Late last month, the Ask Musicians For Music Act (the “AMFM Act”) was introduced in both the House and Senate. If enacted, the AMFM Act would impose on over-the-air broadcast radio stations a performance royalty for the use of sound recordings in their programming. This is yet another bill proposing that the current royalty that… Continue Reading…
NAB Seeks Reconsideration of FCC’s Clarification of Issue Advertising Public Disclosure Requirements – Rules Remain in Effect Though Some Clarification Provided
Last month, the FCC issued what it termed a “clarification” of the obligations of broadcasters to disclose in their public inspection files each and every candidate and issue discussed in any Federal issue ad. We wrote about the Clarification here. That decision prompted many questions among broadcasters as to how they would comply with the… Continue Reading…
Third Circuit Denies Petition for Rehearing of Decision Overturning FCC Ownership Rule Changes
In a very short decision issued on Wednesday, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the FCC’s request for rehearing of the September decision of a panel of three of its judges which overturned the FCC’s 2017 decision changing many of the broadcast ownership rules (including the abolition of the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rules). We wrote… Continue Reading…
FCC Announces Schedule for Transition to Annual Children’s Television Reports
Earlier this week, the FCC released a Public Notice announcing its plans for the initiation of new annual reporting requirements for TV stations under the revised Children’s Television Rules. As we wrote here, the FCC this summer adopted changes in the rules governing the broadcast of educational and informational programming directed to children. These changes included the abolition of the Quarterly Children’s Television Reports and their replacement with an annual Children’s Report to detail a station’s performance in meeting the new educational and informational programming requirements.…
Extension of Comment Dates on VHF TV Reg Fees and on Incubated Stations
The FCC last week announced an extension of the deadline for initial comments in its proceeding to examine the regulatory fees that are paid by VHF television stations. We wrote here about this Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which asked questions including whether VHF television stations and stations in the FCC’s incubator program should pay… Continue Reading…
USDA Issues Interim Rules for Hemp Production – How Does it Affect CBD Advertising?
On October 31, the US Department of Agriculture published in the Federal Register interim rules governing the production of industrial hemp under the provisions of the 2018 Farm Act (see the USDA press release here). These rules will allow the USDA to approve state and tribal plans for the regulation of hemp production. It also allows for the USDA to authorize growers in states that have not adopted their own plans (or that have restricted the production of hemp). …
FCC To Consider All-Digital AM at its November Meeting – What Questions are Being Asked?
As we noted in our list of November Regulatory dates for broadcasters, at its November 22 meeting, the FCC will be considering the adoption of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (see the draft order here) allowing AM stations to go all digital – on a voluntary basis. This Notice follows a Petition for Rulemaking which… Continue Reading…
Third Circuit Asked to Rehear Decision Overturning FCC Ownership Rule Changes – Where Do We Go from Here?
In September, a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit released a 2-1 decision overturning the FCC’s 2017 decision modifying many of its ownership rules (see our summary of the Court decision here, and our review of the 2017 decision here). The Court’s decision not only upset the plans of… Continue Reading…
Twitter Bans Political Ads – Doing What Broadcasters are Forbidden to Do
It seems like every other week, there is a story about an online media giant making changes in their rules that govern political advertising on their platform – and being either praised or condemned for doing so. We recently wrote about the controversy over Facebook deciding to not fact-check candidate ads, and how Congress itself… Continue Reading…
FCC To Hold Symposium on Radio and TV Industry – What Does it Mean for Broadcast Regulation?
The FCC announced on Friday that it will be hosting a symposium on the state of the broadcast industry on November 21. On that day, there will be a panel in the morning on the state of the radio industry and one in the afternoon on television. The Public Notice released Friday lists a diverse… Continue Reading…
November Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – Ownership Reports, Comment Deadlines, LPTV Reimbursement Filing Deadline, a Forum to Examine the Future of the Broadcast Industry, and More
November is not one of those months with due dates for renewal filings, EEO public file reports or quarterly issues programs reports. Some of those obligations wait until December, when renewal filings for radio stations in Georgia and Alabama are due by December 2 (as December 1 falls on a weekend). Due for uploading on… Continue Reading…
Comments Due November 22 on Regulatory Fee Issues for 2020 – Including Whether to Reduce Fees for VHF Stations and Incubated Stations
The FCC’s Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on annual regulatory fees was published in the Federal Register this week, setting the comment date in that proceeding as November 22, with reply comments due December 23. As we wrote when the FCC’s fee decision for 2019 fees was released, this Further Notice is examining a number… Continue Reading…
