The federal government’s shutdown and its ripple effect on the Federal Communications Commission included the inability to access the Licensing and Management System (LMS), the online hub for accessing all past transfer of control applications and filing any fresh Form 314 submissions for regulatory approval.
As of this morning, the LMS is operational. And, the FCC — with help from the Federal Register‘s editorial team — is moving quickly with establishing the comment window on the long-delayed 2022 Quadrennial Review of the Commission’s media ownership rules.
Interested parties may now chime in on whether the existing limitations, by statute, on radio and television station ownership should remain in place. Or, should they be “modernized” with a looser regulation? Should the rules be fully eliminated altogether?
With publication of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register on Monday, comments suggesting any of those choices may now be submitted.
The Comment Date is December 17; reply comments are due on January 16, 2026.
The proceeding will evaluate the Local Radio Ownership Rule, the Local Television Ownership Rule, and the Dual Network Rule for television in the U.S.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has framed the review as applying “the Gretzky test,” anticipating future market conditions rather than reacting to the past.
The Commission at its September Open Meeting unanimously passed the NPRM to restart its long-delayed 2022 Quadrennial Review of broadcast ownership rules. The focus centers on how local radio ownership should adapt in a marketplace dominated by digital and streaming competitors.
RADIO’S BIG REVENUE-GENERATION RULE PUSH
For radio broadcasters, the stakes are significant. Current rules limit how many stations one company can own in a market based on market size.
In a market with 45 or more stations, an entity can own up to eight, no more than five of which may be FM or AM. The previous review concluded in late 2023 after years of delay and retained the rule despite industry calls for reform and subsequent legal challenges to related television ownership provisions.
The NAB, state broadcast associations, and a majority of radio broadcast ownership groups are expected to advocate for deregulation. Organizations from the technology sector and the musicFIRST coalition are likely to support the status quo, the latter appearing to oppose all pro-radio legislation over their desire to impose additional royalties on local broadcasters.
Comments can be submitted online through the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System. The proceeding is identified as MB Docket No. 22-459.
