Uncategorized

Subscribe to Uncategorized

The lowest unit rate window for the November 5 general election opens today, September 6.  With that date in mind, we thought that it was a good idea to review the basic FCC rules and policies affecting those charges. In this election, with the Presidency and control in both houses of Congress at stake as well as many state offices, advertising on broadcast stations, particularly those in some battleground states, is already in great demand by both candidates and issue advertisers.  Your station needs to be ready to comply with the FCC’s political advertising rules and the rates that apply to each of these groups. Lowest unit charges (or “Lowest Unit Rates”) guarantee that, in the 45 days before a primary and the 60 days before a general election, legally qualified candidates get the lowest rate for a spot that is then running on the station within any class of advertising time running in any particular daypart. Candidates also get the benefit of all volume discounts without having to buy in volume – i.e., the candidate gets the same rate for buying one spot as your most favored advertiser gets for buying hundreds of spots of the same class. But there are many other aspects to the lowest unit rates, and stations need to be sure that they get these rules right.

It is a common misperception that a station has one lowest unit rate, when in fact almost every station will have several, if not dozens, of lowest unit rates – one lowest unit rate for each class of time in each daypart. Even at the smallest radio station, there are probably several different classes and dayparts for advertising spots. For instance, there may be different rates for spots running in morning drive than for spots that run in the middle of the night. Each time period for which the station charges a differing rate is a class of time that has its own lowest unit rate. On television stations, there are often classes based not only on daypart, but on the individual program. Similarly, if a station sells different rotations, each rotation that offers substantially different benefits to an advertiser will be its own class of time with its own lowest unit rates (e.g. a 6 AM to Noon rotation is a different class than a 6 AM to 6 PM rotation, and both are a different class from a 24-hour rotator – and each can have its own lowest unit rate). So, in the same time period (e.g. morning drive on a radio station), there may be spots running in that period that have multiple lowest unit rates (e.g.  spots may end up running in that period that were sold just for morning drive, as well as cheaper spots that were sold as part of a 6 AM to 6 PM rotation that just happened to fall within the morning drive period).  Candidates can buy into any of those classes of time, and they take the same chances as does a commercial advertiser as to where their spots will land (e.g. if a candidate buys a 6 AM to 6 PM rotator, and that rotator ends up in morning drive, another candidate may buy that same rotator the next week and end up at 4 PM. That second candidate can only guarantee that they will end up in morning drive by buying a spot guaranteed to run in that time period).Continue Reading Window for Lowest Unit Rates for Candidate Advertising for the November Election Opens Today, September 6 – Are You Ready? 

We often write about issues concerning the royalties paid by radio stations for their various uses of music.  It is not just paying the royalties that are important, but stations must also observe all of all the other obligations under each of their license agreements.  The Radio Music License Committee asked us to remind commercial…

Even after yesterday’s deadline for filing ETRS Form Three in connection with the nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System back in October, there are two more deadlines coming next week that broadcasters should bear in mind.  As you prepare to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, don’t forget these FCC deadlines.  Most broadcasters have received plenty of notice about the December 1 deadline for Biennial Ownership Reports.  The FCC has been pushing for stations to fill these out completely and accurately by the deadline (see this reminder issued by the FCC just yesterday), as the Commission uses these reports to get a snapshot of who owns and controls what broadcast stations.  The reports also provide information about ownership diversity as they request information about the gender, race, and ethnicity of attributable owners.  The reports are required for all full-power stations (both commercial and noncommercial stations are covered) and for LPTV stations.  For more about the biennial ownership report filing requirement and the importance that the FCC puts on these reports, see our 2021 article here.

