As the Government prepares to shut down, at today’s meeting (September 30 th ), the FCC commenced a rulemaking proceeding seeking comments on proposed changes to the radio and TV broadcast ownership rules.  According to the FCC: “The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking would advance the Commission’s 2022 regulatory review of its broadcast ownership rules and seek public comment on whether, given the current state of the media marketplace, it should retain, modify, or eliminate any of these rules.” The rule making is soliciting comments on all remaining broadcast ownership rules.  Specifically, the Commission is examining: Local Radio Rule Seek comment on whether the Local Radio Ownership Rule, which limits the total number of radio stations that may be commonly owned in a local market, continues to be necessary in the public interest as the result of competition. Seek comment on possible modifications of the rule’s operation, including the relevant product market, market size tiers, and numerical limits. Seek comment on whether to retain, modify, or eliminate the separate limits (or subcaps) that restrict the number of radio stations a licensee can own in the same service (AM or FM) in a single market. Local Television Rule Seek comment on whether the Local Television Rule, which limits a single entity from owning more than two television stations in the same local market remains necessary in the public interest as the result of competition. Seek comment on possible modifications of the rule’s operation, including the relevant product market, the numerical limit, and consideration of television market characteristics. Dual Network Rule Seek comment on whether the Dual Network Rule, which prohibits a merger between or among the Big Four broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC), remains necessary in the public interest as the result of competition, and if not, whether to modify or eliminate the rule. We anticipate that the FCC will look to relax these rules.  All of the rules were enacted before the existence of competition from digital services.  The time has come to recognize that the competitive environment has changed and relaxes these restrictive rules. You can see the FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking here .

Last Friday, we wrapped up our week-long road trip of the state. We gave out Excellence in Broadcasting and Serving New York awards in several upstate markets, recognizing both TV and Radio stations along with public service groups for their outstanding work over the past year. In addition to our awards luncheons, each upstate location featured an insightful two hour sales training session that covered AI, with industry leading broadcast selling experts Gary and Eric Moore from Local Broadcast Sales (LBS).  Sales Training w/ Gary Moore This year’s competition was intense, as stations and colleges around the state competed against each other with countless impressive entries. A couple weeks back, we began our 2025 awards circuit downstate with New York City and Long Island. This trip, we began in Buffalo and proceeded to visit Rochester, Syracuse, and Binghamton before making our way back home to Albany. We reached over 600 people statewide between training and luncheons.  We were also honored to be joined by public service groups from around the state who received Serving New York awards in the form of our iconic crystal bowl for exemplary work with stations on community service. It was a tremendous honor to be joined by New York’s broadcasters and sellers who are so vital to their local communities. Thank you to everyone who attended our fall regional events, and congratulations to all of this year’s award winners! We will be uploading Serving New York honorees to our website over the next few days. Excellence in Broadcasting winners can be found here .

NYC Award Winners Last week, NYSBA hit the road for annual awards luncheons in New York City and Long Island. We gave out Excellence in Broadcasting Awards for outstanding work over the past 12 months. Stations also received Serving New York Awards, which is our iconic crystal bowl that’s given to broadcasters and public service groups for their important public service campaigns.  Our NYC luncheon was held in the Financial District at Manhatta, a venue sixty stories high with views of the Statue of Liberty, New Jersey, and midtown. Stations from across the city joined us as well as from the Hudson Valley. We were also excited to be joined by students from Hofstra and Fordham, which represents the next generation of broadcasters. Long Island Luncheon Next, we went to Blackstone Steakhouse in Melville, NY, for our Long Island awards luncheon. We presented awards to stations and public service groups for serving communities throughout Long Island. Nassau Community College and Stony Brook University were in attendance as well. Thank you and congratulations to everyone who attended. We will be on the road again next week for the upstate section of our awards tour. Excellence in Broadcasting winners can be found   here .

