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.
November Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – EAS ETRS Form 3, 12.5 GHz Registrations, C-Band Transition Comment Deadline, a Possible Government Shutdown, and More
November is a month where there are no regularly scheduled regulatory deadlines. But the big question for broadcasters may be whether the FCC will continue to function throughout the month. The last-minute continuing resolution passed by Congress on September 30 extended federal government funding through November 17 – which again raises the possibility of a federal government shutdown beginning in late November if Congress does not approve new funding measures for Fiscal Year 2024 by that date. As we discussed in our previous article regarding October Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters, if a government shutdown does occur, the FCC and other government agencies may have to cease all but critical functions if they do not have any residual funds to continue operations. In late September, the FCC announced that it had sufficient leftover funds to keep operating for about two weeks after a shutdown. We do not know if those funds are still available, so we need to be watching to see what happens between now and November 17.
Assuming that there is no shutdown, there are a number of other dates that broadcasters should be watching. All broadcasters need to remember that November 20 is the deadline to file their ETRS Form Three to provide more detailed information regarding their stations’ performance during the October 4 Nationwide EAS Test. See our article here regarding this year’s EAS test and broadcasters’ reporting obligations. This deadline is important for many reasons – not just to avoid potential penalties for missing the filing deadline, but also to demonstrate broadcasters’ commitment to the emergency communications system as broadcasters’ role in that system is the principal reason for Congress to be presently considering the bill to require AM radio in every car. See our article here for more on the importance of accurate reporting. Continue Reading November Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – EAS ETRS Form 3, 12.5 GHz Registrations, C-Band Transition Comment Deadline, a Possible Government Shutdown, and More
This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: October 16 to 20, 2023
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 FCC’s Enforcement Bureau released a Notice of Apparent Liability proposing a $25,000 fine on two commonly-owned clusters of broadcast
$25,000 Proposed Fine for Alleged EEO Violations at Kansas Radio Clusters – A Higher Standard for FCC EEO Enforcement?
Earlier this week, the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau issued a Notice of Apparent Liability proposing a $25,000 fine on two related companies operating clusters of stations in two small Kansas markets. Those clusters have, because of financial setbacks (leading to bankruptcy), reduced staff so that they no longer have 5 full-time employees at either cluster and thus are no longer subject to the FCC’s EEO outreach requirements. In this Notice, the FCC staff looked back to a few isolated violations in 2020 and 2021, when the stations had 5 or more full-time employees, to justify the proposed $25,000 fine.
The Enforcement Bureau pointed to the late upload to the online public file of three Annual EEO Public File Reports. The Bureau also pointed to the late upload of two Annual EEO Public File Reports at one of the clusters, and one late upload at the other cluster. Both the 2020 and 2021 reports for one cluster were uploaded in June 2021, when the reports were due in February of each year. Thus, one report was 5 months late, the other 17 months late. At the other cluster, the 2021 report was uploaded a year late. There was no allegation that the reports were not completed on time – just that they were not timely uploaded.Continue Reading $25,000 Proposed Fine for Alleged EEO Violations at Kansas Radio Clusters – A Higher Standard for FCC EEO Enforcement?
FCC Postpones LPFM Filing Window and Extends Filing Freeze – Application Filing Window Now December 6 through December 13
The FCC yesterday issued a Public Notice announcing that it was rescheduling the filing window for new Low Power FM stations that had been scheduled for early November – moving the window to December. Applications now can be filed between 12:01 AM Eastern Time on December 6, 2023 and 6:00 PM ET on December 13, 2023. The FCC stated that a group of low power advocates had requested the extension to give applicants more time to prepare their applications. The FCC warns in the Public Notice that this deadline will be strictly enforced – so don’t expect any leniency for any application that does not meet the 6 PM deadline on December 13.
Note that this extension also extends the freeze that the FCC imposed on LPFM and FM translator minor modifications. That freeze, imposed to provide LPFM applicants with a static database from which to work in planning their applications, will now run through December 13.Continue Reading FCC Postpones LPFM Filing Window and Extends Filing Freeze – Application Filing Window Now December 6 through December 13
This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: October 9 to October 13, 2023
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.
- FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel announced that two Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRMs) have been drafted, which, if adopted by
This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: October 2 – October 6, 2023
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 re-nominations of FCC Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Brendan Carr were approved by the Senate late the week before last
Court Orders FCC to Complete Quadrennial Review by December 27 – What are the Issues for Review by the Commission?
Last week, as we noted in our weekly summary of regulatory actions of importance to broadcasters, the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued an Order directing the FCC to complete its 2018 Quadrennial Regulatory Review of its broadcast ownership rules by December 27, 2023, or show cause why the National Association of Broadcasters’s (NAB) Petition for Writ of Mandamus should not be granted. The NAB’s petition, filed in April 2023, requests that the D.C. Circuit compel the FCC to conclude the agency’s still-pending 2018 review. Neither last week’s order, nor any mandamus order that could be issued by the Court should the FCC fail to finish its review by December 27, will compel any particular decision. Instead, such an order would only require that the FCC finish the review started in 2018 (see our article here on the start of that review process).
The Quadrennial Review process is mandated by Congress. Every four years, the FCC is required to review its local ownership rules and determine which ones remain in the public interest. The NAB’s argument to the Court has been that the FCC failed to meet its statutory obligation by not completing the 2018 review last year. In December, we wrote about the FCC’s failure to complete the Quadrennial Review, and how the inaction has forestalled any review of the issues that were teed up in that review. What were those issues?Continue Reading Court Orders FCC to Complete Quadrennial Review by December 27 – What are the Issues for Review by the Commission?
This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: September 25-September 30, 2023
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 a last-minute reprieve, the House and Senate agreed on Saturday, September 30 to fund the government for another 45
5 Questions for Broadcasters on the Upcoming Nationwide EAS Test
The Nationwide EAS Test is scheduled for October 4. Some had wondered if the test would be delayed if the government shut down over budget issues. While an alert could be transmitted whether or not nonessential government employees were working, there was a fear that the EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS) would not be operational.