broadcasting since the digital transition,” the post by NAB’s senior vice president, communications Alex Siciliano concluded. “It delivers ultra-high-definition picture and sound, robust emergency alerting, interactive features and powerful new datacasting capabilities that can power everything from connected vehicles to precision agriculture.”

WASHINGTON—After announcing on Oct. 6 that it would vote on a notice of proposed rulemaking on ATSC 3.0 at its October meeting, the Federal Communications Commission released a draft of the measure that provides more details on how it plans to consider the matter and which questions it might explore.

The draft, which could change before the FCC is scheduled to vote on Oct.28, raises more questions than answers about how the agency might act on key issues related to NextGen TV, but does provide some hints on how FCC Chair Brendan Carr is thinking about the subject.

The draft notes that the FCC has "tentatively" concluded that television stations should be allowed to choose when to stop broadcasting via the ATSC 1.0 standard and begin broadcasting exclusively in 3.0.

It also has "tentatively" concluded television stations should be allowed to broadcast in both 1.0 and 3.0, as many are doing today, but with fewer restrictions and requirements on the 1.0 version of their signal. This would free up more spectrum for advanced ATSC 3.0 services.

The NAB, the Pearl TV tech consortiums, state broadcasting associations and larger broadcasters like Sinclair want the FCC to set a firm date for the shutoff of ATSC 1.0. Smaller broadcasters and many LPTV stations have opposed the sunsetting of 1.0 broadcasts starting in February of 2028.

The draft takes a more neutral approach to many other key issues, raising a series of questions about key topics like the creation of new rules mandating ATSC 3.0 tuners in all new TVs.

More specifically, the draft NPR seeks comment on many issues and proposals closely related to these tentative conclusions about the transition. Those include: the use of encryption or digital rights management (DRM) on broadcast signals; a requirement that new televisions be able to receive and display 3.0 signals; and a requirement that traditional pay TV providers carry 3.0 signals to their subscribers.

The NAB, Pearl TV and larger broadcasters argued that 3.0 tuner mandates were necessary for a successful transition to NextGen TV broadcasts so that a large number of consumers would be able to access the broadcasts. Consumer electronics firms and the CTA have consistently opposed a tuner mandate, arguing it would increase the cost of TV sets and is generally unnecessary because most consumers access video content over streaming and pay TV services rather than over-the-air antennas.

Initial reaction from broadcasters to the draft NPR was positive, with Pearl TV and ATSC, applauding the FCC for working to find ways to accelerate the transition to ATSC 3.0 broadcasts, and generally vague given the fact that the draft does not take a strong position on some key issues like a mandatory sunset or 3.0 tuner mandates.

“Pearl TV and the local broadcasters commend FCC Chairman Carr for launching a new proceeding on NextGen TV that signals to the consumer technology industry, broadcasters, and consumers that the final transition to next-generation broadcasting is underway and that the technology provides an unparalleled opportunity to enhance and improve television service to millions of viewers each day,” said Anne Schelle, managing director of Pearl TV in a statement sent to TV Tech. “Pearl helped to write the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard. Since it was adopted by the FCC in 2017, Pearl has worked with broadcasters to launch service across the country and with the consumer technology industry to develop new features that explore the standard’s capabilities and to get ready for the final transition.”

“NextGen TV is coming, and it will transform local broadcasting into a vibrant, interactive service that not only competes with Big Tech streaming platforms but also delivers enhanced emergency alerting, hyper-local warnings, and life-saving public safety information to every community,” she added.

Advanced Television Systems Committee President Madeleine Noland also applauded the release of the draft NPR in a statement to TV Tech.

“As the Broadcast Standards Association, ATSC is encouraged by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, which says it plans to review ways that the voluntary transition to ATSC 3.0 could be accelerated,” she said. “America’s local broadcasters provide an invaluable and vital public service, keeping us informed on news, weather and sports. ATSC 3.0 will allow broadcasters to enhance their ties to local viewers, with the capability to enhance emergency messages, improve accessibility for viewers, and even provide BPS—a much-needed redundancy for GPS.

“While we’re going through the many questions raised by the FCC in its draft document, ATSC believes it's good that conversations are underway and that the next phase of the transition is about to begin,” she added. “While ATSC doesn’t advocate for specific positions, we remain focused on developing and promoting the best possible next-generation broadcast system for the United States and around the world. We are keenly interested in the U.S. transition and stand ready to explain features of the myriad standards that were developed by our membership.”

The full draft is available here.

IRVING, Texas—Sinclair and Nexstar Media Group, Inc. have announced that they will no longer preempt “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and that the late night talk show will air on the ABC affiliates owned by the two station groups on Friday, Sept. 26.

Sinclair first announced that it was ending its preemption of the show and Nexstar followed about three hours later.

The program returned to ABC on Sept. 23 after a controversy over Kimmel’s remarks about the assassination Charlie Kirk but Nexstar and Sinclair continued to preempt the show. The show’s return produced ratings not seen since 2015 even thought it was blackout in markets covering 23% of the country. As of 6 p.m. ET on Sept. 26, the monologue was also viewed by more than 21 million people on YouTube.

