Emergency Communications

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Earlier this week, I posted a Top Ten list of legal issues that should keep a broadcast station operator up at night.  In two orders released today, the FCC found stations where these issues apparently had not been keeping their operators awake, as the FCC issued fines for numerous violations.  At one station, the FCC found that the EAS monitor was not working, the fence around the AM tower site was unlocked, and the station had no public inspection file, resulting in a $5500 fine (see the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau order here).  At another station, the FCC inspectors were told that the station had no public file, and they also found the AM tower site fence unlocked, resulting in a $3500 fine (see the order here).  These cases are one more example that, while broadcasters have plenty of big-picture legal and policy issues that they need to be concerned about, they also need to worry about the nuts and bolts, as the failure to observe basic regulatory requirements like tower fencing, EAS, and public file requirements can bring immediate financial penalties to a station. 

The tower fencing issue is one that we have written about before.  FCC rules require that public access be restricted to areas of high RF radiation, which are likely to occur at ground levels near AM stations.  The FCC has many times issued fines for fences with unlocked gates, holes, or areas where there are gullies where a child could climb under the fence into the tower area.  The FCC has been  unwilling to accept excuses that the fence was locked "yesterday" or "last week" or at some other less defined time in the absence of proof, as they’ve heard that excuse many time.  If the fence is open when they arrive, expect a fine.Continue Reading Non-Functioning EAS, An Unavailable Public File and Open Tower Site Gates Result in FCC Fines of $5500 and $3500

As summarized by Brian Hurh on our sister site broadbandlawadvisor.com, yesterday the FCC’s Consumer and Government Affairs Bureau released a Public Notice seeking comments to refresh the record on closed captioning that was last addressed in the Commission’s 2005 and 2008 Closed Captioning NPRMs. As recognized by the Commission, much has happened since those…

Update 10/15/10:  A copy of the Davis Wright Tremaine advisory published on October 13 is now available here and provides further details about the new accessibility Act.

Last week Congress adopted legislation to promote the accessibility of communications and media services. The law, entitled the “Twenty First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010”, is expected to be signed into law by President Obama, possibly as early as today, October 8th. The Act contains a number of changes to improve media accessibility, the most notable of which for broadcasters and cable operators is the reinstatement of the Commission’s defunct Video Description rules. The Act reinstates the FCC’s prior video description rules adopted in 2000 and subsequently struck down by the Court of Appeals in the case of MPAA v. FCC following a challenge to the rules by the Motion Picture Association of America, the National Association of Broadcasters, and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association.  At the time, the Court found that the FCC did not have the authority to adopt  video description rules, but Congress has now eliminated that issue by specifically authorizing the FCC to promulgate such rules and instructing it to reinstate the earlier regulations. 

We are currently in the process of reviewing and summarizing the new legislation and expect to publish shortly a Davis Wright Tremaine advisory with complete details and a time line for implementation. Once that advisory is published, we’ll update this post and provide a link.   In the meantime, some of the highlights and specifics of the Act are detailed below:  

The Act effectively reinstates video description rules adopted in 2000 as 47 CFR § 79.3 and struck down in MPAA v. FCC.  The rules will go into effect within one year after enactment (i.e. by October 2011).  Those rules will initially require that:

  1. Affiliates of the Big 4 Networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC) in the top 25 DMAs will have to provide 50 hrs./quarter of prime time or children’s programming with video description
  2. The top 5 national nonbroadcast (i.e. cable) networks, must provide 50 hrs./quarter of programming with video description;
  3. Broadcast stations and MVPDs with technical capability to do so generally must pass through video descriptions.

Before the rules go into effect, the FCC will conduct a rule making to make certain modifications to the 2000 rules including:

  1. Updating the list of top 25 DMAs and top 5 cable networks, determining the first calendar quarter in which video description compliance will be required, and the phase-in for compliance;
  2. specifying that the rules apply to television programming in digital format only;
  3. specifying that live or near-live programming is not covered;
  4. creating a way for covered programming providers or owners to seek exemptions
  5. allowing FCC to exempt services, programs, and/or equipment (or classes thereof) based on economic burden

After all the above is complete, the rules as modified may be expanded to require a greater number of hours of video-described programming per quarter and to expand the television markets that must comply.  However, such expansion of the rules would only be after the FCC provides Congress with a report on the financial, technical, and operational costs associated with video descriptions, and the availability, use, and benefits of video descriptions.  According to the Act, the Commission may not issue additional regulations unless the Commission determines, at least two years after completing the required reports, that the need and benefit of the rules outweighs the costs of providing additional programming. Continue Reading Video Description Returns to Television, Closed Captioning Expands to the Internet