We will be on the road next week hosting sales training sessions and our regional awards luncheon.  As a result, there will be no Newstream next week.  Our next publication will be Tuesday, September 30 th .   As for next week, we will be at the following locations.   Buffalo – Aloft Buffalo Downtown, 500 Pearl Street | Monday, September 22   Rochester – The Strathallan Hotel, 550 East Avenue | Tuesday, September 23   Syracuse – Embassy Suites by Hilton Syracuse Destiny USA, 311 Hiawatha Blvd. | Wednesday, September 24   Binghamton – Binghamton Country Club, 1401 Robinson Hill Rd, Endwell | Thursday, September 25   Albany – Wolfert’s Roost Country Club, 120 Van Rensselaer Blvd. | Friday,   Our sales training session starts at 10 AM at these locations and will feature LBS CEO Gary Moore.  Our Excellence in Broadcasting and Serving New York Luncheons will start at 12 noon.   You can find more information about the luncheons here .   You can find more information about the sales training here .

The Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Brett Guthrie (R-KY), announced that the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (H.R.979) is scheduled for a vote in the Committee tomorrow, Wednesday October 17 th . The vote or “mark-up” is scheduled to begin at 10 AM.  The markup will be open to the public and press and will be live streamed online here . The bill will require the Department of transportation to phase in rules requiring automobiles manufactured and/or sold in the United States to include AM radio receivers as standard equipment in all passenger vehicles (including pick-up trucks, vans and SUVs). This is a huge step forward in our efforts to prevent auto makers from removing AM radio from the dashboards.  Last session the bill passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee by a 45 – 2 vote.  Assuming it passes the Committee again, the next step will be a vote on the House Floor.       The legislation has overwhelming support, with 298 members of the House of Representative cosponsoring the bill.  This includes 22 members of the New York Congressional delegation.  In the Senate, the bill (S.315) has the support of 61 Senators, including Senator Gillibrand and Minority Leader Schumer. You can find more information about the vote before the House Energy and Commerce Committee here . You can access the legislation here .

Rep. George Latimer (D -NY- 16) has agreed to cosponsor the AM Radio For Every Vehicle Act (H.R. 979).  He was a cosponsor in the last session of Congress.   To date, there are 298 members of the U.S House of Representatives who have cosponsored the legislation.  Very few legislative efforts garner this much support.  If the legislation garners 290 co-sponsors, it can be put on the “suspension calendar.”  This means the bill can be brought to the follow with limited debates and amendments.  The objective now is to move the legislation through the House Commerce Committee and then on to the House floor for a vote. Currently 22 members of the NY delegation have cosponsored the legislation:   Rep. Espaillat, Adriano [D-NY-13]    Rep. Garbarino, Andrew R. [R-NY-2] Rep. Gillen, Laura [D-NY-4] Rep. Goldman, Dan [D-NY-10th] Rep. Kennedy, Tim [D-NY-26] Rep. LaLota, Nick [R-NY-1] Rep. Langworthy, Nicholas A. [R-NY-23] Rep. Latimer, George [D-NY-16] Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17] Rep. Malliotakis, Nicole [R-NY-11] Rep. Mannion, John [D-NY-22] Rep. Meng, Grace [D-NY-6] Rep. Morelle, Joseph D. [D-NY-25]           Rep. Nadler, Jerrold [D-NY-12] Rep. Riley, Josh [D-NY-19]    Rep. Ryan, Pat [D-NY-18] Rep. Stefanik, Elise M. [R-NY-21] Rep. Suozzi, Thomas R. [D-NY-3] Rep. Tenney, Claudia [R-NY-24] Rep. Tonko, Paul [D-NY-20] Rep. Torres, Ritchie [D-NY-15] Rep. Velázquez, Nydia M. [D-NY-7]   There are 61 cosponsors in the Senate.  Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand both support the legislation.  The Senate bill (S. 315) has already passed the Senate Commerce Committee and is ready for a vote on the Senate Floor.   Thank you, Congressman Latimer!   You can see the legislation here .