“We have had discussions with executives at The Walt Disney Company and appreciate their constructive approach to addressing our concerns,” Nexstar said in a statement. “As a local broadcaster, Nexstar remains committed to protecting the First Amendment while producing and airing local and national news that is fact-based and unbiased and, above all, broadcasting content that is in the best interest of the communities we serve. We stand apart from cable television, monolithic streaming services, and national networks in our commitment – and obligation – to be stewards of the public airwaves and to protect and reflect the specific sensibilities of our communities. To be clear, our commitment to those principles has guided our decisions throughout this process, independent of any external influence from government agencies or individuals.”

In a statement, Sinclair said: "Our objective throughout this process has been to ensure that programming remains accurate and engaging for the widest possible audience. We take seriously our responsibility as local broadcasters to provide programming that serves the interests of our communities, while also honoring our obligations to air national network programming. Over the last week, we have received thoughtful feedback from viewers, advertisers, and community leaders representing a wide range of perspectives. We have also witnessed troubling acts of violence, including the despicable incident of a shooting at an ABC affiliate station in Sacramento. These events underscore why responsible broadcasting matters and why respectful dialogue between differing voices remains so important."

"In our ongoing and constructive discussions with ABC, Sinclair proposed measures to strengthen accountability, viewer feedback, and community dialogue, including a network-wide independent ombudsman," Sinclair added. "These proposals were suggested as collaborative efforts between the ABC affiliates and the ABC network. While ABC and Disney have not yet adopted these measures, and Sinclair respects their right to make those decisions under our network affiliate agreements, we believe such measures could strengthen trust and accountability."

Sinclair also stressed that "Our decision to preempt this program was independent of any government interaction or influence. Free speech provides broadcasters with the right to exercise judgment as to the content on their local stations. While we understand that not everyone will agree with our decisions about programming, it is simply inconsistent to champion free speech while demanding that broadcasters air specific content."

Both Sinclair and Nexstar have been criticized for preempting the program after FCC Chair Brendan Carr threatened to yank broadcast licenses from affiliates airing the program. Critics pointed out that both station groups have been pushing the FCC to eliminate ownership caps that limit the size of station groups.

WASHINGTON—In response to an effort by the Federal Communications Commission to “modernize” existing systems for alerting people during emergencies, the NAB has laid out a number of proposals for improving the systems while preserving the important role that radio and TV broadcasters play in the current system.

“NAB supports the FCC’s further consideration of ways to enhance EAS, while preserving and promoting the legacy EAS system as a critically important redundant failsafe backup,” the filing said. “Broadcasters take pride in their unique role in EAS, and look forward to partnering with the FCC, FEMA, and other stakeholders on future enhancements that would increase public safety."

As part of its proposals for improving the system the NAB’s filing proposed the following measures and laid out its position on these issues:

• The FCC should consider ways to enhance the effectiveness of alert originators. As part of that the NAB said it supports more AO funding, training, and collaboration.
• Government agencies should maintain exclusive authority to issue eas alerts.
• The FCC should preserve the existing presentation of EAS alerts while considering voluntary options for enhanced video-rich alerts.
• EAS participation should remain mandatory only for presidential alerts.
• Redundancy is the most effective way to ensure resilience.
• In addition, the NAB said it supports improving the geotargeting of EAS alerts and would support efforts to enhance the security of EAS.
• The NAB also supports consideration of approaches to expanding EAS to additional media platforms.

The NAB's defense of the role played by broadcasters is important because the FCC’s original Notice of Proposed for updating alerting systems said that the agency would examine a wide variety of issues and attempt to completely reexamine existing approaches.

Those issues included, the FCC said in the NPR, an examination of whether broadcasting should continue to play a central role in any new system given the ongoing shift from traditional radio and TV to streaming and mobile devices.

“EAS, for instance, was originally designed to continue operating when traditional communication methods are not functioning and alerts can only be delivered via independently powered broadcast facilities,” the NPR noted. “Does this approach to EAS resiliency remain necessary today? Are there other alternative communications pathways that EAS and WEA can leverage to ensure redundancy? Should EAS and WEA both be independently resilient (i.e., having multiple redundant pathways within EAS, as well as within WEA) or is it sufficient for EAS to provide a redundant source of alerts to WEA and vice versa? Could existing public alert and warning infrastructure be made more resilient by increasing the interoperability of EAS and WEA (e.g., by enabling mobile devices capable of receiving a WEA to receive EAS alerts when cellular infrastructure is damaged)?”

A separate filing by the Consumer Electronics Association more directly raised the issue of the importance of broadcasters in alerting systems.

It noted that “the nation’s alerting system is successfully and reliably reaching Americans as they incorporate more and more wireless devices into their everyday lives. The integration of wireless phones into consumers’ lives means that the shift in behavior from traditional television and radio to online media and connected devices does not frustrate the alerting “systems’ objectives of widespread public notification about emergencies.”

