Media Bureau

The Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC” or “Commission”) Media Bureau has launched a new Public Notice (the “Notice”) seeking public comment on sports broadcasting practices and recent marketplace developments, as the distribution of live sports programming continues to evolve across broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms.

For decades, live sports have been closely intertwined with broadcast television…

Continue Reading FCC Opens Inquiry into Sports Broadcasting Practices and Marketplace Developments

On January 21, 2026, the FCC’s Media Bureau released a Public Notice providing new guidance on how it will evaluate whether broadcast television stations have triggered an obligation to provide “equal opportunities” to political candidates under Section 315 of the Communications Act.  

The FCC’s equal opportunities rule generally says that if a station gives…

Continue Reading FCC Issues Guidance Focused on Candidate Appearances on Talk Shows

The Media Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is seeking comments by September 4 on issues related to video description, which is the transmission of a secondary audio track describing the visible action in video programming for the benefit of individuals who are blind or visually impaired.  Under FCC rules, local TV station affiliates of ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC located in the top 25 TV markets and the top five non-broadcast networks must provide 50 hours per quarter of video-described prime time or children’s programming.  Some cable companies and broadcasters also must “pass through” the video description that they receive from others in certain circumstances.

The Public Notice does not propose any rule changes to the existing FCC rules but seeks comment on a number of issues:Continue Reading FCC Seeks Comment on Video Description