After three years of modest regulatory fee relief for broadcasters, the Federal Communications Commission’s proposed fee schedule for 2026 suggests that trend may be nearing an end, with most stations potentially seeing a 5% hike in their annual fee as fewer structural shifts work in radio’s favor.
The FCC is required to collect an amount equal to its annual budget, and for fiscal year 2026 that total rises to $416.1 million, up from roughly $390.2 million in 2025. That roughly 6.6% increase creates immediate upward pressure on fees across all sectors, including radio.
For broadcasters, however, the bigger impact lies in how those costs are allocated — specifically through the FCC’s long-standing system of assigning fees based on full-time staff workload. While similar reallocations in recent years helped ease pressure on broadcasters by shifting costs away from Media Bureau-regulated services, the 2026 proposal moves in a different direction. By increasing the number of employees counted as directly supporting core bureau activity — including Media Bureau functions — the FCC is effectively increasing the share of its budget that must be recovered from industries like radio.
Just as notable for broadcasters is what the FCC isn’t proposing. The agency again stops short of expanding the base of fee payors beyond traditionally regulated industries. While the 2025 proceeding considered — and ultimately rejected — adding new categories such as large technology companies, the 2026 proposal similarly focuses on adjustments within the existing structure, rather than broadening who pays into the system.
The result is a familiar dynamic for radio. Fees continue to be determined by internal FCC cost allocations rather than the competitive realities of the audio marketplace, where broadcasters face growing competition from digital platforms that are not subject to the same regulatory fee structure.
The result is the proposal will require Class B, C, C0, C1 or C2 FMs serving more than 6 million people to pay $20,510 in annual fees. That is up about 5.3% from $19,485 last year. Smaller FMs would also see increases. Across mid-tier and smaller FM categories, fees are also set to rise by roughly 5% year over year.
On the AM side, the increases are similar at the top of the market. Class As in the largest markets would pay $16,405, a 5.5% increase from $15,550 last year. At the low end, a Class D AMs serving fewer than 10,000 people would pay $395, down from $545 last year — one of the only categories to see a decrease.
Beyond annual station regulatory fees, radio operators would also see higher costs for a range of application-based fees under the 2026 proposal. The FCC wants to increase the fee for AM construction permits to $600, up from $585, and FM construction permits to $1,050, up from $1,025. Those increases are modest in dollar terms, but they continue the same upward trend seen in the annual station fees.
Fees tied to auxiliary broadcast services are also moving higher. The Commission proposes a $265 fee for FM translators and FM boosters, up from $245 last year. While relatively small on a per-license basis, those charges can add up for operators with multiple translators or boosters.
The FCC is taking comments on its annual fee proposal (MD Docket No. 26-94) through May 28, with reply comments due by June 12. Once a decision is made, broadcasters must pay their annual fee by Oct. 1 or else face the possibility that any pending application will not be processed. The FCC also has the authority to charge a mandatory late filing fee.