“CTA’s data demonstrates that most Americans receive emergency and public safety information through WEA to mobile devices, not terrestrial radio or broadcast television,” the CTA also noted. “In 2023, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and FCC conducted a nationwide EAS and WEA test with the goal of ensuring that the system continues to be a successful means of communicating emergency information to the public…In the days immediately following this test, CTA Market Research conducted a survey to understand the method for how U.S. adults received/heard the emergency alert on October 4, 2023. The survey indicates that approximately 245 million U.S. adults (95%) received/heard the October 4 emergency alert via their phone. Specifically, 92% of U.S. adults (approximately 237 million) indicated they received the alert through their smartphone. The results of this survey illustrate the ubiquity of cellphones and smartphones and the effectiveness of the WEA system in reaching device users.”

The original NPR also makes no mention of public media, which has traditionally played an important role in alerting or ATSC 3.0, which has a number of features for advance alerts. In a separate filing ATSC laid out its position on how NextGen TV could help in the design of a new system.

In its filing, the NAB said “Broadcasters applauded the FCC for launching this proceeding. Of the many ways that television and radio broadcasters serve the public interest, none is more important than the critical role we play in protecting the safety of our viewers and listeners. The architecture of the broadcasting system is particularly resilient and enables local stations to reliably distribute emergency warnings and information to virtually all Americans. Recent events such as Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the Texas Hill Country floods, and the Los Angeles wildfires all underscore the importance of broadcasters during a disaster, as well as Congress’s decision to formally designate broadcasters as `first informers’ in 2018. Broadcasters lead the way in ensuring the integrity of EAS through routine testing and investing in new and upgraded EAS equipment, including updates mandated by regulation. And while broadcasters are proud to champion EAS, NAB respectfully reminds the Commission as it considers the ideas raised in the Notice that participation in EAS is essentially an unfunded government mandate.”

WASHINGTON—In response to effort by the Federal Communications Commission to modernize the country’s alerting systems, the ATSC, the broadcast standards association has submitted comments to the FCC saying that “the ATSC 3.0 next-generation broadcast standards developed by ATSC, is designed to provide accessible, multi-lingual, rich-media, geo-targeted emergency messaging over the air…[with features that offer]...”substantial benefits to public safety and emergency communication.”

The ATSC submitted the comments in response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the FCC’s PS Docket No. 25-224 concerning the potential improvements to the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA).

The filing signed by ATSC president Madeleine Noland, stressed that while the standards group “does not advocate for regulatory change” it felt that “it is important to inform the Commission and the public about the technical capabilities of the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard—specifically, its optional Advanced Emergency Information (AEI) features—that align with and could complement many of the use cases discussed in the NPRM. These optional technical features also may provide examples of how such functions could be supported in other settings.”

The filing explains that ATSC 3.0’s AEI service "represents a valuable, voluntary innovation that can enrich public warning with media-rich content, multilingual resources, and accessibility features. Because AEI is an optional element within a voluntary standard, it should be recognized as a supplemental enhancement—not a substitute—for core alerting mechanisms such as EAS (and, where appropriate, WEA). Properly framed, AEI can complement these systems by expanding the ways in which the public receives and engages with emergency information, while preserving the primacy and reliability of the nation’s baseline alerting infrastructure.”

The filing also stressed that its AEI capabilities were designed with input from emergency management professionals. Those capabilities include:

• Text, audio, and video alerts, including sign language video and multi-lingual support.
• Location-targeted messaging to specific geographic areas down to the broadcast cell level and further filtered for location at the device level using multiple shapes such as polygons, circles, and postal code identifiers.
• Iterative “update” and “cancel” message types, making it suitable for fast-moving or evolving emergencies.
• Content to fixed and mobile devices, public signage and more, even in the absence of internet or cellular connectivity.
• Broadcaster applications that enable customization based on user preferences such as language preference, alert type, severity level, dismiss/redisplay message, and geographic area of interest to help reduce alert fatigue.
• Content scoped to a particular audience, such as the general public or first responders

The filing also stressed that "a number of impactful pilot projects in the United States have demonstrated the viability of AEI in real-world conditions, including delivery of tornado warnings with embedded video, wildfire evacuation notices with maps and visuals, and multilingual alerts in communities with diverse populations."

The full filing is available here.

In a notable example of how government funding cuts, are putting severe financial strains on public media, the WNET Group has announced that it has been unable to reach an agreement with the New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority to extend the management of NJ PBS, New Jersey’s public television network, beyond the expiration date of June 30, 2026.

Fourteen years ago, The WNET Group agreed to operate New Jersey’s public television network, then called New Jersey Network, after Republican Gov. Chris Christie and the legislature determined that the state should no longer be in the television business.

WNET Group cited significant funding cuts by the federal government and New Jersey state government as a prime reason for the impasse on the operating contract. In theory, NJ PBS could continue operating past June 30 if another operator is found or if the two parties shift their positions and can reach an agreement.

WNET Group said that it will continue to operate NJ PBS, its newsroom, and produce its nightly newscast, “NJ Spotlight News,” which will remain available on NJ PBS, New York PBS station WNET and digital platforms.

After the current contract ends, WNET Group said it will continue producing and airing the daily New Jersey newscast on WNET and its digital platforms.

WNET also said that it is “committed to supporting the state through this transition and looks forward to collaborating with New Jersey–based institutions interested in operating a public television network.”

“We have been proud to serve the state of New Jersey with content that inspires, educates and informs. And we are deeply grateful to the NJ PBS Board of Trustees, the state of New Jersey, the NJPBA and, most importantly, the members and viewers who have supported NJ PBS for so many years,” WNET said in a statement. “We remain a willing partner to collaborate, and we will continue to serve the New Jersey community on THIRTEEN and our digital platforms.”

The Trump administration and Republican-controlled Congress has eliminated all federal funding, which will lead to the end of most operations at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting at the end of Sept. In addition, New Jersey has reduced funding from $1 million to $250,000.

Critics have warned that the cutback could lead to the closure of many public stations, particularly in rural areas.

The Federal Trade Commission has issued an Order settling a major case with Amazon.com, Inc., that includes some of the largest fines and refunds the agency has ever collected.

The order resolves allegations that Amazon enrolled millions of consumers in Prime subscriptions without their consent, and knowingly made it difficult for consumers to cancel.

As part of the agreement, Amazon will be required to pay a $1 billion civil penalty, provide $1.5 billion in refunds to consumers harmed by the deceptive Prime enrollment practices, and cease unlawful enrollment and cancellation practices for Prime, the FTC reported in a Sept. 25 announcement and Order.

“Today, the Trump-Vance FTC made history and secured a record-breaking, monumental win for the millions of Americans who are tired of deceptive subscriptions that feel impossible to cancel,” said FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson. “The evidence showed that Amazon used sophisticated subscription traps designed to manipulate consumers into enrolling in Prime, and then made it exceedingly hard for consumers to end their subscription. Today, we are putting billions of dollars back into Americans’ pockets, and making sure Amazon never does this again. The Trump-Vance FTC is committed to fighting back when companies try to cheat ordinary Americans out of their hard-earned pay.”

In a case filed during the Biden-administration by FTC Chair Lina Khan in 2023, the agency charged Amazon and several Amazon executives with knowingly misleading millions of consumers into enrolling in Prime, violating the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA).

The FTC alleged Amazon created confusing and deceptive user interfaces to lead consumers to enroll in Prime without their knowledge. Compounding these deceptive enrollment practices, the FTC claimed that Amazon also created a complex and difficult process for consumers seeking to cancel their Prime subscription, with the goal of preventing consumers from cancelling Prime. Amazon documents discovered in the lead up to trial showed that Amazon executives and employees knowingly discussed these unlawful enrollment and cancellation issues, with comments like “subscription driving is a bit of a shady world” and leading consumers to unwanted subscriptions is “an unspoken cancer," the FTC reported.

In announcing the settlement, the FTC noted that the settlement is only the third ROSCA case in which the FTC has obtained a civil penalty. In addition, the $1 billion civil penalty was the largest ever in a case involving an FTC rule violation and $1.5 billion in consumer redress, providing full relief for the estimated 35 million consumers impacted by unwanted Prime enrollment or deferred cancellation, was the second-highest restitution award ever obtained by FTC action.

The settlement also requires Amazon to stop their unlawful practices and make meaningful changes to the Prime enrollment and cancellation flows in a number of ways. Those include providing a clear and conspicuous button for customers to decline Prime and forcing Amazon to remove a button that says, “No, I don’t want Free Shipping.”

The Commission vote approving the stipulated final order was 3-0. The FTC filed the proposed order in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

WASHINGTON—In the wake of the controversy over the Jimmy Kimmel show, the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) is “reaffirming freedom of speech as the cornerstone of American democracy” and urging the FCC “to ensure that ‘broadcasting in the public interest’ is defined in a way consistent with the First Amendment.”

In a statement, Troy A. Miller, NRB president and CEO stressed that “the strength of our democratic republic lies in its openness to diverse voices in the public square, and the government is responsible for allowing space for civil disagreement. When one voice is suppressed, all voices are at risk. If viewpoint-based suppression can be directed at mainstream broadcasters today, it could be directed at faith-based broadcasters tomorrow.”

The statement dovetails with complaints by some conservatives who have argued that FCC Chair Brendan Carr is violating free speech First Amendment rights by threatening to yank broadcast licenses of stations who show bias in their news coverage. The FCC is currently investigating ABC, CBS and NBC stations for potential violations of “public interest” rules as a result of coverage that was critical of the Trump administration.

Those efforts have drawn criticism from Democrats, former FCC Commissioners, and some Republicans like Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Mitch McConnell.

“Ultimately, it is the FCC’s job to ensure that ‘broadcasting in the public interest’ is defined in a way consistent with the First Amendment,” argued Michael Farris, NRB general counsel in a statement. “Imbalance alone should never serve as grounds for silencing a broadcaster. If that were the standard, Christian radio and television would be at risk, as they rightly take strong positions without providing equal time to opposing viewpoints. The role of government is to safeguard speech, not restrict it.”

Along with those statements, NRB also affirmed “its commitment to working constructively with the FCC to ensure regulations are applied fairly and without political bias. NRB encourages the FCC to uphold its standards consistently for all broadcasters and communicators. The Commission has the opportunity to maintain an environment where disagreement can exist without coercion,” the group said in a press release.

The return of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to ABC not only produced some of the best ratings for the show in a decade, it also highlighted growing audiences on social media that could play an important role in the business decisions ABC parent The Walt Disney Co., Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair will make during their discussions over its future.

After suspending the late-night talk show following Kimmel’s controversial about murdered conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Sept. 17, ABC resumed airing the show on Sept. 23. However, two of the nation's largest station groups, Nexstar and Sinclair, continue to preempt the program.

The show returned to air with a preliminary 0.87 rating among adults aged 18 to 49. That was the best rating for a regularly scheduled episode in a decade since March 12, 2015, ABC reported.

It also had more than 6.26 million total viewers, despite significant preemptions across 23% of U.S. TV households in markets where Nexstar and Sinclair stations did not air the show.

Perhaps even more notable in terms of its future were stats from social media. ABC reported on Sept. 24 that Kimmel’s monologue garnered more than 26 million views across YouTube and social media.

By 11:30 a.m. ET on Sept. 25, the monologue had more than 19 million views on YouTube alone, indicating that a lot of the audience was now bypassing regular broadcast to watch.

These large audiences could play an important role in the ongoing discussions between Nexstar and Sinclair in restoring the show to broadcast in their markets.

The show's YouTube channel currently has more than 21.4 million subscribers, up significantly from the 20 million sub mark passed on Feb. 3 by the program.

If Nexstar and Sinclair decide to continue preempting the show that could prompt even more viewers in their markets, particularly younger audiences, to move their viewing from broadcast TV, where the stations control ad sales, to social media, where YouTube has a very profitable ad business.

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WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission has released an updated agenda for its Open Meeting on Tuesday, September 30, 2025.

The agenda includes a vote on proposals for “a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would advance the Commission’s quadrennial regulatory review of its broadcast ownership rules and seek public comment on whether, given the current state of the media marketplace, it should retain, modify, or eliminate any of these rules.”

The agency has not yet released materials relating to the Open Meeting and the various items on the agenda, including the NPR for the ownership review.

The FCC described the items on the agenda as follows:

• Accelerating Wireline Infrastructure Buildout (WC Docket No. 25-253)
• SUMMARY: The Commission will consider a Notice of Inquiry that would examine whether state and local statutes, regulations, and legal requirements have an unlawful prohibitive effect on the provision of wireline telecommunications services, particularly through the imposition of excessive delays and fees that impede infrastructure deployments and disincentivize investments in them.
• Freeing Wireless Infrastructure from Unlawful Regulatory Burdens (WT Docket No. 25-276)
• The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that advances its Build America Agenda by seeking comment on reforms that would free towers and other wireless infrastructure from unlawful regulatory burdens imposed at the state and local level.
• Phone Jamming Solutions in Non-Federal Correctional Facilities (GN Docket No. 13-111)
• SUMMARY: The Commission will consider a Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on removing regulatory barriers to deployment and viability of existing and developing technologies that combat contraband wireless device use in correctional facilities.
• Modernizing Broadcast Ownership Rules (MB Docket No. 22-459)
• The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would advance the Commission’s quadrennial regulatory review of its broadcast ownership rules and seek public comment on whether, given the current state of the media marketplace, it should retain, modify, or eliminate any of these rules.
• Deleting Obsolete and Duplicative Wireline Rules (GN Docket No. 25-133)
• SUMMARY: The Commission will consider as part of the In re: Delete, Delete, Delete proceeding a Direct Final Rule that would move to delete nearly 400 primarily wireline-related rules and requirements that govern obsolete technology, are duplicative, and are no longer used in practice. These rules pertain to a wide variety of now-defunct topics including regulatory reporting requirements, distinctions between wireline carriers that are no longer applied, technology that has been eclipsed, and dates pertaining to pricing, universal service, pilot programs, and equipment requirements that have long ago passed.
• Modernizing the E-Rate Program for Schools and Libraries (WC Docket No. 13-184)
• SUMMARY: The Commission will consider a Declaratory Ruling that would align E-Rate eligibility with section 254 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and clarify that the provision of Wi-Fi, or other similar access point technologies, including the equipment needed to provide such service, on school buses is ineligible for E-Rate funding.
• Addressing the Homework Gap through the E-Rate Program (WC Docket No. 21-31)
• SUMMARY: The Commission will consider an Order on Reconsideration that grants a petition for reconsideration and finds that section 254 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, does not permit the funding of off-premises use of Wi-Fi hotspots and Internet services and makes them ineligible for E-Rate support.

The Open Meeting is scheduled to commence at 10:30 a.m. in the Commission Meeting Room of the Federal Communications Commission, 45 L Street, N.E., Washington, D.C.

Open Meetings are streamed live at www.fcc.gov/live and on the FCC’s YouTube channel.

Venture Technologies has joined the ranks of smaller and mid-sized station groups opposing a mandatory transition to ATSC 3.0/NextGen TV broadcasts in a filing with the Federal Communications Commission that paints a bleak picture of the future of broadcasting.

Other smaller and midsized station group owners such as Weigel Broadcasting and many LPTV station owners have opposed the mandate and an ATSC sunset, which is universally backed by the NAB, state broadcast groups and larger station groups that comprise Pearl TV.

While the Venture Technologies station group owns and operates 20 full-power, Class A, and low-power television (LPTV) stations that include five ATSC 3.0 facilities, the filing strongly opposed a mandated transition to ATSC 3.0 and a fixed date for the end for broadcasts using the current ATSC broadcast standard.

