The investigation will revolve around NPR and PBC airing sponsorships across their 1,500-plus member stations, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said.

I am concerned that NPR and PBS broadcasts could be violating federal law by airing commercials,” Carr wrote on Wednesday in a letter to NPR chief executive Katherine Maher and PBS chief executive Paula A.

Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, said the inquiry could help Congress decide whether to continue funding local stations.

New FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has ordered the agency to launch an investigation into underwriting sponsorship announcements that air during PBS and NPR programming, suggesting that they may cross the line “into prohibited commercial advertisements.