FCC扩大政治广告最低单价适用范围引发委员反对，广播电视广告价格或承压

Media Contact:
Gomez.Press@fcc.gov
For Immediate Release
August 25, 2026
FCC TO UNLEASH FLOOD OF DARK MONEY INTO BROADCAST
ADVERTISING AHEAD OF MIDTERM ELECTION
WASHINGTON — FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez issued the following statement
in response to a Media Bureau Order unlawfully expanding the interpretation of which
political entities qualify for discounted broadcast advertising rates, which will now allow
joint fundraising committees and party committees to purchase airtime at the same steep
discount the law provides only for candidates, just weeks before voting starts in the fall
general midterm election. The discount window opens September 4, 2026:
“In the final stretch of a national election, this FCC is unleashing a flood of coordinated
campaign money into broadcast advertising, just as the Supreme Court has cleared the way
for unlimited coordinated spending between parties and candidates. This unprecedented,
last-minute decision gives the biggest political spenders an even bigger advantage over
everyone else by expanding the candidate-only discount established by law to joint
fundraising and party committees, an advantage that will make it hard for anyone else to
catch up before Election Day. Broadcasters are being directed to slash prices and sell their
most valuable inventory during their busiest and most lucrative season, even as this same
FCC has spent months arguing broadcasters need economic and regulatory relief to
compete with Big Tech and streaming. You cannot claim broadcasters are struggling to
survive and then force them into a fire sale on the one thing that could actually help them
compete and increase revenue.
“Even more concerning, this decision was made behind closed doors by agency staff, not
by the full Commission, and it contradicts what this administration itself told the Supreme
Court less than a year ago about who qualifies for this discount.1 In direct conflict with
the administration’s position, the FCC relies on alleged staff-level guidance that was
never provided in writing and that nobody could find, and adopted it with no opportunity
for the public to weigh in. The American people should not have sweeping election-year
rule changes forced on them in the dark, on the eve of an election, without a single
opportunity for public input. It is past time this Commission listens to them, not to the
1 See, Application for Review at 5 (“{I]n connection with the litigation over the constitutionality of the
party coordinated expenditure limits in NRSC v. FEC, the Solicitor General argued in his reply brief that
the Communications Act “require[s] broadcasters to charge low rates for candidate spending, but not for
party spending—whether coordinated or independent.” Reply Brief for the Federal Respondents at 23,
NRSC v. FEC, No. 24-261 (U.S. Oct. 1, 2025), 2025 WL 3068193 (emphasis added).”); see also, Petition
for Reconsideration at 10.

billionaires seeking to empty their pockets into dark money groups to try to influence the
outcome of this upcoming election.”
Background:
The Media Bureau issued a Public Notice expanding the interpretation of which entities
qualify for the lowest unit charge on broadcast political advertising. This change was
made by agency staff, not through a full Commission vote. There was no public input, no
notice and comment, no docket, no way for the public to track proposed changes from
proposal to implementation the way they do with agency rules.
The Television Bureau of Advertising, a trade association representing local broadcast
stations, filed a challenge with the Bureau, which the Bureau dismissed. Separately, four
candidates for federal office in Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina, and Michigan filed their
own challenge with the full Commission, which remains pending. In neither case has the
public had any opportunity to weigh in, and the underlying record remained unavailable
for public review until it was included in Commissioner Gomez’s dissent.
A full copy of Commissioner Gomez's dissent to the Media Bureau Order can be found
here.
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Office of Commissioner Anna M. Gomez: (202) 418-2100
ASL Videophone: (844) 432-2275
www.fcc.gov/leadership/anna-gomez
This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a
Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC, 515 F.2d 385 (D.C. Cir. 1974).