In the last few days, two defamation cases filed against media companies by the Trump campaign have been dismissed – one on the merits and one by agreement of the parties. This includes the suit filed by the campaign against Northland Television, the licensee of a rural Wisconsin television station. That station was perhaps the… Continue Reading…
This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: November 7, 2020 to November 13, 2020
Here are some of the regulatory developments of the last week of significance to broadcasters, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations. On November 12, the notice was published in the Federal Register of the lifting of the filing freeze for certain… Continue Reading…
This Week in Broadcast Regulation – October 31, 2020 to November 6, 2020
While last Tuesday’s elections may well affect broadcast regulation in the future, there were several regulatory developments in the last week of immediate significance to broadcasters. Here is a summary of some of those developments, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations…. Continue Reading…
Reminder – Lowest Unit Charges Do Apply to Run-Off Elections
Earlier this week, we wrote that the FCC issued a public notice stating that Lowest Unit Charges (or lowest unit rates as they are often called) do not apply to post-election political ads (e.g. ads that urge ballots to be counted in any particular manner). One important caveat to that advice is that LUC does… Continue Reading…
Broadcast Assignments and Transfer Applications Transition to the LMS Database
While much of the world was focused on election results, the FCC announced its transition of a few more of its applications from the CDBS database that it has used for several decades to its newer LMS database. The FCC’s Public Notice released earlier this week announced that assignments and transfer applications (both long-form Form… Continue Reading…
FCC Announces Effective Date of Changes in LPFM and Noncommercial Application Processing
Earlier this week, the FCC announced that changes in its processing of LPFM and Noncommercial (NCE) full-power station applications became effective on October 30. We wrote about some of those changes here and here. Of immediate importance is the need to include a certification of reasonable transmitter site assurance in any application for any technical… Continue Reading…
FCC Makes Clear that Lowest Unit Charges for Candidate Ads Ends on Election Day
The FCC yesterday released a Public Notice making clear that lowest unit rates (or lowest unit charges) end on Election Day. Some broadcasters had asked the question, fearful that there would be political advertising bought after Election Day to take positions on issues about counting the vote and other legal matters that could arise in… Continue Reading…
More on the FCC Rule Changes on Public Notice of Broadcast Applications and Required New Link on Station Homepages
Last week we wrote about the October 30 effective date of new FCC rule changes on the public notice requirements for certain broadcast applications, including applications for the assignment of license or transfer of control of a station and applications for renewal of license. On Friday, the FCC’s Media Bureau released a Public Notice clarifying… Continue Reading…
This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: October 24, 2020 to October 30, 2020
It has been a busy week for regulatory actions affecting broadcasters. Here are some of the significant developments of the last week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations. The FCC held a virtual Open Meeting on Tuesday, voting to approve an… Continue Reading…
FCC to Lift Freeze on TV Station Technical Improvement Applications
A freeze on technical improvements by full-power TV stations is about to come to an end after more than 15 years. Television stations have been unable to improve their coverage areas by a freeze first instituted in 2004 to allow the FCC to deal with a stable database of television stations during the transition to… Continue Reading…
Changes to FCC Public Notice Requirements Effective October 30 – New Link Required on Commercial Station Websites
In May, the FCC voted to change its requirements for public notices of broadcast applications (see our post here) – standardizing the messages that must be conveyed to the public and eliminating the need for newspaper publication in those instances where it was still required. The new rules also require that each commercial station include… Continue Reading…
November Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters: Rulemaking Comments, Hearings on Diversity and a New Commissioner, an FCC Open Meeting and More
November is one of those few months with no routine FCC filing obligations (no renewals, reports, fees or other regularly scheduled deadlines. While that might seem to suggest that you can take time that you normally devote to regulatory actions to begin your holiday preparations even in this most unusual year, there are still many… Continue Reading…