In its continued battle against illegal pirate operations, the Federal Communications Commission has issued fines against two pirate radio broadcasters.  These are actual fines, not just notifications.  Irvington New Jersey - 91.7 FM According to the FCC’s Forfeiture Order: “We impose a penalty of $920,000 against Masner Beauplan (Beauplan), for operating an unauthorized radio station on 91.7 MHz in Irvington, New Jersey.  Beauplan engaged in the illicit operation of an unauthorized radio station known as “Radio Leve Kanpe.” Spring Valley NY – 94.1 According to the FCC’s Forfeiture Order: “We impose a penalty of $40,000 against Wilner Baptiste (Baptiste), for operating an unauthorized radio station on 94.1 MHz in Spring Valley, New York.  Baptiste engaged in the illicit operation of an unauthorized radio station known as “M-One Radio Live or M-One Live Radio.” These pirate radio operators have 30 days to respond to the FCC.  If they fail to respond, the FCC will turn the cases over to the U.S. Attorneys office for enforcement. Once again, we applaud the FCC’s efforts to enforce the Pirate Act and eliminate illegal pirate radio operations. You can see the Forfeiture Order for Irvington NJ here . You can see the Forfeiture Order for Spring Valley NY here .

Last week, the Administration announced that it would seek to place limitations on prescription drug advertisement on broadcast stations.  The concern has been that FDA rules have allowed drug companies to include less information.  The Administration wants all advertising to contain more safety information than is now required.  The White House Memorandum stated: "My Administration will ensure that the current regulatory framework for drug advertising results in fair, balanced, and complete information for American consumers. The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall therefore take appropriate action to ensure transparency and accuracy in direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising, including by increasing the amount of information regarding any risks associated with the use of any such prescription drug required to be provided in prescription drug advertisements, to the extent permitted by applicable law.  The Commissioner of Food and Drugs shall take appropriate action to enforce the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act’s prescription drug advertising provisions, and otherwise ensure truthful and non-misleading information in direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertisements." In response, the US Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S Food and Drug administration stated: “The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced a major reform of pharmaceutical advertisements that will require drug companies to include full safety warnings during their direct-to-consumer ads.  Since 1997, an FDA loophole has allowed them to merely footnote vital information such as full contraindications and common precautions via webpages and 1-800 toll-free numbers. The proliferation of simplistic pharmaceutical ads on television and digital media distorted physician prescribing habits and patient decisions...” This issue will be subject to the FDA’s administrative rule making process.  It promises to be a highly contentious issue.  The question will be how much information must be provided in an advertisement.  While recognizing the problem, we must recognize that local stations depend on advertising revenue to provide news and public affairs programs.  Requiring extensive data may render the traditional 30 second spot problematic for prescription drug advertisements.  This could have a significant negative impact on all local broadcasters.  Moreover, providing additional, lengthy labels on radio ads can effectively remove ads from local radio stations.   We will watch this process closely. You can access the  White House memo here . You can see the joint press release from the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration here .

As we reported in August, the FCC has sent EEO audit letter to 300 stations across the country.  These letters go to randomly selected stations every year.  Several New York stations were included.  The Enforcement Bureau has issued a public notice extending the deadline from September 22 nd to October 17th for stations to upload their responses to their FCC-hosted online public inspection file (OPIF). Importantly, the letter contained a request audit data.  The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau issued additional guidance relating to the questions in paragraph two of the audit letter requesting certain audit data from respondents.  With respect to this question the FCC stated: “[I]n order to protect privacy and confidential business information from public disclosure....  good cause exists to waive the requirement that responses to the Inquiries be uploaded to a station’s OPIF.  The responses to the Inquiries should instead be submitted under separate cover via email to the Enforcement Bureau at EB-EEO@fcc.gov .  The email should also include a statement indicating that the remaining audit data was uploaded to a station’s OPIF.” The FCC noted station employment units with fewer than five full-time employees (defined by section 73.2080(e)(1) of the Rules as employees regularly assigned to work 30 hours a week or more) are exempt from responding to the Inquiries.  Finally, respondents are not required to include advertising contracts in response to the Inquiries. You can see a copy of the FCC Public Notice here . Our previous story, which includes links to the audit letters and list of station can be found here .

