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
On September 9, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (draft NPRM) that, if adopted at the September 2025 Open Commission Meeting, would commence the next phase of the...more
The FCC released its annual Report and Order announcing the regulatory fees due for the 2025 fiscal year. Fees must be paid by 11:59 pm Eastern time on September 25. The FCC's CORES payment module is accepting fee payments...more
By September 25, 2025, broadcast (radio and television) licensees must pay all required annual regulatory fee payments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Payments received after the deadline will be assessed a...more
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) has announced that the EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS) is now open for Emergency Alert System (EAS) Participants to file Form One. Under the FCC’s rules, EAS...more
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
This advisory is directed to television stations with locally-produced programming whose signals were carried by at least one cable system located outside the station’s local service area or by a satellite provider that...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
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
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
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
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
At its final Open Meeting of 2024, the FCC on December 11 adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) seeking comment on the elimination or updating of several rules applicable to broadcast stations, as well as other...more
On October 1, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) extended the deadline for Emergency Alert System (EAS) Participants to file the EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS) Form One to October 18, 2024. The...more
The FCC’s rules require that all Emergency Alert System (EAS) Participants update their identifying information in the EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS) annually. Accordingly, all EAS Participants must update and submit their...more