We wanted to remind you about two recent regulatory dates in case you have overlooked them. A number of trade press articles reminded broadcasters that yesterday was the due date for the filing of Form 3 of the ETRS reporting system, reporting on the results of this year’s Nationwide EAS tests. If you did not file, get that information on file now so that you are no later than necessary, and hope that the FCC cuts you a break on any late-filing. See our article here about that obligation.
Second, the new rules about noncommercial fundraising (about which we wrote here) went into effect yesterday, permitting noncommercial broadcasters who are unaffiliated with NPR and CPB to raise funds for nonprofit third parties for a limited amount of their broadcast time, even if such fundraisers interrupt their programming. If you are a noncommercial broadcaster, you can utilize these new rules to fundraise for charitable groups.