The NAB recently announced that a majority of Congress has signed on to the Local Radio Freedom Act, the nonbinding resolution where Congressional representatives declare their opposition to the adoption of a broadcast performance royalty. With that announcement, it is worth taking another look at what a broadcast performance royalty is and what might happen… Continue Reading…
FCC Issues Reminder of Obligations to Make Televised Emergency Information Available to Viewers with Disabilities
About this time each year, as hurricane season ramps up, the FCC issues a notice reminding television broadcasters and other video providers of their obligations to make accessible emergency information to all of the populations which may be using their services – especially if parts of the audience cannot see or hear the emergency information… Continue Reading…
Window for Filing Applications for New Noncommercial FM Stations Appears to be Coming Soon – With an LPFM Window to Follow
A window for the filing of applications for new noncommercial FM stations in the reserved FM band (below 92.1 FM) appears to be on its way – either later this year or early next. As we reported in our summary of last week’s broadcast legal actions, Chairman Pai last week responded to a Congressional inquiry… Continue Reading…
FCC Eliminates Program Duplication Rules for AM and FM Stations
At its meeting last week, the FCC adopted an order that eliminated its rule that prohibits radio stations in the same service (AM or FM) that have over 50% overlap of their principal community contours (the 70 dBu for FM stations and the 5 mV/m contour for AM stations) from duplicating more than 25 per cent… Continue Reading…
This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: August 1, 2020 to August 7, 2020
Here are some of the regulatory and legal actions and 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. The FCC acted this week on two media modernization items that had been teed up for… Continue Reading…
$12,000 Fine to Translator Operator for Overpower Operations – Review Your Translator’s Operations to Ensure they Comply With All Requirements of Your License
A $12,000 fine issued to an FM translator operator for operating with a transmitter power output that exceeded its licensed limits was upheld by the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau in a decision released this week. The Commission rejected the licensee’s argument that the Commission should have first given it notice and an opportunity to fix the… Continue Reading…
FCC Eliminates Rule Requiring Broadcast Station Tower Owners to Give Access to Competing Stations
The FCC yesterday acted to resolve the proceeding begun a year ago (see our article here) to eliminate the rule that prevented an FM or TV broadcaster from denying space to a competing broadcaster on a broadcast tower that it controls. As expected, that rule was eliminated by an order to become effective when it… Continue Reading…
Identifying the Legal Issues in Using Digital and Social Media – A Video Webinar
Almost every broadcaster and other media company uses digital and social media to reach their audiences with content and information that can be presented in ways different than those provided by their traditional platforms. Whether it is simply maintaining a website or streaming audio or video or maintaining a social media presence to reach and… Continue Reading…
This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: July 25, 2020 to July 31, 2020
Here are some of the regulatory and legal developments of the last week of significance to broadcasters – and a look ahead to the FCC’s consideration of two media modernization items in the coming week. Links are also provided for you to find more information on how these actions may affect your operations. This week,… Continue Reading…
August 2020 Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters: TV and Radio License Renewals, EEO Reporting, FCC Open Meeting, Broadcast Internet Comments and More
While we are approaching the end of summer in this most unusual year, the regulatory dates keep coming, though perhaps a bit slower than at other times of the year. One of the big dates that broadcasters should be looking for is the announcement of the Annual Regulatory Fees that will likely be paid sometime… Continue Reading…
This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: July 18, 2020 to July 24, 2020
Here are some of the FCC regulatory, legal, and congressional actions of the last week—and music licensing action in the coming 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. The Media Bureau settled investigations into six major radio groups… Continue Reading…
FCC Enters Consent Decrees with Six Big Radio Groups – Looking at What the FCC’s Political File Rules Require
The FCC this week announced consent decrees with six large radio groups over problems with the political files maintained by these groups. The consent decrees included very specific compliance plans for each company to ensure that it met all FCC political file obligations in the future. And it suggested that the penalties were mitigated by… Continue Reading…
