Lowest Unit Charge Applies to Political Parties and Committees

Broadcasters must now give lowest unit charge (LUC) rates to four types of advertising:

• • Ads purchased by candidates
  • Ads purchased by a candidate’s primary fundraising campaign
  • Ads purchased by local, state or national political parties making coordinated expenditures with candidates
  • Candidate ads purchased by the joint fundraising committees listed below:
    • Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC)
    • National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC)
    • Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC)
    • National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC)

This is the result of a stay issued by the Supreme Court on September 4, 2026.

The issue of which types of advertising do, and do not, qualify for LUC has gone back and forth in recent weeks and months. Earlier this year, the FCC’s Media Bureau issued a Public Notice stating that LUC rates applied to political airtime purchased by political parties and joint fundraising committees, a view many saw as a significant expansion of LUC. In late August, a federal appeals court struck down that Public Notice, finding that political parties and joint fundraising committees were not entitled to LUC.

Now, following the Supreme Court’s action, the Media Bureau’s expanded view of LUC is back in effect and could apply throughout the 2026 election cycle.

Here is more detailed background information:

After the FCC issued its Public Notice in March, three candidates for the U.S. Senate and one for the U.S. House of Representatives filed an Application for Review with the FCC asking the FCC to set aside the Public Notice and clarify that only candidates and their principal campaign committees are entitled to LUC rates.

In June 2026, with the Application for Review still pending before the FCC, the candidates filed a Petition for Review of the Public Notice in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Court found it had jurisdiction even though the FCC had not yet acted on the Application for Review, and that the Media Bureau’s interpretation of the statute applying LUC obligations to political parties and joint fundraising committees was incorrect.

The NRCC and the NRSC requested an emergency stay from the Supreme Court, which the Court granted. The Court indicated that the court of appeals may not have had jurisdiction because the Application for Review was still pending before the FCC.

The Supreme Court’s stay was issued on procedural grounds. The Court did not rule on the legality of the Media Bureau’s interpretation of LUC. It seems unlikely the Court will rule on the actual legal dispute by the November elections, meaning the Media Bureau’s broad interpretation of LUC will continue to apply for the foreseeable future.

For more information about broadcast stations’ LUC obligations, contact David Burns or Nancy Ory in our Media Practice Group.