From Broadcast Law Blog

Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.

• The FCC released the full text of its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adopted at its regular monthly Open Meeting earlier this month proposing significant revisions to the FCC’s procedures under the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act. 

Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.

• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated the FCC’s decisions in the 2018 Quadrennial Review to retain the Top-4 Prohibition (prohibiting broadcasters from owning two of the top-4 affiliated TV stations in a DMA) and to close the “Note 11 loophole” to the TV ownership rule (adding LPTV stations and multicast streams to the prohibition on broadcasters acquiring another in-market station’s Top 4 network affiliation). 

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals handed down its decision this week on the appeals of the FCC’s December 2023 decision following its 2018 Quadrennial Review (see our summary here) to leave the local radio and television ownership rules largely unchanged.  The Court’s decision was a victory for television owners, declaring the restrictions on the ownership of two of the Top 4 TV stations in any market to be contrary to the record and ending that restriction unless,

Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.

• FCC Chairman Carr announced the agenda for the Commission’s regular monthly open meeting scheduled for August 7, and it contains several items relevant to broadcasters. 

Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.

• The FCC announced that comments and reply comments are due August 4 and August 22, respectively, responding to its Public Notice released last month seeking to refresh the record in the National Television Multiple Ownership Rule proceeding. 

The FCC this week announced a Consent Decree with a TEGNA subsidiary to settle an indecency complaint against a Spokane television station.  The FCC received a complaint about a “pornographic video” which the station admitted had run on a TV screen behind the station’s weathercaster that was visible to the home viewer for approximately 13 seconds during a weather report in 2021. 

Only three weeks ago, we published an article on the FCC’s request for public comment to update the record in the 2018 proceeding looking at whether to change the 39% national cap on the ownership of television stations. That request for comments was published in the Federal Register yesterday, setting the deadline for comments.

Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.

• Paramount/CBS settled its lawsuit with President Trump for $16 million.  Last Fall, President Trump sued CBS for its supposed deceptive editing of the 60 Minutes interview with then-Vice President Harris which,

Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.

• Olivia Trusty was sworn in as an FCC Commissioner, restoring the Commission’s quorum just before its regular monthly Open Meeting.  With there now being a 2-1 Republican majority,

Last week, the FCC released a Public Notice requesting comments to refresh the record compiled in 2018 in a proceeding that proposed to review the TV national ownership cap.  That cap limits any company from having attributable interests in full-power TV stations that reach more than 39% of the nationwide TV audience.  That 2018 proceeding was begun (with a late December 2017 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking)  to assess whether the FCC should raise the cap,

The lazy days of summer provide little respite from the regulatory actions of importance to broadcasters.  July brings quarterly requirements, including most importantly, the obligation to upload Quarterly Issues/Programs Lists to a station’s online public file.  There are comment deadlines in July in three FCC proceedings: on regulatory fees, on a proposal for LPTV stations to operate under the 5G Broadcast transmission standard,

Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.

• The Senate voted 53-45 to confirm Olivia Trusty as an FCC Commissioner on a largely party-line vote.  As a result of Trusty’s confirmation,