March is one of those months where without the Annual EEO Public File Reports that come up for different states every other month, or without the Quarterly Issues Programs List and Children’s Television Report obligations that arise following the end of every calendar quarter. But this March has two very significant deadlines right at the… Continue Reading
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FCC Extends Comment Dates on National Caps on TV Ownership
Posted in Multiple Ownership Rules, TelevisionThe FCC in December issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, looking at changes in the national television ownership caps. We summarized the issues raised in that Notice here. The FCC yesterday issued an Order extending the comment dates in that proceeding. Comments are now due on March 19, with replies on April 18.… Continue Reading
Appeals Court Denies Request to Put Changes in FCC Ownership Rules on Hold
Posted in EEO Compliance/Diversity, Multiple Ownership Rules, Public Interest Obligations/Localism, TelevisionIn a very short order, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit denied the request filed by certain public interest groups that had asked that the Court stop the new FCC ownership rules from taking effect and suggesting that a special master be appointed to oversee the FCC’s ownership review process. We wrote… Continue Reading
February Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – Including EEO, Online Public File, Biennial Ownership Reports, ATSC 3.0 and FM Translator Comments, Effective Dates of Ownership Rule Changes
Posted in AM Radio, Digital Television, EEO Compliance/Diversity, FM Radio, FM Translators and LPFM, General FCC, Multiple Ownership Rules, Noncommercial Broadcasting, TelevisionWe are already a full month into the New Year, and the regulatory issues for broadcasters keep on coming. February brings the usual requirements for Annual EEO Public File Reports, which should be placed into the public inspection files (those public files being online for TV stations, big clusters of radio stations in Top 50… Continue Reading
Comment Dates Set on National TV Ownership Caps – Can and Should the FCC Amend the 39% Audience Cap?
Posted in Multiple Ownership Rules, Public Interest Obligations/Localism, TelevisionAt its December meeting, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to review the national ownership cap for over-the-air television, which limits one owner from having attributable interests in television stations reaching more than 39% of the national audience. That Notice was published in the Federal Register on Friday, setting February 26 as the… Continue Reading
Public Interest Groups Ask for Ownership Rule Changes to be Put on Hold and Special Master to Be Appointed to Oversee FCC Review
Posted in EEO Compliance/Diversity, Multiple Ownership Rules, TelevisionAs we wrote last week, Prometheus Radio Project and the Media Mobilizing Project have filed an appeal of the FCC’s November decision to eliminate the newspaper-broadcast and radio-television cross-ownership rules and to relax the local TV ownership rules (see our summary here). These groups have now filed a request – an Emergency Petition for a… Continue Reading
First Appeal of Multiple Ownership Rule Changes Filed by Public Interest Groups
Posted in Multiple Ownership Rules, Public Interest Obligations/Localism, TelevisionPrometheus Radio Project and Media Mobilizing Project, public interest groups who have been opponents of relaxation in the FCC’s broadcast ownership rules, have filed the first Petition for Review of the FCC’s Order on Reconsideration of the Quadrennial Review of those rules. In November, the FCC by a 3 to 2 vote eliminated the rule requiring that… Continue Reading
Washington Legal Issues for TV Broadcasters – Where Things Stand in the New Year
Posted in Cable Carriage, Children's Programming and Advertising, Digital Television, EEO Compliance/Diversity, Emergency Communications, General FCC, Incentive Auctions/Broadband Report, Indecency, Low Power Television/Class A TV, Multiple Ownership Rules, Payola and Sponsorship Identification, Political Broadcasting, Programming Regulations, Public Interest Obligations/Localism, TelevisionIt’s a new year, and a good time to reflect on where all the Washington issues for TV broadcasters stand at the moment, especially given the rapid pace of change since the new administration took over just about a year ago. While we try on this Blog to write about many of the DC issues… Continue Reading
Ownership Rule Changes Effective February 7; Comments on Incubator Programs to Foster Diversity in Broadcast Ownership Due March 9
