AM Radio Remains A Banner Issue For The NAB

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.

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