FCC’s Carr Eases Radio Fears Over Equal Time Enforcement

Following the FCC’s Equal Time Rule scrutiny of late-night TV, radio broadcasters feared a crackdown. However, at the Commission’s first Open Meeting press conference of 2026, the message for the AM/FM dial was clear: business as usual.

While the conversation largely centered on the conduct of late-night and daytime television hosts like Jimmy Kimmel Live! or The View, radio emerged as a lower-risk player in the agency’s current enforcement priorities. In exchanges with reporters, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr underscored that while “equal opportunity” requirements, commonly known as the Equal Time Rule, apply to both radio and television, the Media Bureau’s recent Public Notice was prompted strictly by concerns in the television sector.

“The rule applies to both radio and TV,” Carr stated, but he emphasized that the agency’s recent guidance targeted specific misunderstandings regarding broadcast-TV precedents. “There wasn’t a relevant precedent that we saw that was being misconstrued on the radio side.”

This distinction is critical for station operators. While radio remains legally bound by candidate access requirements, Carr’s comments suggest the Commission does not view AM/FM broadcasters as a current enforcement concern.

Unlike certain television programmers, radio operators have generally avoided stretching the “bona fide news exception” in ways that trigger agency intervention. Because radio hasn’t seen the same pattern of broadcasters broadly claiming exemptions, the FCC saw no need for companion guidance or a new compliance push for the medium.

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez reinforced this sentiment, noting that while the statute covers both “television and radio,” the framework is longstanding. She described the process as a routine coordination between stations and FCC staff that typically plays out smoothly during election cycles.

Beyond the Equal Time Rule, Chairman Carr briefly addressed the industry’s curiosity regarding ownership limits, given the closure of the comment and reply period for the 2022 Quadrennial Review. “No news to break on the cap proceeding,” Carr noted, adding that the matter remains under review at the agency with no final decision yet reached.