Discussion of FCC, copyright, advertising and other legal issues of importance to radio and television broadcasters and other media companies
Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.
Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.
In recent weeks, some of the radio trade magazines have been carrying coverage of the litigation between the Radio Music License Committee (RMLC) and ASCAP and BMI over the rates that will be paid by commercial radio broadcasters for the public performance of musical compositions that are licensed through these Performing Rights Organizations (PROs). Negotiations over royalty rates are not new nor is the occasional litigation over those royalties However, because of changes in the law governing these processes, the arguments raised this year are different and raise important new questions about what could be the first steps toward an entirely different, and perhaps fairer, process for resolving the royalties that broadcasters (and others) pay for the use of music.
What is different, and what are the arguments being made? RMLC is arguing that the US District Court that oversees the antitrust consent decrees that govern ASCAP and BMI should consolidate the proceedings to determine the rates that broadcasters will pay, rather than considering those rates in separate proceedings. If parties cannot agree with ASCAP and BMI as to the rates to be charged for the use of music for a particular purpose, a judge from the US District Court in the Southern District of New York conducts a proceeding as a “rate court” to determine a reasonable royalty rate, much as the Copyright Royalty Board does in establishing SoundExchange royalties for the digital public performance of sound recordings. Because both the ASCAP and BMI agreements with the commercial radio industry have expired, proceedings are underway to determine the rates that radio will pay to these organizations. …
Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.
The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit issued a decision last week rejecting all of the appeals of the decision by the Copyright Royalty Board (“CRB”) setting the rates that noninteractive webcasters pay to SoundExchange for the digital public performance of sound recordings in the period 2021-2025 (see our article here on the 2021 CRB decision). As detailed below, the Court rejected appeals from three parties, two that argued that the rates were set too high for specific classes of webcasters, and one from SoundExchange itself which argued that the rates should have been even higher.
As a reminder, the CRB rates apply to all companies who provide a non-interactive, internet-delivered steam of programming which includes recorded music or other audio content, including broadcasters who simulcast their over-the-air programming on the internet. Congress established the process of setting rates through hearings by the CRB so that noninteractive webcasters would have access to all recorded and publicly released audio recordings without having to individually negotiate with each copyright holder (see our article here about the CRB’s responsibilities). Services pay these “statutory royalties” to SoundExchange, observe certain requirements that limit how often particular recordings are played so as to not make the services a substitute for buying recordings or listening to them through on-demand services (which pay higher royalties negotiated directly with the copyright holder), and report to SoundExchange what they play. SoundExchange collects the royalties and uses the reports of what the services played to distribute the royalties they collect. One-half of the royalties collected go to the performers on the sound recording, and one-half to the copyright holders of the recording, usually the record labels that own the copyrights for sound recordings.…
Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.
Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.
Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.
July is relatively light on broadcast regulatory dates, but the Quarterly Issues/Programs List deadline on July 10 is one that applies to all full-power broadcasters and Class A TV stations. As set forth below, there are a few other dates worth noting this coming month – with more to come in August.
July 10 is the deadline by which all full-power television, full-power radio and Class A television stations must upload to their online public inspection files their Quarterly Issues/Program Lists for the second quarter of 2023. The lists should identify the issues of importance to the station’s community and the programs that the station aired in April, May and June that addressed those issues. As you finalize your lists, do so carefully and accurately, as they are the only official records of how your station is serving the public and addressing the needs and interests of its community. See our article here for more on the importance of the Quarterly Issues/Programs list obligation.
July 10 is also the deadline by which noncommercial educational stations must upload to their public inspection files documentation of any on-air fundraising benefitting third parties that interrupted their normal programming from April 1 through June 30, 2023. This obligation applies to noncommercial educational stations not affiliated with NPR or PBS that conducted such third-party on-air fundraising. For more information about this requirement, see our article here. Also on July 10, Class A television stations should upload to their online public file documentation of their continuing eligibility for Class A status during the period from April 1 through June 30, 2023.
Chairwoman Rosenworcel announced that the FCC, at its open meeting on July 20, intends to announce its decision resolving whether it will continue to allow “Franken FM” or “FM6 stations,” (i.e., LPTV stations operating on TV channel 6 with an analog audio service that can be received on FM radios at 87.7 MHz) to provide their existing analog radio service by authorizing it as an “ancillary or supplementary service.” LPTV operators had asked the FCC to bless the post-conversion operation of an analog audio signal embedded in the digital Channel 6 LPTV station transmissions so that these FM broadcasts can continue, which the FCC has tentatively decided to do with respect to 13 LPTV stations that had provided such service in the past. For more details on this item, see our blog article here
July 31 is the deadline by which commercial television stations with locally-produced programming whose signals were carried as distant signals by at least one cable or satellite system in 2022 may file royalty claims for compensation with the Copyright Office in Washington, DC. Cable and satellite systems are obligated to pay these royalties pursuant to their compulsory copyright license to carry distant TV signals on their systems. Stations that do not file claims by the July 31 deadline will not be able to collect royalties for distant carriage of their signals during 2022. The filing process consists of two-steps: (1) if you did not do so last year, you must register through the Copyright Royalty Boards’s eCRB system and then (2) file your claim electronically through eCRB by July 31, 2023.
The Commission recently issued a Public Notice announcing that it is taking comments on a Petition for Rulemaking filed by REC Networks in which REC proposes rules to govern a possible future FM translator filing window. Among REC’s proposals are a limit on applications by any one applicant and limits on the sale of any construction permits that are granted in any new filing window. Comments on the REC Petition are due on July 26, 2023 and will give the FCC the opportunity to decide whether to further advance these proposals through a formal rulemaking process.
The FCC has published its All-In Pricing for Cable and Satellite Television Service Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). Comments are due July 31, and replies are due August 29. The NPRM proposes to require cable operators and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) providers to specify the “all-in” price for video service in their promotional materials and on subscribers’ bills. Cable operators and DBS providers would be able to complement the aggregate line item with an itemized explanation of the elements that compose that single line item.
Looking forward to early August, August 1 is the deadline for Radio and Television Station Employment Units in California, Illinois, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Wisconsin with 5 or more full-time employees to upload to their online public inspection file their Annual EEO Public File Report. A station employment unit is a station or cluster of commonly controlled stations serving the same general geographic area having at least one common employee. For employment units with 5 or more full-time employees, the annual report covers hiring and employment outreach activities for the prior year. A link to the uploaded report must also be included on the home page of a station’s website, if it has a website.
For those radio employment units in North Carolina and South Carolina, the Annual EEO Public File Report brings a new requirement, as this is the mid-point of those stations’ renewal term. As we wrote here, this means that the FCC will conduct its EEO Mid-Term Review of those radio employment units with 11 or more full-time employees. When radio stations in these states upload their Annual EEO Public File Reports, they must also check a new checkbox in the Settings section of the FCC-hosted public inspection file stating whether or not they have 11 or more full-time employees in their employment unit, so the FCC knows which clusters to review as part of the Mid-Term Review. All other radio groups will need to complete this step as well prior to their Mid-Term Review.
As always, this list of dates is not exhaustive. Note, too, that deadlines can change. Always review these dates with your legal and technical advisors, and note other dates not listed here that may be relevant to your operations. …
Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.