The FCC is scheduled to open a proceeding looking at its ownership rules at its September 30 th  meeting.  The Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires the FCC to conduct a review of its broadcast ownership rules every four years.  Often controversial, this process has been the subject of litigation for years.  The statute instructs the FCC to determine whether the rules remain “necessary in the public interest as the result of competition” and to “repeal or modify any regulation [that it] determines to be no longer in the public interest."  The first step in the process is to issue a Notice of Proposed rulemaking.  The FCC plans to examine the following rules: Local Radio Rule: Seek comment on whether the Local Radio Ownership Rule, which limits the total number of radio stations that may be commonly owned in a local market, continues to be necessary in the public interest as the result of competition. Seek comment on possible modifications of the rule’s operation, including the relevant product market, market size tiers, and numerical limits. Seek comment on whether to retain, modify, or eliminate the separate limits (or subcaps) that restrict the number of radio stations a licensee can own in the same service (AM or FM) in a single market. Local Television Rule: Seek comment on whether the Local Television Rule, which limits a single entity from owning more than two television stations in the same local market, remains necessary in the public interest as the result of competition. Seek comment on possible modifications of the rule’s operation, including the relevant product market, the numerical limit, and consideration of television market characteristics. Dual Network Rule: Seek comment on whether the Dual Network Rule, which prohibits a merger between or among the Big Four broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC), remains necessary in the public interest as the result of competition, and if not, whether to modify or eliminate the rule. This is an important proceeding.  NYSBA is in favor of relaxing these rules.  Deregulation is essential if we are to compete in today’s hyper-competitive marketplace. You can see a draft of the FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking here . You can see NYSBA’s position on ownership rules in comments filed as part of the FCC’s “Delete, Delete, Delete Proceeding here .

During the Biden administration, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued and extensive set of rules governing non-compete agreements in all industries.  Later, a federal district court struck down the rules holding that the FTC lacked the authority to adopt general rules on this issue.  The Trump administration’s FTC has decided not to appeal that decision. Rather than adopting a general rule, the FTC stated that it will consider these issues on a case-by-case basis.   In addition, the FTC opened a proceeding to obtain more evidence about the use of non-compete agreements.  It noted: “The Federal Trade Commission invites public comment to better understand the scope, prevalence, and effects of employer noncompete agreements, as well as to gather information to inform possible future enforcement actions.” In soliciting additional comments the FTC stated: “While noncompete agreements can serve valid purposes in some circumstances, available evidence indicates that they are often subject to abuse. In many cases, employers appear to impose noncompete agreements as a matter of course, simply inserting them into employment contracts without due consideration to whether the noncompete agreement is appropriate under the circumstances, including whether alternative contract terms would sufficiently advance procompetitive aims without or with less attendant anticompetitive harm." Thus, while the issue remains open, it seems the FTC will not be moving forward with any major changes.  Since 2008,  stations in New York are prohibited from using post term covenants not to compete for their employees.  The limitations found in NY Labor Law, §  202k, do not apply to contracts with managers. You can access the FTC’s decision not to appeal the case here . You can access the FTC’s request for more information here .

