Radio Stations NAICS 516210, 516110

May 13, 2025 - Presidential Executive Order Would Terminate Federal Funding For Public Media

• President Trump has signed an executive order instructing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the private nonprofit that serves as the steward of the funding to public media, to cease federal funding for Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR). PBS primarily focuses on television broadcasting, while public radio is mostly provided by NPR. The order would impact roughly 1,500 public media stations nationwide, according to PBS. Local public radio stations operate on a combination of government funding, donations, and philanthropic grants, according to NBC News, and stations in smaller markets are particularly dependent on the public money. The Trump administration has also said it will ask Congress to rescind funding for the CPB as part of a $9.1 billion package of cuts.
• Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr has launched what the Federal Communications Commission says is a “massive” new deregulatory initiative, according to Inside Radio. The goal is to eliminate any rules or policies that have prevented businesses from investing in modernizing their technology, according to a recent Commission rulemaking proposal. Carr says that the effort is needed to alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens and fulfill President Trump’s pledge to unleash a new wave of economic opportunity for US business by ending what President Trump views as regulatory onslaught from Washington. Carr said in February that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had not yet been at the FCC but he has created an internal agency task force that is looking for places where cuts beyond just what’s written in the rulebook can be made. “My expectation is that the DOGE team itself will interact with the FCC at some point here in the not-too-distant future. And frankly, I very much welcome the direction that we are going in terms of being efficient,” Carr said after the Commission’s February meeting.

• Digital advertising and marketing services now account for 20% of radio industry revenue, according to Inside Radio. Digital now accounts for nearly two-thirds of total media spending in the US, increasing 8% year-over-year in 2024 and reaching $107 billion for the first eight months of the year. Telecom, professional services, and financial products & services were the top three spenders on radio in 2024.
• Radio industry employment increased slightly and average wages for nonsupervisory employees decreased slightly during the first three months of 2025, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Radio stations moderately increased their prices during 2024, according to the BLS. Radio station sales are forecast to grow at a 4.36% compounded annual rate from 2025 to 2029, comparable to the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc.