FCC Media Bureau Notice DA 26-300 Says Favorable Candidate Ad Rates Cover Party Coordinated Ads and Joint-Fundraising Committees

On March 30, 2026 (release date), the FCC’s Media Bureau issued public notice DA 26-300 on the lowest unit charge (LUC) that broadcasters must give candidates in the weeks before an election. The notice says the LUC requirements apply to authorized committees, including those that engage in joint fundraising with candidates, and to “advertisements that qualify as coordinated expenditures of political parties and legally qualified candidates for federal office.” It draws a line: “Advertising time purchased by political parties as an independent expenditure is not entitled to LUC.” The notice describes the party-coordinated point as an effort to “restate previous Media Bureau guidance.”

This is the document the later litigation is about. Democratic candidates filed an application for review asking the full Commission to set it aside; the Fourth Circuit then ruled on it before the Commission acted, and the Supreme Court twice stayed the Fourth Circuit: 2026-09-04–scotus-stays-fourth-circuit-party-ad-rate-ruling-nrcc-v-brown and 2026-10-14–scotus-per-curiam-stays-fourth-circuit-mandamus-fcc-v-brown-party-ad-rates.