The Board of Directors for the New York State Broadcasters Association, Inc. has named Red Apple Media CEO John Catsimatidis the New York Broadcaster of the Year for 2025. He will be honored at the NYSBA Broadcast Leadership and Hall of Fame Luncheon in New York City in the Rainbow Room on October 22 nd . David Donovan, President of the New York State Broadcasters Association, said, “We are honored to have him as NYSBA’s Broadcaster of the Year. John has had unparalleled success turning around 77WABC and expanding Red Apple Media throughout the country. He has led legislative efforts to keep AM radio in vehicles, a vital issue for all New Yorkers.” “Thank you, Dave and the Board of the New York State Broadcasters Association for this honor,” said John Catsimatidis, Owner of Red Apple Media and 77WABC. “Radio is an integral part of listeners’ lives and often the only source of information during times of disaster. I ask everyone in radio to alert their listeners that car manufacturers are risking lives by taking AM off the dashboard of new cars. Together, we can stop this, and we must stop it.” John Catsimatidis, a self-made billionaire and philanthropist, is the American dream come true. He is CEO of the Red Apple Group, which owns and operates the Gristedes grocery chain, the United Refining Company, and Red Apple Media. John entered the media business with the purchase of 77WABC in March 2020. Since then, he defied convention and introduced music radio weekends on a talk station. He purchased WLIR-FM, Suffolk Country, WRCR-AM, Rockland County, and launched the Red Apple Audio Networks to syndicate the high profile, well-respected 77WABC on-air personalities nationwide. Today, Red Apple Audio Networks programming can be heard on 495 affiliates. In addition, John hosts the nationally syndicated Cats Roundtable, every Sunday morning from 8am to 10am, and co-hosts the award-winning afternoon drive Cats & Cosby  with Rita Cosby from 5pm to 6pm every weekday. His relationships across the political spectrum and business arenas give him unprecedented access to the biggest and most influential newsmakers, including President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton, Senators Charles Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand, Ted Cruz, Ron Johnson, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former NY Governor Andrew Cuomo, and more. John and his wife Margo never forget their roots and are big supporters of numerous philanthropic organizations. In addition to their personal contributions to charitable causes, John and Margo established the WABC Radio Foundation that raises money for distribution to organizations that deliver assistance to those in need. For more information, go to https://www.nysbroadcasters.org/hall-of-fame   Contact David Donovan at ddonovan@nysbroadcasters.org

On Thursday, October 23, 2025, the National Association of Broadcasters Leadership Foundation (NABLF) will host a Career Fair from 10 AM to 2 PM at the Javits Center. This is part of the NAB New York Show, which runs from October 22 – 23.   As a member service, NYSBA will subsidize the job fair registration cost for stations willing to participate in the NABLF job fair. To receive a subsidy, participating stations must be NYSBA members in good standing. Space is limited so we urge you to register ASAP.   If your station wants to participate, please contact Trevor at   telmendorf@nysbroadcasters.org . You can find more information about the Career Fair here .

Rep. Pat Ryan (D -NY- 18) has agreed to cosponsor the AM Radio For Every Vehicle Act (H.R. 979).  He was a cosponsor in the last session of Congress.   To date, there are 286 members of the U.S House of Representatives who have cosponsored the legislation.  Importantly if the legislation garners 290 co-sponsors, it can be put on the “suspension calendar.”  This means the bill can be brought to the follow with limited debates and amendments. Currently 21 members of the NY delegation have cosponsored the legislation:   Rep. Espaillat, Adriano [D-NY-13]    Rep. Garbarino, Andrew R. [R-NY-2] Rep. Gillen, Laura [D-NY-4] Rep. Goldman, Dan [D-NY-10th] Rep. Kennedy, Tim [D-NY-26] Rep. LaLota, Nick [R-NY-1] Rep. Langworthy, Nicholas A. [R-NY-23] Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17] Rep. Malliotakis, Nicole [R-NY-11] Rep. Mannion, John [D-NY-22] Rep. Meng, Grace [D-NY-6] Rep. Morelle, Joseph D. [D-NY-25]           Rep. Nadler, Jerrold [D-NY-12] Rep. Riley, Josh [D-NY-19]    Rep. Ryan, Pat [D-NY-18] Rep. Stefanik, Elise M. [R-NY-21] Rep. Suozzi, Thomas R. [D-NY-3] Rep. Tenney, Claudia [R-NY-24] Rep. Tonko, Paul [D-NY-20] Rep. Torres, Ritchie [D-NY-15] Rep. Velázquez, Nydia M. [D-NY-7]   There are 61 cosponsors in the Senate.  Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand both support the legislation.  The Senate bill (S. 315) has already passed the Senate Commerce Committee and is ready for a vote on the Senate Floor.   We hope to move the legislation in the House of Representatives in September or early October.  Thank you, Congressman Ryan!   You can see the legislation here .