“Broadcast television in the United States stands at a crossroads as streaming services offer viewers more options,” the filing said. “Yet millions still depend on free, over-the-air television for local news and entertainment—particularly in underserved communities where it remains a vital

source of information. It is therefore troubling that, just as broadcasters seek better ways to serve their audiences, powerful industry groups are pressuring the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to mandate a nationwide transition to ATSC 3.0, or “NextGen TV.” Such a mandate would create barriers to access for the very viewers broadcasters are meant to serve.

These private television interests—some burdened with heavy debt—promote the transition as “necessary modernization.” In reality, it would impose significant costs on both consumers and broadcasters while offering no meaningful advantages over what streaming services already provide.”

“Venture Technologies believes that broadcast television faces long-term challenges as audiences steadily migrate to streaming platforms, that ATSC 3.0 will not alter this trajectory, and that a forced transition would accelerate the collapse of free, over-the-air TV,” the filing concluded. “The push for such a mandate is not driven by the public interest but by entrenched corporate interests seeking to profit through patent royalties, licensing fees, and equipment sales. Just as past late-stage technology “upgrades” failed to save obsolete formats, ATSC 3.0 will not revive broadcast television in an era defined by streaming.”

More specifically, the filing cites extensive statistics and analysis arguing that broadcasters have already lost the competition for viewers to streaming and that its existing audiences are old. "Over the next decade, much of the traditional television audience will age out, leaving broadcasters with an eroding and unsustainable base," the filing noted. "Younger generations have already abandoned linear TV for streaming and will not return."

"The FCC should not mandate a transition to ATSC 3.0," it continued. "Such a policy would impose unnecessary costs on both consumers and broadcasters while disregarding current market realities. Everything ATSC 3.0 promises—higher resolution, HDR, immersive audio, and interactivity—is already available through streaming, without the need for new tuners or TVs. Broadcasters would be forced to invest heavily in transmission upgrades even as their audiences shrink, while consumers would shoulder the expense of new hardware they don’t need."

The filing also criticized the cost of "the ATSC 3.0 Security Authority (A3SA)—a private consortium that includes ABC/Disney, CBS/Paramount, NBCUniversal/Comcast, Fox Corporation, Univision, and Pearl TV members—serves as the mandatory gatekeeper for device certification. Because all compliant receivers must use A3SA-issued keys, this group retains the ability to enforce DRM restrictions and even revoke tuner access, ensuring ongoing influence over device manufacturers and, by extension, consumers. Together, these patent owners, station groups, and gatekeeping bodies profit from the rollout of ATSC 3.0 whether or not it succeeds in the marketplace."

The full filing can be found here.

IRVING, Texas—Although ABC has announced that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will return to its late night schedule on Tuesday Sept. 23, Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has issued a statement saying that the company’s owned and partner television stations affiliated with the ABC Television Network will continue to preempt “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

The decision means that a significant number of ABC affiliates will not be airing the program.

Nexstar operates 32 ABC affiliates. Last night Sinclair announced that its ABC affiliates will also preempt the show. Sinclair’s website lists 39 stations that are ABC affiliates.

“We made a decision last week to preempt “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” following what ABC referred to as Mr. Kimmel’s “ill-timed and insensitive” comments at a critical time in our national discourse,” the station group said in a statement. “We stand by that decision pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve. In the meantime, we note that `Jimmy Kimmel Live!' will be available nationwide on multiple Disney-owned streaming products, while our stations will focus on continuing to produce local news and other programming relevant to their respective markets."

Last week both Nexstar and Sinclair announced their ABC affiliates would not air the program, prompting ABC to suspend it "indefinitely."

On Sept. 24, after the show aired and Nexstar preempted its return, the station group issued another statement on the status of the program in the future: “Nexstar is continuing to evaluate the status of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on our ABC-affiliated local television stations, and the show will be preempted while we do so. We are engaged in productive discussions with executives at The Walt Disney Company, with a focus on ensuring the program reflects and respects the diverse interests of the communities we serve.”

The Walt Disney Company has issued a short statement saying that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will return to its standard late night time slot on ABC on Tuesday Sept. 23 after being “indefinitely” suspended last week by the network.

Last week Kimmel’s comments on the assassination of Charlie Kirk prompted severe criticism from FCC Chair Brendan Carr, who called Kimmel’s comments “sick” and threatened to remove broadcast licenses of affiliates who carried the show. Following Carr's comments, Nexstar and Sinclair ABC affiliates announced they would preempt it. ABC suspended the show soon thereafter.

Like last week’s statement, the Disney statement on resuming production was relatively brief. It did not address specifics about the incident and made no mention of whether all the ABC affiliates will resume airing the show.

“Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country,” the statement said. “It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.”

Nexstar declined to comment on whether it will air the show when it returns or continue to preempt it.

In response to an inquiry from TV Tech, Sinclair said "beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting `Jimmy Kimmel Live!' across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming. Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return."

When the show was first suspended, Sinclair issued a statement that the FCC and ABC needed to take further action against Kimmel beyond simply suspending the program.

FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez, who had called ABC's decision to suspend the show a “cowardly corporate capitulation” to threats from the FCC, applauded the decision to bring the show back.

