By David Oxenford on Posted in FCC Fines,FM Radio,General FCC,Programming RegulationsThe FCC yesterday issued a News Release about an unusual action taken by the US Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts entering into a consent decree with a pirate radio operator, where the operator agreed to surrender all of its operating equipment to the FCC, and to stop broadcasting illegally. If the operator is again caught operating… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in General FCC,Multiple Ownership Rules,Public Interest Obligations/LocalismThe FCC this week released a Public Notice soliciting comments on the request of Univision, which owns US radio and TV stations, to have foreign ownership that exceeds 50%. As we wrote here, the FCC previously permitted foreign ownership of up to 49% of the company. With a restructuring of its investors, the company is… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in General FCCEarlier this month, the FCC released a Public Notice announcing that companies that are licensees, or have otherwise registered their fixed C Band satellite earth stations in the 3.7 to 4.2 GHz band, must certify the accuracy of the information on file with the FCC by May 28, 2019. Operators of fixed earth stations who… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in Emergency Communications,FCC Fines,General FCCIt’s that time again. If you are planning any on-air pranks on Monday for April Fools’ Day, think twice. As we do every year about this time, we need to play our role as attorneys and ruin the fun by repeating our reminder that broadcasters need to be careful with any on-air pranks, jokes or other… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in Advertising Issues,General FCCIn the last few months, we probably have had more questions about advertising for CBD products than any other topic. At this point, CBD products seem to be sold in nearly every state in the country, and discussions about CBD’s effectiveness seem to be staples on national and local television talk programs. Broadcasters naturally ask… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in FCC Fines,FM Radio,General FCCThe PIRATE Act, imposing Federal penalties on pirate radio station operators, was passed last week by the US House of Representatives and referred to the US Senate for consideration. We wrote about versions of this bill introduced in prior Congressional sessions here and here. This bill, among other things, would impose penalties of up to… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in General FCC,TelevisionWhere do all the Washington DC legal issues facing TV broadcasters stand? While we try on this Blog to write about many of those issues, we can’t always address everything that is happening. Every few months, my partner David O’Connor and I update a list of the legal and regulatory issues facing TV broadcasters. That… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in General FCCBack in October, the FCC eliminated the requirement that broadcasters file contracts and organizational documents with the Commission. See our post here for more details. That change became effective on January 22, 2019, as noted in an FCC Public Notice released earlier this week. This change was part of the Modernization of Media Regulation initiative,… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in AM Radio,FCC Fines,FM Radio,General FCC,TelevisionAs we wrote here, at the FCC’s December meeting, the FCC was scheduled to adopt an order eliminating the requirement that broadcasters post a physical copy of their licenses and other instruments of authorization at their control points or transmitter sites. In fact, the Commission adopted that order before the meeting, and it today published… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in EEO Compliance/Diversity,General FCC,Public Interest Obligations/LocalismYesterday, we published an article talking about an FCC public notice extending all filing deadlines that fell between January 8 and February 7 (except those dealing with auctions and other activities of the FCC unaffected by the government shutdown) to February 8. The article also mentioned that the FCC gave stations that had not been… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in EEO Compliance/Diversity,FM Translators and LPFM,General FCC,Noncommercial BroadcastingThe government shutdown continues to create a confusing situation for government agencies faced with statutory obligations that are difficult to honor without a working federal bureaucracy. The FCC by law is required to hold a monthly public meeting but, when the bulk of its employees are furloughed, it is difficult to meaningfully adhere to that… Continue Reading