The FCC is beginning the process of adopting Next Gen TV as the television transmission standard.  Last week, it released a Public Notice that announced steps to accelerate the process: “Today’s Public Notice accelerates the transition by clarifying the methods that broadcasters may use to determine if an application qualifies for expedited processing and reaffirms the Media Bureau’s commitment to processing non-expedited applications.  Additionally, today’s action reminds licensees of the flexibility included in the Commission’s existing rules.  In particular, the Bureau affirms its ability to consider additional factors and supportive materials that demonstrate that a specific transition has minimal negative viewer impact and is in the public interest.” As we learned during the transition from analog to digital, changing transmission stations can be complicated.  NYSBA supports the transition to Next Gen TV and we support the FCC’s decision to start clearing the way for the deployment of ATSC 3.0. You can see the FCC’s Public Notice here .

New York’s general election date for state and local elective offices is November 4 th . This means the lowest unit rate period for political advertisements began on September 5 th , which is 60 days before the general election. Importantly, the lowest unit rate rules apply only to ads purchased by a candidate or a candidate’s authorized campaign committee .  They do not apply to third-party entities (such as super PACS, activist groups, unions or others), purchasing time to support a candidate.   Also, stations are required by law to provide reasonable access to federal candidates.  They do not necessarily have to provide access to state and local candidates.  However, if you provide access to a candidate for a state or local office, you must provide access to all legally qualified candidates for that office.  In other words, the equal opportunities rules and lowest unit rate rules kick in once you provide access to a qualified state or local candidate. Additional information can be found on the NYSBA website here .

The FCC has released its FY 2025 Regulatory Fee Order. Regulatory fee payments must be received by the Commission no later than 11:59 PM, Eastern Daylight Time, on September 25, 2025. Radio stations can expect about a 2.5% to 3% decline in fees.  Here is the fee chart for radio:   Television station fees are based on population coverage.  The FCC lists each full service TV station by call letter.  The list can be found in Appendix F on page 52 of the FCCs report and order. (see link below) Use Commission Registration System (CORES) : To increase efficiency, the Commission is using an all-electronic payment system for regulatory fees, which is contained within the Commission's Registration System (CORES). Before using CORES for the first time, you must obtain an FCC Username through the FCC User Registration System, and subsequently use it to access CORES and either register an FCC Registration Number (FRN) or associate an existing FRN to your Username. If you are unable to register electronically, you may fax your application for a Registration Number (FCC Form 160) to the CORES Helpdesk at (202) 418-7869 for filing procedures.    Credit Card Transaction Levels :  The total daily credit card transactions processed from a single customer can be no more than $24,999.99 (hereinafter the “Maximum Daily Limit”) and the total monthly transactions processed from a single customer (based on a rolling 30-day period) can be no more than $100,000.00 (hereinafter the “Maximum Monthly Limit”). Transactions greater than the Maximum Limits will be rejected. If a customer initiates multiple transactions on the same day with the same credit card, those transactions causing the total charge to exceed the Maximum Limits will also be rejected. This applies to single payments or bundled payments of more than one bill. Payment Methods : During the fee season for collecting regulatory fees, regulatees can pay their fees by credit card through Pay.gov , ACH, debit card, or by wire transfer. Additional payment instructions are posted on the Commission’s website here .  The receiving bank for all wire payments is the U.S. Treasury, New York, NY (TREAS NYC). Any other form of payment (e.g., checks, cashier’s checks, or money orders) will be rejected. Media Services : Regulatory fees must be paid for initial construction permits that were granted on or before October 1, 2024 for AM/FM radio stations, full-power VHF/UHF broadcast television stations, and satellite television stations. Regulatory fees must be paid for all broadcast facility licenses granted on or before October 1, 2024. You can access the Media Fact sheet covering all issues relating to media facilities regulatory fees here . A fact sheet covering Payment Methods and Procedures can be found here . A Public Notice dealing with the procedures for waiver requests can be found here . A Public Notice concerning exemptions can be found here . You can access the Regulatory Fee order here, which includes the fee table for TV station in appendix F,  here . You can access the Public Notice setting the September 25 date here .

