The NAB Spells Out Its 2023 Broadcast Issues and Priorities

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — A virtual Town Hall conducted Thursday by the NAB served as a dissemination point for the nation’s biggest advocacy organization serving broadcast radio and television to share what its plan of action on Capitol Hill is for the next 12 months, now that the 118th Congressional Session has commenced and Cathy McMorris Rodgers is now Chair of the powerful House Energy & Commerce Committee.


The event saw NAB President/CEO Curtis LeGeyt and other key association leaders provide NAB members with updates on the association’s work, priorities and initiatives in its 100th year of operations.

Among LeGeyt’s key focus areas for the NAB is ensuring radio remains an integral part of the connected car and helping stations recruit the next generation of broadcasters.

The furthered deployment and adoption of ATSC 3.0, the broadcast TV standard voluntarily being rolled out across the U.S., is also a top priority for the NAB in 2023.

NAB EVP/Government Relations Shawn Donilon led a discussion with members of NAB’s public policy team about the implications for broadcasters in a narrowly divided and highly partisan Congress. NAB’s policy experts also took time to detail renewed efforts to prevent Congress from imposing a performance royalty on broadcast radio stations. This will see the reintroduction of the non-binding resolution known as the “Local Radio Freedom Act.” The policy experts also discussed “the growing momentum in Congress” to reign in the power of the Big Tech companies, specifically through the Journalism and Competition Preservation Act. While the NAB notes the legislation “garnered significant support in the 117th Congress,” it died in the final weeks of December.

Also on the Town Hall: EVP/Industry Affairs April Carty-Sipp talked up the 2023 NAB Show while NAB Chief Legal Officer and EVP/Legal and Regulatory Affairs Rick Kaplan moderated a panel featuring members of NAB’s legal team. This panel focused on regulatory issues facing broadcasters at Commission, including what the NAB believes is “the need to modernize broadcast media ownership rules.” Also on Kaplan’s radar is the FCC’s “continued focus on foreign sponsorship identification requirements.” The panel also discussed the Federal Trade Commission’s notice of a proposed rule to ban non-compete clauses, and how that could affect the broadcast industry.

Meanwhile, NAB Chief Diversity Officer and NAB Leadership Foundation President Michelle Duke provided an update on the association’s DEI initiatives and events including the Human Resources and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Forum that NAB and NABLF co-hosted in November 2022.

Following the briefing, Carty-Sipp moderated a question-and-answer session with LeGeyt, Kaplan and Donilon. Questions were submitted by NAB members from across the country,

— RBR+TVBR Washington Bureau