We kicked off our summary of last week’s regulatory actions for broadcasters with the news of several millions of dollars in fines imposed on over 100 television stations for apparent “program-length commercials” in children’s programming. Last week’s Notice of Apparent Liability, a unanimous decision by all four FCC Commissioners, stemmed from a Hot Wheels Super Ultimate Garage ad that was aired a total of 11 times during a Team Hot Wheels TV program which ran 8 times during November and December of 2018. …
This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: September 17, 2022 to September 23, 2022
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’s Media Bureau issued a Notice of Apparent Liability proposing to fine licensees of over 100 television stations for… Continue Reading…
More on FCC Regulatory Fees Due on September 28 – Public Notices on Payment Procedures, Deadlines, Amounts, and Waivers
As we wrote in several of our recent weekly summaries of regulatory issues for broadcasters, the FCC released a Public Notice the week before last announcing that regulatory fees must be submitted by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on September 28. This public notice set the deadline for the payment of fees established in the FCC’s Report… Continue Reading…
This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: September 10, 2022 to September 16, 2022
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 additional public notices in connection with the upcoming September 28 deadline for submission of annual regulatory fees…. Continue Reading…
Senator Rand Paul Introduces Bill to Repeal Broadcast Ownership Limits and Allow Joint Negotiations with Big Tech Companies
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul has introduced a bill to repeal all broadcast ownership limitations including the radio and television local ownership rules (see the draft bill, the Local News and Broadcast Media Preservation Act, here, and the Senator’s press release, here). As we have noted before (see, for instance, our article here), the FCC is… Continue Reading…
Don’t Forget September 15 Deadline For Broadcasters to Assure That Buyers of Program Time Are Not Foreign Governments or Their Agents
With so much focus on the upcoming regulatory fee deadline, broadcasters may well overlook another more imminent deadline – Thursday, September 15 is the deadline for broadcasters to have assured themselves that no buyer of program time on their stations is a foreign government or an agent of a foreign government. As we wrote here,… Continue Reading…
This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: September 3, 2022 to September 9, 2022
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 regulatory fees must be submitted by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on September 28. In addition, the… Continue Reading…
This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: August 27, 2022 to September 2, 2022
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. On September 2, the FCC released a Report and Order (“R&O”) and Notice of Inquiry adopting the regulatory fee schedule… Continue Reading…
September Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters: Reg Fees, Foreign Government Program Certifications, Final Chance to Claim Reimbursement for Repacking Expenses, Comments on ATSC 3.0 and FTC Advertising Inquiry, and More
As summer begins to wind down, just like the rest of the world, the FCC and other government agencies seem to pick up speed on long delayed actions. Broadcasters can anticipate increased regulatory activity in the coming months. For September, there are a few dates to which all broadcasters should pay attention, and a few… Continue Reading…
This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: August 20, 2022 to August 26, 2022
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. Revisions to the pending Journalism Competition and Preservation Act were released to the public this week (revised draft bill). The… Continue Reading…
Facebook to Reject New Political Ads the Week Before the November Election – Why Broadcasters Can’t Do That
Facebook will disable “new” political ads the week before this year’s November mid-term election (see its post on this policy here), just as many broadcast stations will be struggling with commercial inventory issues, trying to get last minute political ads on the air without having to dump all of their regular commercial advertisers who will… Continue Reading…
Watch for Congressional “Franking” Ads in the Last Weeks Before the Pre-Election Period – The FCC Political Broadcasting Implications
We have been receiving numerous calls from broadcasters about “franking” ads from Congressional representatives running for reelection. Congress each year allows its members to spend certain amounts of money to communicate with their constituents. This was traditionally done through mailings, which Congressional representatives could send through the US mail without any postage charges (hence the… Continue Reading…
