The NAB’s fight for the future of AM radio

During the first two and a half years of Curtis LeGeyt’s tenure as president and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), there’s been a lot of noise around the future of AM radio, the 100-year-old technology that some automakers have started to phase out of new vehicles.

Founded as the National Association of Radio Broadcasters in 1923, the NAB’s mission is to advance the legislative and regulatory interests of radio and television stations.

LeGeyt, who spearheaded the NAB’s government relations team and served as chief operating officer before he was tapped to lead the organization in January 2022, said its mission has “never been more important than it is today.”

“The fact that we have stations in every inch of this country — whether you’re talking about urban, rural, large market, small market, red states, blue states — we’re serving all of them in a way that’s nonpartisan and trusted,” LeGeyt told The Hill in an interview Thursday.

“And we’re doing it amidst a media environment that is just so fragmented and where there is so much misinformation and disinformation,” he continued.

LeGeyt said the NAB’s mandate “to ensure that consumers are going to have access to a vibrant local broadcast” is why the potential elimination of access to free, easily available AM radio in cars has become a banner issue for the trade association.

The NAB has been pushing for Congress to pass the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, which, as the name suggests, would require all new vehicles to contain AM radio. Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) have been leading the charge since popular automakers including BMW, Mazda, Volkswagen, Volvo and Tesla have phased out or announced plans to discontinue AM radio in certain new vehicles, particularly electric vehicles (EVs). 

The Senate bill has 61 co-sponsors, and the House version boasts more than 250 backers, although there are dwindling legislative days and vehicles to pass the measure. Nearly 450,000 AM radio listeners across the country have contacted their members of Congress “to convey to them the importance that AM radio provides in their communities,” LeGeyt said.

More than 82 million people across the U.S. tune into AM radio each month, according to a 2022 Nielsen survey. Rural, diverse and elderly communities in particular rely on AM radio, which has a significantly further reach and is less impacted by physical barriers such as buildings or mountains than FM radio, broadband and satellite service, as was noted in a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Innovation, Data and Commerce hearing on the legislation last month.

The bill’s supporters, which include the NAB, AARP and several former Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrators, also emphasize the importance of AM radio access to the national safety alert system.

“The automakers have every interest in ensuring that every consumer, when they step into the automobile, is a customer for all that media, and that they are monetizing the consumer,” LeGeyt said.

“Broadcast radio sits outside of that. And so, what we’re asking here is to put that accessibility of broadcast radio, especially in times of disaster, above their bottom lines and those paid subscription and data services,” LeGeyt added.

Opponents of the bill include the Alliance for Automotive Innovation (AAI), an auto industry trade association that represents automakers, including some that want to cut AM radio from new vehicles, and the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), which advocates for innovation in consumer technology. Critics of the AM radio mandate say it would hamper innovation, particularly in the transition to EVs.

Automakers have argued the electromagnetic frequency of EVs could distort AM radio signals, which would require costly fixes and design compromises to correct. Shielding and filtering fixes could cost $3.8 billion over seven years, which breaks down to between $50 and $70 per vehicle and “can pose a significant burden on automakers,” according to a Center for Automotive Research study funded by the AAI.

Opponents also disagree that mandating new vehicles include AM radios is the only way to ensure consumers receive critical safety alerts.

An online survey of 800 U.S. adults conducted by the CTA found that more than 95 percent received an October 4, 2023, emergency alert on their cell phones, and 1 percent heard it on AM radio.

For those consumers who want AM radio, automakers would consider offering portable AM radios, similar to first aid or tire kits, AAI President and CEO John Bozzella told the Energy and Commerce subcommittee last month. 

Bozzella also said automakers will continue to make emergency alerts from FEMA’s public alert and warning system available for free and would support clear disclosure if a vehicle does not include AM radio.

When asked about these alternatives, LeGeyt said “none of those suffice to provide the easily accessible access to AM in the dashboard” and described them as “a disservice to those consumers.”

“In a time of emergency, the idea that you’re going to pull your car over to the side of the road, pop your trunk and get out a handheld radio — it’s just not realistic,” LeGeyt said. “And again, it also completely underappreciates the 82 million Americans who rely on this every day.”