The Radio Music Licensing Committee has reached a long awaited settlement with both BMI and ASCAP.   The rates for ASCAP have not yet been announced, but the rates paid by stations to BMI have been made public.  For BMI, the rate increases will be retroactive  to 2022.  They also have been set for the future time-period to 2029.  Overall, the rates, which are based on revenue, will be as follows: 2.14% for 2022 and 2023 2.26% for 2024 2.19% for 2025 2.20% for 2026 - 2029 Overall, this represents an increase of approximately 1.7 percent over existing BMI payment levels.  Retroactive payments will begin in October and will be made over an 18-month period.  The terms of the ASCAP settlement were not available when we went to press.  Nonetheless, we expect them to be retroactive as well.  BMI CEO and President, Mike O’Neill, stated: “This new deal ensures BMI’s songwriters will be more fairly compensated for the performance of their music on this incredibly important platform. Negotiation is always better than litigation, and we’re pleased to have worked together with the RMLC to achieve this outcome” ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews noted: “The settlement agreement includes year-over-year increases in the percentage of revenue rate paid by radio stations to publicly perform music by ASCAP members and better reflects the ways in which AM/FM radio stations in the US currently broadcast and transmit music to their listeners, while recognizing the distinctions between the terrestrial radio industry and internet music services.” We will report on the ASCAP rates once they become available. Asked for comment, the RMLC’s Chairman, Ed Atsinger, said: “We are pleased to have reached an amicable agreement with BMI, which is indicative of how strongly the radio industry values its partnerships with songwriters. Furthermore, we feel that this agreement provides the radio industry with the ability to plan for the long-term while avoiding substantial litigation costs and uncertainties associated with the rate court process.” Noted communications attorney David Oxenford has provided a detailed outline of the agreements in his log, which can be seen here .   You can access BMI’s press release here . You can see ASCAP’s press release here . A good summary can be found in Inside Radio   here .

An interesting article in Radio Ink  discussed the significance of at home digital devices, smart speakers and connected TV sets, to radio.  According to the article: “Just how much have device preferences shifted in five years when it comes to streaming AM/FM radio? According to 2025 Share of Ear data from Edison Research, smart speakers remain the most popular digital gateway to radio as device ownership hits saturation. As shared   by Audacy , Edison found that for AM/FM, smart speaker streaming minutes have risen 73% since 2020. By comparison, connected TVs are up 23%, mobile phones are up 8%, and desktop or laptop listening has dropped by 31%.” The article goes on to state that as voice activated devices have become increasingly common in the home, they are becoming the gateway for accessing radio. You can see the article in Radio Ink   here .

Rep. Dan Goldman (D -NY- 10 th ) has agreed to cosponsor the AM Radio For Every Vehicle Act (H.R. 979).  He was a cosponsor in the last session of Congress. To date, there are 271 members of the U.S House of Representatives who have cosponsored the legislation.  This includes 20 members of the NY delegation:   Rep. Espaillat, Adriano [D-NY-13]    Rep. Garbarino, Andrew R. [R-NY-2] Rep. Gillen, Laura [D-NY-4] Rep. Goldman, Dan [D-NY-10 th ] Rep. Kennedy, Tim [D-NY-26] Rep. LaLota, Nick [R-NY-1] Rep. Langworthy, Nicholas A. [R-NY-23] Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17] Rep. Malliotakis, Nicole [R-NY-11] Rep. Mannion, John [D-NY-22] Rep. Meng, Grace [D-NY-6] Rep. Morelle, Joseph D. [D-NY-25]           Rep. Nadler, Jerrold [D-NY-12] Rep. Riley, Josh [D-NY-19]    Rep. Stefanik, Elise M. [R-NY-21] Rep. Suozzi, Thomas R. [D-NY-3] Rep. Tenney, Claudia [R-NY-24] Rep. Tonko, Paul [D-NY-20] Rep. Torres, Ritchie [D-NY-15] Rep. Velázquez, Nydia M. [D-NY-7]   There are 60 cosponsors in the Senate.  Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand both support the legislation.  The Senate bill (S. 315) has already passed the Senate Commerce Committee and is ready for a vote on the Senate Floor.   We hope to move the legislation in the House of Representatives right after the August recess.  Thank you Congressman Goldman!   You can see the legislation here .