FCC Adopts Incubator Program To Assist New Radio Owners – What Does it Provide?

At its meeting last week, the FCC adopted a Report and Order creating an incubator program to incentivize existing broadcasters to assist new entrants to get into broadcast ownership. The FCC in its order last year relaxing TV local ownership rules and abolishing the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rule had agreed to adopt an incubator program (see our articles here and here).

NVBA Encourages Members to Join the Free Radio Alliance

The Free Radio Alliance is dedicated to strengthening the future of free, local radio. The Alliance is launching a massive effort to sign up more individual members to help fight policies that could hurt stations’ ability to serve their communities and impact jobs, such as a crippling performance tax.   The Nevada Broadcasters Association encourages members to sign up for the Free Radio Alliance to keep local radio stations thriving,

FCC Asks for Comments on the State of the Audio Marketplace – A Precursor to Reviewing the Radio Ownership Rules?

The FCC routinely, at the request of Congress, does a study of the Video Marketplace. That study is submitted to Congress so that Congress can use it as a factual basis for any legislative issues that may come up dealing with the TV marketplace. The FCC has not previously done this sort of routine study of the audio marketplace. However, in recent legislation,

FCC Requires Updating By Broadcasters of EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS) Form One By August 27

The FCC recently released a Public Notice reminding all EAS participants that they need to file ETRS Form One by August 27, 2018. This form needs to be filed by all radio and TV stations, including LPFM and LPTV stations (unless those LPTV stations simply act as a translator for another station). While the FCC has not announced another nationwide EAS test for this year,

NAB Asks For Changes in FCC Local Radio Ownership Rules – What’s Next?

The National Association of Broadcasters radio board last week voted on a proposal to revise the FCC rules limiting the number of stations that one company can own in a radio market. This proposal was forwarded to the FCC for consideration in the next Quadrennial Review of the FCC’s ownership rules, scheduled to commence at some point later this year, in a letter delivered to the FCC’s Chief of the Media Division.

FCC Rejects LPFM Informal Objections Against Hundreds of Pending FM Translator Applications

On Friday, the Audio Division of the FCC’s Media Bureau released a letter decisionrejecting an objection filed by three groups advocating on behalf of LPFM stations against almost 1000 FM translator applications – most of which were filed to provide FM translators for AM stations in the most recent window for the filing of such applications. We wrote about the grounds for the objections here,

EAS & Wireless Emergency Alerts Webinar for State & Local Gov’t Officials

CONSUMER AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS BUREAU AND PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY BUREAU ANNOUNCE EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM AND WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERTS WEBINAR FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
(Webinar will be held at 2:00 p.m. EDT on June 21, 2018) 
            By this Public Notice, the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, through its Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, and the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau announce an upcoming webinar on Wireless Emergency Alerts and the Emergency Alert System. 

Comments Due July 6 on Proposed Rules for Resolving FM Translator Interference Complaints
Home > FM Translators and LPFM > Comments Due July 6 on Proposed Rules for Resolving FM Translator Interference Complaints

By David Oxenford on June 6, 2018 Posted in AM Radio,FM Radio,FM Translators and LPFM

The FCC today published in the Federal Register a summary of its proposed rules for resolving complaints of interference to existing full-power stations or other existing FM services from new or relocated FM translators.

June Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – EEO, Translators, Political Rules and Earth Stations

For radio and television stations with 5 or more full-time employees located in Arizona, Idaho, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, NewMexico, Ohio, Utah, Virginia, WestVirginia, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia, June 1 brings the requirement that you upload to your online inspection file your Annual EEO Public Inspection File Report detailing your employment outreach efforts for job openings filled in the last year,

FCC Denies LPFM Advocate’s Petition for Reconsideration of Changes in Rules for Location of FM Translators for AM Stations – Not a Resolution of Informal Objections Against Translator Applications

Earlier this week, the full FCC issued a decision denying a Petition for Reconsideration of the FCC’s 2017 decision to relax the rules on the permissible locations of FM translators for AM stations, allowing them to locate anywhere within the greater of the AM station’s 2 mv/m contour or a circle with a 25 mile radius from the AM station’s transmitter site.