AM/FM radio continues to reach more U.S. adults than any other medium including smartphones, TVs and tablets, according to Nielsen’s most recent Audio Today 2023 report. The report found that AM/FM radio reaches 91 percent of Americans each month, and of the 1-in-3 listeners who tune into AM stations, around three-quarters listen while they drive.

During the subcommittee hearing last month, CTA CEO Gary Shapiro pointed out that AM and FM radio do not pay performers for their work, while digital and streaming platforms pay performance royalties.

“These terrestrial stations use music to build their audience, allowing broadcasters to make billions in revenue from advertising, while paying nothing to performers,” Shapiro said. 

“Mandating AM radio would condone this unfair system, allowing the broadcast industry to reap profits at the expense of artists.”

LeGeyt told The Hill that the argument is a “red herring.” 

“What CTA ignores is the critical difference between broadcast radio and every other audio service, which is that we are freely available to every consumer. We’re not charging a subscription,” LeGeyt said.

The AM radio issue is just one slice of the NAB’s advocacy portfolio. The NAB is one of the largest advocacy groups in Washington, shelling out more than $11 million on federal lobbying last year alone for work on dozens of bills and issues, according to the money-in-politics tracking nonprofit OpenSecrets.

The NAB has urged the Federal Communications Commission to modernize restrictions on media ownership, LeGeyt said, as current rules have not adapted to the fact that broadcasters no longer only compete with other broadcasters for eyeballs and advertising dollars. The NAB has also worked to ensure local broadcasters are fairly compensated when their work is accessed through social media platforms or ingested by artificial intelligence (AI) models.

“In this media landscape, where there is so much disruption being caused by streaming, being caused by big tech, being caused by generative AI, NAB needs now more than ever to clearly focus on our our core constituency, which is the local broadcast assets of our member companies,” LeGeyt said.

As social media, AI and streaming services have significantly reshaped the media landscape in recent years, LeGeyt said the NAB is doubling down on its mission to support local broadcasters and journalists.

A proposed policy statement shared with The Hill, which the NAB board is slated to vote on next week, explicitly reaffirms that commitment.

“NAB is the voice in Washington, D.C., for America’s local radio and television broadcasters. While some NAB television members have business interests beyond local broadcasting, this association’s central focus will be advocating for policies to protect viewers by ensuring live, local broadcasting is vibrant, competitive and freely available in today’s media landscape,” the yet-approved policy statement reads.

“Our advocacy will be guided solely by what is best to serve the public, ensuring local broadcasters’ essential role in American democracy. NAB’s policy positions will be grounded in safeguarding the public’s access to local broadcast stations, including on those issues that may be in tension with other NAB member business interests.”

In his nearly 13 years with the NAB, LeGeyt said the trade association “has not reaffirmed its core mission in this way.”

That reaffirmation, however, could cause tensions with certain members when it comes to potential changes to the regulation of streaming services.

Several Senate Democrats pressed the FCC last fall to revisit whether streaming services should be subjected to the same distribution rules as traditional broadcasters. 

But the Preserve Viewer Choice Coalition — which includes media and streaming giants ABC, Fox, Fubo, Hulu, NBC, Paramount, Roku, Telemundo, Univision and Warner Bros. Discovery — has been opposing those efforts, arguing the application of the broadcast rules to streaming services would “reduce viewer choice and drive up costs for consumers.”

When pressed about the coalition’s arguments against a potential FCC draft rule on the issue and how members might react to the proposed policy statement, LeGeyt said the NAB is a “big tent.” With members ranging from traditional broadcasters including Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair to streaming and media giants including Paramount and NBCUniversal, he added, policy interests may diverge. The Hill is owned by Nexstar, and Nexstar chair and CEO Perry Sook is joint chair of the board of the National Association of Broadcasters.

But the policy statement is broader than any specific issue, LeGeyt said, and “is simply meant to reinforce that while certain of our member companies may have other media interests, and at times those media interests may be at odds with local broadcasting, NAB’s advocacy agenda is going to be guided solely by the interest of local broadcasters.”