Washington Beat

Five docket items are on the agenda for the next FCC open Commission meeting, scheduled for Thursday. Among them are two Public Safety & Homeland Security items for consideration by the three voting members of the agency.

The FCC is expected to adopt its final FY 2026 fee schedule later this year, and the NAB wants the Commission to reconsider a proposed 46% fee increase for broadcaster-operated earth stations. Why? The association believes the raise is disproportionate and penalizes broadcasters.

The junior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission has been selected to serve as the Keynote Speaker at an annual gathering of former FCC leaders hosted by the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC).

A bipartisan bill that would establish a federal intellectual property right allowing individuals to authorize or block digital replicas of their voice and likeness has cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee, setting up a full floor vote in the upper body of Congress.

It's being pitched as "an enhanced political digital advertising solution" powered by political data and analytics provider Aristotle, and it will integrate Aristotle's consumer intelligence into Gray Media's "Political 360" platform.

In late February, Scripps moved ahead with a plan to reacquire 23 television stations sold at the end of 2020 to INYO Broadcast Holdings in order to complete its $2.65 billion acquisition of ION Media. This led the FCC to establish a pleading cycle. Final replies were due Friday, and DirecTV chimed in.

State broadcasters associations representing all 50 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico adopted a resolution in support of the "Nurture Originals, Foster Art and Keep Entertainment Safe" Act, or "NO FAKES." The legislation seeks to protect the voice and visual likenesses of individuals and creators from unauthorized AI replications.

The NAB Leadership Foundation brought some of Capitol Hill’s most prominent AM radio compatriots to the stage Tuesday night as it hosted the 2026 Celebration of Service to America Awards, honoring broadcasters for superlative community service.

The FCC has shared details of a June 5 meeting that saw NAB Associate General Counsel for Legal and Regulatory Affairs Larry Walke joined by two colleagues in discussions about ways to further revitalize AM Radio with key Media Bureau policymakers.

The House Appropriations Committee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies on Tuesday proposed zero funding for local public broadcasting stations in its fiscal year 2027 appropriations bills. To say the least, the President/CEO of America's Public Television Stations is "deeply disappointed."

The owner of a Class A FM radio station serving a small Texas city where U.S. Highways 83, 62 and 70 converge could be stripped of its license, due to overdue regulatory fees owed to the FCC. The licensee simply needs to pay $2,856.43 to the Commission to resolve the matter.

The AEI's Clay Calvert uses the findings of a recent Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression poll to as a fundamental question regarding the 2026 midterm elections this November: Could antipathy toward jawboning and lack of trust in Trump to safeguard free speech affect the midterm elections?

Days after the FCC's Media Bureau warned broadcasters that no licensee holds a right to the public spectrum, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute is arguing that the regulatory framework underlying that notice is technically obsolete and constitutionally indefensible.

Merkhet Solutions CEO Sam Matheny testified on June 4 before the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee at a hearing titled "Where Are We?: Examining Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Capabilities in the United States." The purpose of the longtime NAB executive? To promote the proposed Broadcast Positioning System.

Artificial Intelligence is seen by many in radio and TV as a threat to their job security, while consumers are fretting over trust. Now, AI could bring another worry to radio and TV broadcasters, FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty has shared.