FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is calling 2025 a “historic year” for deregulation and modernization across the nation’s broadcast and radio industries, citing hundreds of rule eliminations for local stations, even as one Commissioner raises final concerns.
Carr’s year-end summary details a sweeping rollback of legacy broadcast rules, with the FCC removing 98 requirements Carr identified as obsolete or unnecessary and voting to strike 11 more provisions covering outdated technologies such as telegraph equipment, rabbit-ear antennas, and telephone booths. In total, the agency deleted or proposed elimination of more than 1,100 rules and 134,000 words from the Code of Federal Regulations as part of its “Delete, Delete, Delete” initiative.
Among the broadcast-specific actions, the FCC granted 84 construction permits for new FM, noncommercial TV, and low-power radio stations, and processed over 7,600 other licensing matters, including nearly 900 assignments and transfers. Carr emphasized support for broadcasters’ public service roles while continuing to reduce regulatory burdens.
The Chair also touted a questionable enforcement advisory spurred on by Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, which targeted free artist performances at station-sponsored events, claiming it was “payola” for more airtime. Meanwhile, the agency proposed $400,000 in fines against pirate radio operators, citing interference with licensed services.
In keeping with the deregulatory agenda, Carr said the FCC rescinded several Biden-era initiatives, closed 2,048 inactive dockets, cut $567 million in contract spending, and ended DEI advisory and task force operations.
“The FCC delivered real results for the American people in 2025,” Carr said. “We removed outdated rules, advanced innovation, and reaffirmed our commitment to local broadcasting and free over-the-air media.”
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez offered a sharp counterpoint to the Chairman’s celebratory tone, warning that the Commission’s growing entanglement with newsroom decision-making risks undermining press freedom. Her statement followed reports that CBS News delayed a 60 Minutes segment after the federal government refused to respond to its reporting, weeks after the FCC approved Skydance’s acquisition of Paramount CBS with editorial oversight conditions attached.
Gomez said, “When the FCC withheld approval of Paramount’s transaction to extract sweeping concessions, I warned that allowing the government to wield regulatory leverage in newsroom decision-making would inevitably threaten independent journalism. We are now seeing the real-world consequences of blurring the line between regulatory authority and editorial independence.”
Gomez added that the situation raises “serious questions about whether editorial decisions are being influenced by external pressure rather than journalistic judgment,” and called on CBS to publicly account for how the decision was made. “A free press cannot function if the government is able to exercise veto power over critical reporting simply by refusing to engage,” she said. “That is fundamentally incompatible with the First Amendment and the role of journalists in holding those in power to account.”
As the FCC moves into 2026, Chairman Carr’s deregulatory push and Commissioner Gomez’s growing dissent set the stage for a pivotal 2022 Quadrennial Review. With radio ownership limits on the table, the balance between competition, consolidation, and localism will be fiercely contested in the months ahead.
