Station Compliance›FCC Watch
Free, weekly
What the Commission did this week that a small station needs to know about — Public Notices, deadlines, the security rule, the EAS proceeding — and just as often, the plain statement that nothing changed.
Each week is checked against the FCC’s own documents where they exist. When something comes only from the trade press, the entry says so and names the source. When nothing happened, the entry says that too — knowing a date did not move is worth as much as knowing one did.
Reply comments on software EAS closed September 29: broadcasters want it phased in, suppliers split on safeguards. Nothing changed on § 11.35(d).
The § 11.35(d) compliance date passed with no extension or waiver, reply comments on software EAS closed, and the next date is ETRS Form One on October 30.
The FCC's FAQ on the program chain security rule: what is in scope, whether a dictionary word can be a password, and what to do with gear that cannot.
The FCC set the first nationwide EAS test since 2023 for November 17, with ETRS Form One due October 30. Plus a Michigan AM station cited over its EAS logs.
Digital Alert Systems and Sage filed on software-based EAS, and a free generator for 15-character passwords appeared. The September 29 date held.
NAB, iHeartMedia, NPR, New York Public Radio, APTS and PBS filed on the FCC's software-EAS proposal. Nothing to do yet; one idea worth watching.
The rules on this site change without warning — a deadline gets waived, a filing window opens, a Public Notice lands on a Friday. Leave an address and you get an email when something changes that affects a small station. Nothing else, and one click to leave.