Media News Daily: Top Stories for 09/01/2026

FCC Raises Regulatory Fees for TV and Radio Stations

The Federal Communications Commission has issued a Report & Order raising regulatory fees for broadcast television stations by more than 6% for fiscal year 2026, with radio stations also facing increases. The agency expects to collect about $417.2 million in regulatory fee revenue, up from $391.7 million in FY25. Digital TV regulatory fee revenue is projected to rise 5.9% to $24.8 million. The FCC rejected requests to expand fee obligations to virtual MVPDs such as YouTube TV, as well as arguments from the NAB and state broadcaster groups seeking lower fees or more detailed calculations. The fees are due by the end of September. (Read More) (TV Technology Rating)

Pentagon Adds Grok and ChatGPT for Unclassified Military Use

The Pentagon announced it has added Starshield AI’s Grok for Government and OpenAI’s ChatGPT Mil to its GenAI.mil platform for unclassified military use. The Department of Defense said Grok will support productivity, knowledge continuity, collaboration, and operational tasks, while ChatGPT Mil will assist with document-heavy work such as planning, policy, logistics, and administration across a workforce of more than 3 million personnel. The expansion follows earlier Pentagon agreements with xAI and OpenAI for classified uses and comes amid the department’s ongoing dispute with Anthropic, whose Claude platform the Pentagon plans to remove by the end of September. (Read More) (The Hill Rating)

Republican Campaign Arms Ask Supreme Court to Restore Lower Political Ad Rates

The National Republican Congressional Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee have asked the Supreme Court to intervene after a lower court blocked them from receiving discounted political advertising rates ahead of the midterm elections. The dispute centers on the “lowest unit charge” rule, which requires broadcasters to offer candidates favorable ad rates during key election windows. The FCC had expanded the benefit to certain coordinated party expenditures, but the 4th Circuit ruled that political parties and joint fundraising committees with non-candidate members are not entitled to those rates. The GOP committees say broadcasters are already rescinding rates they had budgeted for, while Democratic challengers argue the FCC policy would distort the campaign advertising market. (Read More) (NOTUS Rating)