A federal appeals court blocked the Federal Communications Commission from extending candidates’ discounted television advertising rates to political parties and joint fundraising committees, allowing local broadcasters to continue charging those groups higher rates during the midterm advertising rush.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 Tuesday that the reduced rates — known as the “lowest unit charge” — are reserved for legally qualified candidates. The court set aside FCC guidance issued in March that would have made certain advertisements purchased by party committees and joint fundraising groups eligible for the same discount.
Federal law requires broadcast stations to offer candidates their lowest available rate for comparable airtime during the 45 days before a primary and the 60 days before a general election. The discount can be substantially lower than the market rates charged to other political advertisers.
The FCC’s guidance was scheduled to take effect Sept. 4, ahead of November’s midterm elections. But the appeals court concluded that the statute does not extend the discount to political parties or joint fundraising committees containing non-candidate members.
“The statutory text is unambiguous, and it provides no support for the Media Bureau’s significant and unilateral expansion” of the discounted-rate requirement, Judge Robert King wrote for the majority.
The decision came in response to a challenge brought by four Democratic candidates: Senate candidates Sherrod Brown, Jon Ossoff and Roy Cooper, and House candidate Kristen McDonald Rivet. The National Republican Congressional Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee intervened in support of the FCC.
The distinction matters to broadcasters because political parties and joint fundraising committees generally pay higher market rates. Extending candidate-level discounts to those groups could have reduced what stations collect during one of the most lucrative periods in the local TV advertising cycle.
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the agency’s lone Democrat, had opposed the expanded interpretation, arguing that it would hurt broadcasters already facing financial pressure.
“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,” Gomez said.
The ruling could also blunt an advantage Republicans expected after the Supreme Court allowed political parties to spend unlimited amounts in coordination with candidates, Politico reported.
Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III dissented, arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction to consider the challenge. An FCC spokesperson praised Wilkinson’s “sound and thoughtful analysis,” saying it aligned with the agency’s longstanding approach. “We will continue to review the other opinions,” the spokesperson told TheWrap.
