The FCC lacks authority to impose new Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (Calm) Act requirements on current licensees or extend the rules to streaming services, said industry commenters in filings in docket 25-72, which were due Thursday. A nonprofit dedicated to fighting noise pollution and the Hearing Loss Association of America wrote in support of tougher FCC Calm Act enforcement, while NAB, NCTA and the Streaming Innovation Alliance (SIA) opposed any further ad loudness rules. “The Commission cannot -- and should not -- alter the CALM Act technical standards or impose new obligations,” NCTA said.
A White House executive order that says agencies can dispense with notice-and-comment requirements when repealing some rules is unlikely to have an immediate impact on the FCC because Chairman Brendan Carr has at his disposal many traditional ways of deleting rules, academics, industry lobbyists and attorneys said in interviews. Along with the order on notice and comment, the White House also released an order requiring agencies to scuttle “anti-competitive” regulations and another repealing showerhead measures that could affect how agencies justify decisions.
LAS VEGAS – An ATSC 3.0 datacasting joint venture that combines the spectrum of the four largest TV groups is viable now but would be capable of nearly 10 times the capacity if the FCC requires a nationwide transition, said executives from Sinclair, Nexstar, Gray and E.W. Scripps in a news conference Monday at NAB Show 2025. Their joint venture, Edgebeam Wireless, was announced in January (see 2501070079).
LAS VEGAS—FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez on Monday decried “an administration-wide campaign to censor and control” media but said she and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr “work very well” when they collaborate. During a Q&A at NAB Show 2025, Gomez also vowed to continue speaking out if the White House fires her and said she doesn’t blame broadcasters for the industry’s lack of pushback on the FCC action against TV networks. “I understand that all these parties all have to operate in this environment, and sticking your neck out is not the easiest thing to do,” Gomez said. “There’s nothing [the White House] can do to me. They can’t even deport me!”
LAS VEGAS -- Broadcasters are optimistic about ownership deregulation and concerned about tariffs, while NAB is looking to broaden the NAB Show’s appeal, according to speeches and interviews at NAB Show 2025, which kicked off Saturday and runs until Wednesday. The show is set to feature almost no FCC presence compared with previous years, as only Commissioner Anna Gomez planned to attend.
LAS VEGAS -- A proposal to use ATSC 3.0 stations to create a U.S. backup to GPS is more about justifying a speedy transition to the new standard than directly monetizing it, broadcasters and broadcast engineers told us at the NAB Show 2025. The U.S. is the only major power without a backup solution for GPS, and the Broadcast Positioning System proposed by NAB and Sinclair is the most promising candidate in two decades, said Patrick Diamond, a member of the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Advisory Board. For the proposed BPS system to work optimally, “the more towers, the better,” said Tariq Mondal, NAB's vice president-advanced technology.
5G broadcast supporters say HC2’s petition to allow low-power TV stations to transmit in that standard and reach mobile devices could represent a lifeline for an LPTV industry in distress, while some critics say it appears to be aimed at allowing low-power TV owners to get out of the broadcast business.
The FCC should use a still-open 2017 proceeding to eliminate the national ownership cap, NAB said in a letter to the agency Wednesday. The rule bars any single TV broadcaster from owning stations that, as a group, reach more than 39% of the total number of U.S. TV households. “This outmoded rule prevents broadcasters -- but not any other video service providers -- from competing for audiences and vital advertising revenues across the county,” NAB said.
Broadcasters attending the 2025 NAB Show in Las Vegas will be discussing industry competition, rising prospects for ownership deregulation, the potential of the FCC’s “Delete” docket, and their perennial hopes for monetizing ATSC 3.0, broadcasters, brokers and broadcast attorneys told us. The show runs from Saturday until Wednesday, April 9. There are “increasing drumbeats from every direction” pointing to ownership deregulation and the potential for station deals, Tideline Partners media broker Gregory Guy said in an interview. “I fully expect that 2025 will be the most important year this century for broadcast, radio and television.”
A White House executive order issued Thursday ends federal employee union bargaining rights at a host of federal agencies, including the FCC, citing national security concerns. Laws that allow for collective bargaining enable “hostile Federal unions to obstruct agency management. This is dangerous in agencies with national security responsibilities,” said a White House fact sheet on the order.