A deadline that has not received as much publicity is the November 29 deadline for users of the “13 GHz” spectrum to certify to the FCC that their systems are being used where licensed, or to file applications to modify the systems to accurately reflect their current use.  The spectrum, which includes operations from 12.7 to 13.25 GHz, is used by some broadcasters for Electronic News Gathering and for Studio Transmitter Links.  There may be other broadcast auxiliary uses beyond ENG and STLs that are also conducted in this band, so check your operations to see if a filing is required.Continue Reading Reminder: Deadlines Next Week for Biennial Ownership Reports and Filings to Preserve and Protect Broadcast Auxiliary Operations in the 12.7-13.25 GHz (13 GHz) Band

Yesterday, the FCC’s Media Bureau released a Public Notice announcing that it was repealing the COVID related guidance released in March 2020 that allowed broadcasters, local cable operators, and other media companies subject to the requirements that political candidates be offered Lowest Unit Rates during pre-election periods, to offer free advertising time to advertisers and…

The new year brings a series of regulatory deadlines in January and a February 1 license renewal deadline that broadcasters should take note of.  As in 2022, the FCC will remain vigilant in making sure that its deadlines are met, so the following items should not be overlooked or left until the last minute.

The…

Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the last week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.

  • Comment dates have been announced in the Federal Register for the FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing to authorize LPTV

…

This has obviously been a most unusual year.  So, on this Giving Tuesday (and it is also near my birthday, perhaps contributing to the desire to do something different), I thought that I would depart from our usual coverage of legal and policy issues and talk about something else – broadcasters giving back.  Broadcasters have long been known for their service to their communities, service celebrated in a statement by soon-to-depart Chairman Pai and in a tweet from Commissioner Rosenworcel (a potential replacement for the chairman in a new administration) on commercial radio’s 100th anniversary last month.  And while broadcasters are always giving back to their communities and should be celebrated for that, those of us who make our living in some aspect of the industry should recognize that there are plenty of ways for us to give back as well – both to those in the industry who are not as fortunate as some of the familiar success stories we hear, and to those who need assistance in obtaining education and training to enter the media industry we so appreciate.

During this year, those of us who have remained healthy and employed are truly blessed. While it may be a cliché, you don’t realize what you have until it is gone. We should all be thankful for jobs, friends and good fortune, and I urge readers who can to give back where possible.  In the broadcast industry itself, there are many groups doing good work. One in particular that I think bears mention is the Broadcasters Foundation of America, which provides relief to broadcasters and former broadcasters who have, for one reason or another, fallen on hard times – whether that be for health reasons or because of some other disaster that has affected their lives. The Foundation deserves your consideration. More about the Foundation and its service, and ways to contribute, can be found at their website, here.
Continue Reading Broadcasters and Giving Tuesday

The FCC announced on Friday that it will be hosting a symposium on the state of the broadcast industry on November 21.  On that day, there will be a panel in the morning on the state of the radio industry and one in the afternoon on television.  The Public Notice released Friday lists a diverse group of panelists, but says little beyond the fact that the forum will be occurring.  What could be behind the Commission’s decision to host this session?

The FCC is working on its Quadrennial Review of its ownership rules (see our articles here and here).  There were many who expected that review to be completed either late this year or early next, with relaxation of the radio ownership rules thought to be one of the possible outcomes.  Of course, quick action may have been derailed by the decision of the Third Circuit Court of the Appeals to vacate and remand the Commission’s 2017 ownership order.  The court’s decision unwinds the FCC’s 2017 order which included abolition of the broadcast newspaper cross-ownership rule and the rule that limited one owner from owning two TV stations in the same market unless there were 8 independent television operators in that market – see our article here on the 2017 decision and our article here on the Third Circuit’s decision.  The basis of the Third Circuit decision was that the FCC did not have sufficient information to assess the impact of its rule changes on minority ownership and other potential new entrants into broadcast ownership.  If the FCC did not have enough information to justify the 2017 decisions, many believe any further changes in its rules are on hold until the FCC can either satisfy the court’s desire for more information on minority ownership or until there is a successful appeal of that decision.  Even though FCC changes to its ownership rules may be in abeyance, the November 21 forum can shed light on the current state of the industry and why changes in ownership rules may be justified.
Continue Reading FCC To Hold Symposium on Radio and TV Industry – What Does it Mean for Broadcast Regulation?