David Oxenford

By: David Oxenford, Wilkinson Barker Knauer

While there are only a few regulatory deadlines scheduled for broadcasters this March, with more coming in April, as has occurred so many times in the last few years, we need to remind you that even the FCC deadlines in late March and early April could be postponed if there is a federal government shutdown, as the federal government is funded only through March 14.  As we have discussed here with respect to previous potential shutdowns, the FCC and other government agencies may have to cease all but critical functions if they do not have any residual funds to continue operations during a shutdown.  Thus, some deadlines could shift if this new administration follows the precedent for shutdowns followed in the past.

Before any potential shutdown, comments are due March 7 responding to the reinstated Center for American Rights’ complaint against a CBS-owned TV station alleging news distortion in its broadcast of a “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris.  CAR’s compliant was originally dismissed as one of the FCC’s last major actions under former Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, but was reinstated one week later under FCC Chairman Carr further investigation (see our discussion here, here, and here).  At the FCC’s request, CBS provided the FCC with an unedited transcript and video of the 60 Minutes interview.  The FCC also released additional video of the interview that was posted on YouTube.  The FCC stated that it wanted to open the proceeding to public participation given the value of transparency and the degree of public interest in the matter.  Reply comments are due March 24.

Daylight Savings Time resumes on March 9, and thus AM daytime-only radio stations and stations operating with pre-sunrise and/or post-sunset authority should check their sign-on and sign-off times on their current FCC authorizations to ensure compliance with the requirements set out in those authorizations.  As all times listed in FCC licenses are Standard Time, don’t be fooled into thinking that your daytime-only station has extra time to keep operating once Daylight Savings time kicks in.

March 13 is the deadline set out by in a Guidance Memorandum from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management for all executive agencies, including the FCC, to submit a Agency RIF and Reorganization Plan, identifying potential reductions in the agency’s workforce and areas where the agency is acting beyond its statutory direction.  This is to implement one of the President Trump’s Executive Orders on Implementing the President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Workforce Optimization Initiative.  Commissioner Carr has stated that the agency was looking at how it could be more efficient so we will be watching to see what plans the agency has for implementing the President’s order.

The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has scheduled March 19 for oral arguments on the appeals by the NAB and various radio and television companies to the FCC’s December 2023 decision in its 2018 Quadrennial Review of the local broadcast ownership rules.  As you will recall, the 2023 decision made no substantial changes to the rules (see our Broadcast Law Blog article here).  Parties challenging the decision are arguing that the statute that requires the FCC conduct Quadrennial reviews of the ownership rules compels the FCC to make changes in the rules based on competition, and competition has certainly changed since 1996 when the current rules were adopted (see, for instance, our articles here and here), so some relaxation of the rules is necessary.  We will be looking at the extent to which the FCC defends its 2023 decision, given that Chairman Carr and Commissioner Symington both dissented from that decision.  Any full decision from the Court on the appeals likely will come months after the oral argument.

Potentially affected if there is a shutdown would be comments that are due March 27 in response to the FCC’s Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing to modify how annual FCC regulatory fees are assessed on space and earth stations.  For earth stations, the FCC seeks comment on expanding regulatory fees to non-operational earth stations (those which have a construction permit but are not yet licensed), and creating additional earth station fee categories beyond the current single category of “Transmit/Receive and Transmit Only” earth stations, including, for example: VSAT, mobile-satellite earth stations, and fixed earth stations.  Reply comments are due April 11.

Even if the federal government were to shut down, states should continue to operate so broadcasters located in Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas should be aware of the opening of the following political windows tied to state and local elections occurring in May – meaning that Lowest Unit Rates apply to sales to candidates and their authorized committees (see our article here on the basics of computing LUR):

As a refresher, in the 45 days before a primary election, and 60 days before a general or special election, broadcasters must extend to legally qualified candidates their lowest unit rate and continue to follow all other applicable political broadcasting rules.  For a deeper dive on how to prepare for the 2025 elections, see our post here, which also includes a link to our comprehensive Political Broadcasting Guide.  Also, take a look at our 2025 Broadcasters’ Calendar to see if, when we compiled that calendar in December, there were any upcoming primary, general, or special elections scheduled in your service area (though confirm these dates locally as some dates may have changed since the calendar was prepared and potentially additional elections have been scheduled). Also note that, while the FCC-hosted online public inspection files for broadcasters could be disrupted by a government shutdown, if they are, political files are the one instance where stations are required to maintain backup files available to political buyers and the public at large even if the FCC systems are not functioning.

Looking ahead to April, there are a few regulatory deadlines broadcasters should be aware of – which again may shift in the event of a federal government shutdown.  April 1 is the deadline for radio and TV station employment units in Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas with five or more full-time employees to upload their Annual EEO Public File Report to their stations’ Online Public Inspection Files (OPIFs).  A station employment unit is a station or cluster of commonly controlled stations serving the same general geographic area having at least one common employee.  For employment units with five or more full-time employees, the annual report covers hiring and employment outreach activities for the prior year.  A link to the uploaded report must also be included on the home page of each station’s website, if the station has a website.  Start the preparations now to get these reports into your public file on time, as even a single late report can lead to FCC fines (see our article here about a recent $26,000 fine for a single late EEO report).

Also, April 10 is the deadline by which all full-power radio and TV stations (as well as Class A TV stations), both commercial and noncommercial, must upload to their online public inspection files their Quarterly Issues/Program lists for the second quarter of 2025.  The lists should identify the issues of importance to the station’s community and the programs that the station aired between January 1 and March 31, 2025 that addressed those issues.  It is important that these be timely uploaded to your public file, as the untimely uploads of these documents probably have resulted in more fines in the last decade than for any other violation of the FCC’s rules.  As you finalize your lists, do so carefully and accurately, as they are the only official records of how your station is serving the public and addressing the needs and interests of its community.  See our article here for more on the importance of the Quarterly Issues/Programs list obligation.

We’ll have more April regulatory dates at the end of March.  As always, consult your own legal and technical advisors for other dates of importance that might apply to your stations in the upcoming month.

David Oxenford is MAB’s Washington Legal Counsel and provides members with answers to their legal questions with the MAB Legal Hotline. Access information here. (Members only access). There are no additional costs for the call; the advice is free as part of your MAB membership.