“I am glad to see Disney find its courage in the face of clear government intimidation," Gomez said in a statement. "More importantly, I want to thank those Americans from across the ideological spectrum who spoke loudly and courageously against this blatant attempt to silence free speech. It will continue to be up to us as citizens to push back against this Administration’s growing campaign of censorship and control. As this FCC considers steps that would let the same billion-dollar media conglomerates that caved in to government pressure grow even bigger, we must combat these efforts to stifle free expression."

WASHINGTON—The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has announced that it will distribute the remaining $7.1 million in obligated Community Service Grant (CSG) funds to eligible local public radio and television stations in the coming days.

In making the announcement, the CPB reported that unless new federal funding is appropriated to CPB, these payments will mark the final CSG payments to stations, ending the federal support that has sustained the operations of 1,500 local public media stations across the country for many decades.

Following the loss of Federal funding earlier this summer , the CPB announced that it would shut down at the end of September, with only a skeleton staff remaining to manage the end of its operations.

“Local public media stations are rooted in and responsive to the information and education needs of the communities they serve. Through unique local programming and reporting, civic engagement and volunteer opportunities, their viewers and listeners become a community of neighbors,” said Kathy Merritt, CPB chief operating officer. “But the public media neighborhood has been hard hit because of the loss of federal funding.”

Earlier this year CPB distributed $388.35 million in available funding for fiscal year (FY) 2025 CSG payments to local public media stations based on its established eligibility criteria and payment schedules. A small balance remained, largely from funds reserved for grantees that were not awarded or returned because of Inspector General audits.

Under normal circumstances, these funds would roll over and be distributed in FY 2026. However, the Rescissions Act of 2025 eliminated already appropriated funding for public broadcasting in FY 2026 and FY 2027. With no future federal funding available, CPB is winding down its operations and will now distribute the remaining $7.1 million to stations in the coming days, the agency said.

Each public television grantee will receive $15,680. Radio grantees will receive between $5,370 and $26,582, based on CPB’s established formulas that take into account station size, coverage, and service obligations. These formulas were developed in consultation with station representatives to ensure fairness and transparency.

These final payments represent only a fraction of the CSG funding that stations normally receive each year, the agency reported.

With no new Federal money in the pipeline, many stations are already reducing staff, cutting local programming, scaling back educational partnerships, and curtailing local journalism.

A recent announcement by the Trump administration that it plans to crack down on the roaring costs of prescription drug advertising as part of a push to curb misleading advertising and reduce drug prices, could have a “profound effect on TV advertising,” noted LightShed Partners Richard Greenfield in a podcast.

The Federal Drug Administration requires drug companies to disclose the risks of their prescription drugs. In 1997, during the Clinton administration, the agency significantly liberalized those rules, Greenfield said.

The new rules, known as the adequat provision, "allowed drug companies to not have to go through the laundry list of side effects [in every ad]. They could basically…refer to this phone number, or now today, refer to this website” as a way to show they had made an adequate disclosure of the risks.

“If that gets repealed…if they are able to accomplish that, the thing that investors need to be aware of is that before 1997 pharma advertising on TV was less than 1% now it is 9% so this would have a very profound effect on TV advertising," he explained.

If advertisers had to list all those risks, it would be very difficult if not impossible for them to air 30 second ads. “You'd be talking one to two minute ads, which are just not practical for television,” he said.

Others put the impact at much higher for news programming, which depends heavily on pharma ads.

The Nieman Lab reported that drug advertising hit $10.1 billion in 2024, up from $600 million in 1996 and that "in the first five months of this year [2025], drug ads accounted for 24% of all ads on evening network and cable newscasts.”

More details on the effort can be found in the White House announcement here. and in a blog post by the law firm Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer.

“On Tuesday, September 9, 2025, President Trump signed a memorandum directing Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary to take appropriate action to `ensure transparency and accuracy in direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising,’ including by increasing the amount of information related to drug side effects contained in these advertisements,” the blog said. “As a consequence, the pharmaceutical industry should expect to see increased scrutiny of its direct-to-consumer advertising.”

WASHINGTON—In response to the controversy over the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s late night talk show, the NAB’s president and CEO Curtis LeGeyt has posted a blog that strongly defends the First Amendment rights of local broadcasters.

“The controversy surrounding Jimmy Kimmel Live! has sparked understandable questions about broadcasters’ First Amendment rights and the influence of those in power,” he wrote. “This is an unprecedented time in media history and moments like this demand a direct conversation about what is at stake.”

Following remarks by Kimmel about the assassination of Charlie Kirk that FCC Chair Brendan Carr deemed "sick", both Carr and President Donald Trump issued statements threatening the broadcast licenses of stations carrying the show.

ABC decided to put the show on indefinite suspension following announcements by both Nexstar and Sinclair that their stations would not air the program.

That controversy greatly heated up an ongoing debate over regulation of broadcast news content. Carr and Trump have both repeatedly argued that the FCC has the right to yank licenses of stations who violate their public service rules of offering balanced news. Critics, such as FCC chair Anna Gomez, have argued this violates longstanding policy and First Amendment rights.

