The Nevada Broadcasters Association testified yesterday in the Committee on Government Affairs, on behalf of Nevada Broadcasters’ effort to pass legislation regarding Public and Legal Notices. Current Nevada law says public and legal notices must be posted in a “newspaper of general circulation”. SB 218 would provide the option of choosing a website administered by the Nevada Broadcasters Association. This legislation broadens the marketplace in what has historically been a statutorily- supported monopoly,…
Plan Your April Fools’ Day On-Air Pranks with the FCC in Mind
With April Fools’ Day only a few days away, we need to play our role as attorneys and ruin the fun by repeating our annual reminder that broadcasters need to be careful with any on-air pranks, jokes or other bits prepared especially for the day. While a little fun is OK, remember that the FCC does have a rule against on-air hoaxes.…
NAB Concerned About Radio in Repack Process
by Susan Ashworth
Courtesy of www.radioworld.com/
While it remains to be seen exactly how FM radio stations will be affected by the upcoming repack of television stations due to the TV spectrum auction, the National Association of Broadcasters is aware of one thing: the repacking of several hundred or more television stations to new channels will bring “unprecedented logistical and operational challenges for the commission and the broadcast industry,” the association wrote in a petition for reconsideration this month.…
Radio Ownership Subcaps on the Table for FCC Review
We’ve written (see, e.g. our articles here, here and here) about the pending petitions asking the FCC to reconsider decisions reached last year to end the UHF discount, to leave the TV local ownership rules in place and to make attributable new TV Joint Sales Agreements, and to not adopt any change in the FCC radio ownership rules in “embedded markets.” Recently,…
Relaxed Rules for Location of FM Translators to Rebroadcast AM Stations Effective April 10
We wrote here and here about the FCC’s new rules to relax the limits on where licensees of AM stations can use FM translators to rebroadcast their stations. The new rules allow the location of these translators so that their 1 mv/m coverage area does not extend beyond 25 miles from the AM station or beyond the AM station’s 2 mv/m contour – whichever is greater.…
NVBA Washington Update
Hello and welcome back to the NVBA Washington Update. With plenty of changes afoot in Washington, we’ll use these updates to get you up to speed on what’s happening in the telecom world and what’s driving the agenda in the nation’s capital.
It should come as no surprise that healthcare and the GOP’s repeal and replacement of Obamacare is sucking up most of the policymaking oxygen in DC.…
NV Broadcasters on Capitol Hill
Nevada’s Broadcasters Attend NAB, State Leadership,
Meetings with Nevada Congressional Delegation
Washington, D.C.
February 27-March2, 2017
Mary Beth Sewald/Adam Sandler
The Nevada delegation of broadcasters is home following the annual Washington, D.C. trip to fly the flag on behalf of the NVBA and its members.
It was an exceptionally productive trip this year, as our team met, not only with the Nevada Congressional Delegation,…
FCC Approves Expansion of Use of FM Translators By AM Stations – But Warns Broadcasters Not to Jump the Gun and File Before New Rules Become Effective
As we wrote last week, the FCC approved the expanded use of FM translators by AM stations – allowing their use anywhere within a 25-mile radius of their AM transmitter site, or within the 2 mv/m contour of the AM station – whichever is greater. The current rule restricts that will be replaced limit FM translator use to the lesser of the 2 mv/m contour or the 25-mile radius for the AM station.…
Hall of Fame Nominations are Now Open
Nominations are opened from 3/1/17 through 4/30/17
To be nominated a person must have worked at least 20 years in the broadcasting industry, with 5 of those years being in Nevada. Nominees can come from any field in the broadcasting industry from administration, traffic, engineering, building support, sales, promotions, etc.
Click on the image below to download a fillable PDF nomination form.…
Broadcasters Gear Up for Trump’s First Address to Congress
Courtesy of www.adweek.com/tvnewser/
by A.J. Katz
The broadcast, cable and streaming news networks are set to provide in-depth, live coverage of Pres. Donald Trump‘s first address to the joint session of the Congress on Tuesday night. Here are their coverage plans.
Click HERE for the full article…
Repack Fever Could Lead to Tower Over-Loading or Stations Going Dark
Courtesy of www.insidetowers.com
Meintel, Sgrignoli, and Wallace (MSW) is putting numbers to potential scenarios that can affect public radio FMs co-located with TV stations expected to be impacted by the channel repack following the incentive auction. The Public Radio Satellite System published a report commissioned by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting on the repack so public radio stations can see what they’re likely to encounter and plan ahead.…
FCC Approves For the First Time 100% Foreign Ownership of US Broadcast Stations
The FCC yesterday released its first decision approving 100% foreign ownership of a group of US broadcast stations. This comes after significant relaxation of the FCC’s interpretation of the foreign ownership limits which, less than 4 years ago, had been interpreted to effectively prohibit foreign ownership of more than 25% of a company controlling broadcast licensees (see our article here about the 2013 decision to relax the restrictive policy).…