Posted in Assignments and Transfers, EEO Compliance/Diversity, Multiple Ownership Rules, Public Interest Obligations/LocalismPublished today in the Federal Register were two notices from the FCC implementing November’s decision on the FCC’s ownership rules. First, a summary of the changes in the rules was published in the Federal Register. These changes particularly affect the local TV ownership rules (changes that we summarized here). Changes included, among other things, the… Continue Reading
FCC Seeks Comment on Two Proposed Acquisitions of Broadcast Stations By Foreign Companies
Posted in Assignments and Transfers, Multiple Ownership Rules, Programming Regulations, Public Interest Obligations/LocalismThe FCC this week announced the filing of two applications seeking broadcast acquisitions by non-US based companies. In one available here, a company controlled by Mexican citizens would go from 25% to 100% ownership and control of a company that owns 2 FM stations in California and Arizona. In another, available here, an Italian company… Continue Reading
A Deeper Dive on The FCC’s Ownership Order
Posted in Multiple Ownership Rules, Programming Regulations, Public Interest Obligations/Localism, TelevisionWith the FCC about to propose changes in its national ownership cap for television at its meeting tomorrow (see our article here), we thought that we would take a look back to the week before Thanksgiving, when the FCC made some important decisions for the broadcast industry – including the approval of the Next Generation… Continue Reading
December FCC Meeting to be an Important One for Broadcasters and Other Media Companies
Posted in Cable Carriage, Emergency Communications, General FCC, Multiple Ownership Rules, On Line Media, Television, Tower Issues, Website IssuesLast week, just before Thanksgiving, the FCC released the tentative agenda for its December meeting. From that agenda, it appears that the meeting will be an important one for broadcasters and other media companies. Already, the press has spent incredible amounts of time focusing on one item, referred to as “Restoring Internet Freedom” by the… Continue Reading
Full Texts of Last Week’s FCC Decisions on Ownership and Next Generation Television Now Available
Posted in Digital Television, General FCC, Multiple Ownership Rules, Public Interest Obligations/Localism, TelevisionThe FCC late yesterday released full texts of the decisions adopted last week to revise the broadcast ownership rules and approve the next generation television standard (ATSC 3.0). We summarized last week’s decisions, based on the press releases released after the meetings, in our article here. The full text of the ownership decision, available here,… Continue Reading
FCC Approves Ownership Rule Changes and Next-Gen TV ATSC 3.0 Standard
Posted in Digital Television, Multiple Ownership Rules, TelevisionAt its meeting yesterday, as expected, the FCC approved significant changes to its broadcast ownership rules and also approved the roll out of ATSC 3.0 – the next generation television transmission standard. While any change in ownership rules is always a contentious issue, and thus the 3-2 strict party-line vote approving the ownership changes might… Continue Reading
November Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – Including Broadcast Ownership, ATSC, Main Studio, EAS, TV Improvements and FM Translator Settlements
Posted in AM Radio, Broadcast Auctions, Digital Television, Emergency Communications, FM Translators and LPFM, General FCC, Multiple Ownership Rules, Public Interest Obligations/Localism, TelevisionWhile November is an odd numbered month in which there are no deadlines for EEO Public File or Mid-term Reports, and it is not the beginning of a new calendar quarter when Quarterly Issues Programs Reports are added to a station’s public file and Quarterly Children’s Television Reports are filed with the FCC, that does… Continue Reading
November FCC Meeting to be an Important One for Broadcasters – FCC Releases Draft Orders on ATSC 3.0 and Ownership Rule Revisions
Posted in Digital Television, Multiple Ownership Rules, Public Interest Obligations/Localism, TelevisionYesterday, we previewed the FCC’s likely decision to significantly change its ownership rules for television owners – proposing to take actions including allowing TV duopolies in markets with fewer than 8 independent TV voices after the combination, allowing some combination of the Top 4 TV stations in certain markets, repealing the radio-TV cross-ownership rules, and… Continue Reading
Stay Tuned: Big Broadcast Ownership Rule Changes to be Unveiled Later Today