In his post, LeGeyt wrote “Let me first state affirmatively that broadcasters must be able to make decisions about the content on our airwaves free from government influence. The First Amendment affords our stations — and all Americans — this fundamental right, and the mere perception that broadcasters acted because of undue pressure is a problem for our credibility and the trust we have built with our audiences.”

In asserting this right, LeGeyt did not directly name the Trump administration or comment specifically on the decision to preempt the Jimmy Kimmel show.

Noting that the problem has come from “both political parties”, he specifically offered examples from Democrats attempting to restrict First Amendment Rights.

“During the Obama administration, journalists decried the use of the Espionage Act to investigate reporters and demand their confidential sources. Under the Biden administration, reporters faced growing barriers to access, and local affiliate stations were targeted based on the actions of cable news networks. Today, we continue to see veiled threats suggesting broadcasters should be penalized for airing content that is contrary to a particular point of view. These attempts were wrong then, and they are wrong now.”

“The First Amendment makes clear that broadcasters — not the government — bear the responsibility for editorial decisions,” he argued. “Local radio and television stations take this obligation seriously, working every day to reflect the unique and diverse needs of our communities, especially on sensitive issues. This is what makes local stations the most trusted sources of information. Ultimately, broadcasters are accountable to the viewers and listeners we serve.”

In defending broadcasters First Amendment rights, LeGeyt also took the opportunity to once again highlight the importance of local news and to push for the elimination of ownership caps on broadcast station groups as a way of strengthening the economics of local TV news.

“Beyond the obvious constitutional issues that have been raised, there is another challenge: Broadcasters are already fighting for our future, facing extraordinary disruption in the media ecosystem from Big Tech,” he said. “If the very act of owning or transferring a broadcast license carries the risk of political interference, it will drive investment further away from local stations at the very moment we need more resources to sustain local journalism.

“Make no mistake, NAB is fighting every day in Washington to ensure broadcasters have the scale to compete with national and global behemoths, to invest in newsrooms and local programming, to innovate and deliver freely available content to every American — whether on a television, radio, smartphone or car dashboard,” he concluded. “But all of that is futile if we cannot fulfill our most sacred responsibility: reporting to our communities without fear of government retribution. That is why this week’s celebration of First Amendment Day is not just symbolic. It is a reminder that the ability of local broadcasters to speak without fear of intimidation or interference is essential for the health of our democracy. NAB will continue to defend that freedom — publicly when necessary, and privately when most effective.”

WASHINGTON—A letter from Democratic Senators to the Federal Communications Commission sharply criticized the agency for acting as a “roving press censor” and demanded that the FCC submit documents and answer questions about its role in the decision by ABC to indefinitely suspend “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

“We are outraged by your comments yesterday on a podcast suggesting that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) would take action against ABC, its parent company Disney, and its affiliates, over comments made by comedian Jimmy Kimmel on his late-night show,” the Senators wrote. “It is not simply unacceptable for the FCC Chairman to threaten a media organization because he does not like the content of its programming—it violates the First Amendment that you claim to champion. The FCC’s role in overseeing the public airwaves does not give it the power to act as a roving press censor, targeting broadcasters based on their political commentary. But under your leadership, the FCC is being weaponized to do precisely that.”

In response to the criticism of FCC Chair Brendan Carr, President Donald Trump praised him, as a “patriot” and “tough guy” while repeating his previously expressed views that broadcasters airing criticism of him should lose their broadcast licenses.

"They give me only bad publicity or press," Trump said on Air Force One on Thursday in comments reported by ABC News and others. "And I mean, they're getting a license, I would think maybe their license should be taken away. It will be up to Brendan Carr."

U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which oversees the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), senior member of the Committee, Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Telecommunications and Media Subcommittee, and all Democratic members of the Committee sent the letter to FCC Chair Carr.

The letter was also signed by Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Senators Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.), the Senators reported.

“Under your leadership, the FCC appears to be discarding Congress’s clear directive in the Communications Act to ensure broadcasters act in the ‘public interest’—and is instead requiring them to act in ‘Trump’s interest.’” the letter continued. “This approach is an anathema to the Constitution. The consequences of your comments were quickly apparent. Hours later, Nexstar—a major owner of ABC affiliates that has a significant merger pending before the FCC—announced that it would take Kimmel off the air. Soon thereafter, Disney announced it was indefinitely suspending his show altogether. This is precisely what government censorship looks like.”

The letter also demanded answers to three questions by Sept. 25:

1. "How is the FCC defining the “public interest” standard to which broadcasters must adhere? To the extent that the FCC has adopted some new ideological or political neutrality test, how is the FCC defining ideological or political bias?"
2. "Did you, your staff, or any FCC staff have any communication with Disney, ABC, or their affiliates about Jimmy Kimmel, his Monday monologue, or his show between Monday, September 15, and today? If yes, we expect you to produce copies of all such communications.
3. "You publicly stated that ABC and Disney could “do this the easy way or the hard way.” Please detail the “easy way” and the “hard way” you were referencing in making this statement."

In an Sept. 18 interview reported on by Policyband, Carr denied that he had called Nexstar, Sinclair and ABC and said he had not put any personal pressure on them.

In a Sept. 17 interview, he did threaten to take away licenses of ABC affiliates who aired the show.