NCAA vs. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma: A Win for Antitrust Law and College Football Fans
Why Ending FCC Blackout Rules May Be Broadcast TV's Demise
A federal court has struck down the FCC’s prohibition on common ownership of two “top four” television stations in a single market, marking a significant change in the FCC’s media ownership rules. The Court left other...more
On July 23, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated two aspects of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC or Commission) regulation restricting the number of television stations that one entity...more
On July 8, 2025, the Federal Register published a summary of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) Public Notice seeking to refresh the record in the National Television Multiple Ownership Rule proceeding,...more
Radio and television station employment units (SEUs) located in North Carolina, South Carolina, Illinois, Wisconsin, and California with five or more full-time employees must prepare by Friday, August 1, 2025, an annual EEO...more
As described in more detail below, by July 10, 2025, all radio and television broadcast stations, both commercial and noncommercial, must prepare a list of important issues facing their communities of license and the programs...more
Broadcasters’ next Quarterly Issues/Programs List (“Quarterly List”) must be placed in stations’ Public Inspection Files by July 10, 2025, reflecting information for the months of April, May, and June 2025....more
On June 18, 2025, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) released a Public Notice seeking to refresh the record in the National Television Multiple Ownership Rule proceeding, which has been pending since...more
June 1 is the deadline for broadcast stations licensed to communities in Arizona, the District of Columbia, Idaho, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming to place their Annual...more
Radio and television station employment units (SEUs) located in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Michigan, Ohio, Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming with five or more full-time...more
Pillsbury’s communications lawyers have published the FCC Enforcement Monitor monthly since 1999 to inform our clients of notable FCC enforcement actions against FCC license holders and others....more
As described in more detail below, by April 10, 2025, all radio and television broadcast stations, both commercial and noncommercial, must prepare a list of important issues facing their communities of license and the...more
Broadcasters’ next Quarterly Issues/Programs List (“Quarterly List”) must be placed in stations’ Public Inspection Files by April 10, 2025, reflecting information for the months of January, February, and March 2025....more
Radio and television station employment units (SEUs) located in Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, Delaware, and Pennsylvania with five or more full-time employees must prepare by Tuesday, April 1, 2025, an annual EEO...more
You may be familiar with FCC closed captioning rules that require programming delivered on traditional linear TV networks to be closed captioned (subject to certain exceptions and exemptions), but what about programming on...more
February 1 is the deadline for broadcast stations licensed to communities in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, and Oklahoma to place their Annual EEO Public File Report in their Public...more
The deadline to file the 2024 Annual Children’s Television Programming Report with the FCC is January 30, 2025, reflecting programming aired during the 2024 calendar year. In addition, commercial stations’ documentation of...more
As described in more detail below, by January 10, 2025, all radio and television broadcast stations—both commercial and noncommercial—must prepare a list of important issues facing their communities of license and the...more
Beginning January 1, 2025, the FCC’s audio description requirements will expand to commercial television stations affiliated with ABC, CBS, FOX, or NBC in 10 additional Nielsen Designated Market Areas (DMAs): Johnson...more
Many television broadcasters were left scratching their heads last month when a longtime waiver associated with the FCC’s emergency information accessibility rules expired on November 26. That confusion was resolved Friday,...more
One thing about being part of a heavily regulated industry—you know well in advance most of the regulatory obligations and deadlines you’ll be facing in the year ahead. While that brings no solace to broadcasters, it does...more
Items of Note in 2025 - I. Commercial and Noncommercial Biennial Ownership Reports: December 1, 2025 is the deadline by which all commercial and noncommercial radio and television stations must file their biennial...more