Posted in Multiple Ownership Rules, Public Interest Obligations/Localism, TelevisionAccording to the testimony given yesterday by FCC Chairman Pai at an oversight hearing before the House of Representatives Communications and Technology Subcommittee, the FCC is likely to release today a draft of its order on reconsideration of last year’s FCC decision on its Quadrennial Review of its broadcast ownership rules (the rules restricting the… Continue Reading
October Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – Quarterly Issues Programs and Children’s Television Reports, EEO Obligations, Repacking Reports and More
Posted in AM Radio, Children's Programming and Advertising, EEO Compliance/Diversity, FCC Fines, FM Radio, FM Translators and LPFM, General FCC, Incentive Auctions/Broadband Report, License Renewal, Multiple Ownership Rules, Programming Regulations, Public Interest Obligations/Localism, TelevisionThe beginning of a calendar quarter always brings numerous regulatory obligations, and October is one of those months with a particularly full set of obligations. All full-power broadcasters, commercial and noncommercial, must complete their Quarterly Issues Programs Lists and place these reports into their public inspection files by October 10. These reports are the FCC’s… Continue Reading
FCC Declares Sinclair/Tribune Transaction a Permit-But-Disclose Proceeding Allowing for More Public Participation in the Review Process
Posted in Multiple Ownership Rules, TelevisionYesterday, the FCC issued a Public Notice declaring the proposed acquisition of the Tribune television stations by Sinclair Broadcast Group a “permit-but-disclose” proceeding. This is not an unusual occurrence in a large broadcast combination where policy issues may be considered. This simply allows the parties to the transaction, and any other party who files comments… Continue Reading
Modernization of Media Regulation – What Rule Changes Should Broadcasters be Requesting?
Posted in EEO Compliance/Diversity, FCC Fines, FM Radio, General FCC, Multiple Ownership Rules, Political Broadcasting, Programming Regulations, Public Interest Obligations/Localism, TelevisionIt is not every year that the FCC seriously asks broadcasters for suggestions as to what rules it should abolish or modify, but that is exactly what the FCC is doing in its Modernization of Media Regulation proceeding (about which we wrote here and here). Comments due the week after next, on July 5, and… Continue Reading
Court Rejects Stay on FCC’s Reinstatement of UHF Discount – Does it Mean TV Ownership Consolidation is in the Clear?
Posted in Digital Television, Multiple Ownership Rules, TelevisionYesterday, in a very short one page decision, the US Court of Appeals rejected the requests filed by public interest groups to stay the effect of the FCC’s decision to reinstate the UHF discount (see our article here about some of the issues involved in this stay request, and our article here about the reinstatement… Continue Reading
Court Issues an Administrative Stay on Effective Date of Reinstatement of UHF Discount While It Considers Arguments as to Whether to Put the Discount on Hold
Posted in Multiple Ownership Rules, TelevisionWhen the FCC last month reinstated the UHF discount (see our article here), it opened the door to ownership consolidation in the television industry, and immediately deals were announced based on the discount being back in place. But public interest groups in DC, fearing too much consolidation, asked the FCC to stay the effect of… Continue Reading
FCC Officially Starts Proceedings to Abolish Main Studio Rule and Review All Other Broadcast Rules
Posted in AM Radio, FCC Fines, General FCC, Multiple Ownership Rules, Programming Regulations, Public Interest Obligations/Localism, TelevisionAs expected, at its monthly open meeting yesterday, the FCC started two proceedings of particular importance to broadcasters. The first looks at the abolition of the main studio rules. The second asks for comments on all of the other rules affecting broadcasters and other media companies to see which are ripe for appeal. For the… Continue Reading
FCC Changes in Rules on Computation of Foreign Ownership of Broadcast Stations Now Effective
Posted in AM Radio, FM Radio, General FCC, Multiple Ownership Rules, Public Interest Obligations/Localism, TelevisionLast year, the FCC made some modifications in its assessment of foreign ownership of companies with broadcast interests, relaxing some of their compliance rules to take account of the realities of the current public stock trading marketplace – realities that, using the FCC’s old policies, made determinations of the level of foreign ownership in any… Continue Reading