This afternoon, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) adopted the new digital message format for the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) standard.  The adoption of this message format is the next step in the implementation of Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), which expands the traditional Emergency Alert System used by radio and television to…

The FCC recently fined a station $8500 for not having an operational EAS system for almost two years, and for not having a main studio that was manned during normal business hours. The EAS fine was evident, as the station did not dispute that it did not have an operational EAS system in place.  It did, however…

The FCC issued a reminder to all video program distributors – including TV stations, cable systems and satellite television providers –  that emergency information must be made accessible to those with hearing or vision disabilities.  For those with hearing difficulty, the Commission reminded providers that they must make information available visually as well as aurally – either through closed captioning or some other method that the aurally impaired can understand the nature of the emergency. For the visually impaired, if the emergency information is provided in a crawl or through some other non-verbal manner, there need to be alert tones broadcast identifying that emergency information is being conveyed so that visually impaired viewers can make arrangements to find out what the emergency is.  With hurricane season upon us, the Commission wanted to remind video service providers of these obligations.

The Commission also reminded service providers and viewers of the new complaint process, about which we wrote here, that sets up a process for viewers who believe that there has not been proper captioning information provided.  This reminder alone should alert broadcasters and other video program providers of the seriousness with which the FCC views these rules.Continue Reading FCC Reminder About Making Emergency Information Accessible to People With Hearing or Vision Disabilities

The FCC today issued a further Public Notice reminding all Video Programming Distributors (VPDs)— including those who might otherwise be exempt from some elements of the closed captioning rules — to register their contact information with the FCC.  All VPDs, including television stations, should have already identified appropriate contact people within their organizations and filed their contact information…

With the recent April 15th publication of an FCC Public Notice in the Federal Register, the due date for Comments regarding possible revisions to the FCC’s Emergency Alert System (EAS) rules has been set at May 17th, with Reply Comments due by June 14.  By this recent Public Notice, the Commission has requested  informal comments regarding revisions to its EAS rules in connection with the forthcoming adoption of the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  So what, you might ask, is “CAP”? 

CAP stands for “Common Alerting Protocol” and is the next-generation protocol for distributing emergency warnings and safety notifications.  In technical jargon it is “an open, interoperable, data interchange format for collecting and distributing all-hazard safety notifications and emergency warnings to multiple information networks, public safety alerting systems, and personal communications devices.” In layman’s terms, it will allow FEMA, the National Weather Service, a state Governor, or others authorized to initiate public alert systems to automatically format and even target a specific geographic area and simultaneously alert the public using multiple media platforms including broadcast television, radio, cable, cell phones, and electronic highway signs. CAP will also allow for alerts specifically formatted for people with disabilities and for non-English speakers.

As part of an EAS Order adopted by the FCC back in 2007, the Commission mandated that all EAS participants — which would include radio, television, and cable — must accept CAP-based EAS alerts within 180 days after the date on which FEMA publishes the applicable technical standards for CAP.  According to the FCC, FEMA has recently announced its intention to adopt a version of CAP as early as the third quarter of 2010, which would in turn trigger the Commission’s 180-day requirement.  Given that the Commission’s current EAS rules pre-date the concept of Common Alerting Protocol, the existing EAS rules will likely need significant revision or even replacement once CAP is adopted and implemented. Continue Reading Comments Regarding Possible Revisions to FCC’s Emergency Alert System (EAS) Rules due May 17

In two separate Orders today, the FCC issued monetary forfeitures against a cable operator for failure to install Emergency Alert System (EAS) equipment and for various tower violations.  These same violations could have been cited against a broadcaster, so these cases are instructive to both broadcasters and cable operators.  The FCC issued monetary forfeitures of $20,000 and $18,000 against two Texas cable systems owned by the same company.  In both cases, the cable operator failed to install EAS equipment, failed to notify the FAA of a tower lighting outage and failed to exhibit red obstruction tower lighting from sunset to sunrise.   The higher fine related to a system’s failure to display a tower’s Antenna Structure Registration (ASR) number "in a conspicuous place so that it is readily visible near the base of the antenna structure."  

These same requirements apply equally to broadcast stations that have their own towers.   While most broadcasters are aware of the requirement to maintain working EAS equipment, many may not know that  FCC rules require a tower’s ASR to be conspicuously displayed at the base of the tower.  To be compliant, the ASR must be displayed on a weather-resistant surface and of sufficient size to be easily seen at the base of the tower.Continue Reading FCC Fines for No EAS Equipment, Unreported Tower Light Outage, and No Posting of ASR