About this time every year, predictions are offered as to what will happen in the coming year. Since everyone else does it, we’ve offered our own predictions as to what Washington has in store for the broadcast industry in 2007. Find a copy of our predictions in the memo on our firm website, here.
FCC Extends Date for Comments on the Impact of Towers on Migratory Birds
On Friday, the FCC announced an extension of time in which comments can be filed in its proceeding to assess the impact of broadcast towers on migratory birds. We reported on this proceeding here. The order granting the extension noted that most of the active parties in the proceeding, including both conservation groups and
Violence – The Next Issue for Broadcasters?
In a report issued last week, the Parent’s Television Council submits that there has been a significant increase in violent programming on television since 1998. The report contends that violent programming has increased, and become more graphic and more sensationalized. Will this report mark the beginning of a new attempt to regulate television programming?
The FCC
Change in FCC Media Bureau Chief
Chairman Martin yesterday announced the appointment of a new Chief of the Media Bureau, the FCC Bureau which directly regulates broadcasters. The Media Bureau processes broadcast technical applications, approves sales of stations, and takes the first draft of most policy issues which affect broadcasters. Donna Gregg, who has held that position since 2005, is
Protect the Brand – Service Mark the Call Letters
In a recent article from the Boston Globe, an interview with the new manger of WBZ-TV in Boston stressed the importance of the stations call letters. The article talks about the connection that the local audience had to the well-known station call letters , and how the station had suffered to some degree by de-emphasizing those call letters while using
FCC Refuses to Dictate Price In Retransmission Consent Negotiations
In a decision released last week on an increasingly common issue, the FCC refused to get involved in a retransmission consent negotiation dispute between a cable television system and a television station. The dispute involved Sinclair Broadcasting’s demands for cash consideration for the carriage of its television stations by cable systems owned by Mediacom Communications.
Arguing About and Avoiding the Indecency Rules
In recent weeks, the FCC has been vigorously defending its indecency rules in Court. First, oral arguments on the FCC’s actions against Fox and NBC for "fleeting utterances," one-time unscripted airing of profanities during television coverage of live award programs, were held the week before Christmas – with a decision possible in the upcoming months. At
3-2 – A Split Commission
Two recent decisions show a stark divide in the approach of the Democratic and Republican FCC Commissioners which may indicate the difficulty of reaching consensus on any of the pressing issues which will be facing the FCC in this new year. The FCC decision on the AT&T acquisition of BellSouth, approved by FCC action on Friday
Copyright Royalty Board to Decide Internet Radio Music Royalties By March 4
While recent press reports talk about the growth of Internet Radio and the increasing presence of terrestrial radio companies on the net, the amount of the music royalties that will have to be paid by Internet radio companies for the 2006-2010 period remains unresolved. The trial phase of the proceeding to set the rates, held before the Copyright Royalty Board, is now completed, and the upcoming decision of the Board may have a profound impact on the economics of the Internet radio industry. Final briefs in the case were filed with the Board in December, and an oral argument was held on Thursday, December 21. With the completion of the argument, the decision is now in the Board’s hands, and the amount of the royalties for the use of the sound recordings will be decided by the Board on or before March 4.
In the on-line world, and in most digital communications channels other than over-the-air digital broadcasts, a royalty for the use of the "sound recording" (the actual recording made by a particular artist) must be paid in addition to the royalty for the use of the composition (i.e. the underlying words and music) that is paid to ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. Our summary of the royalty rates that Internet radio stations should currently be paying can be found on our firm’s website, here. As we make clear in that memo, the rates that are currently being paid expired at the end of 2005, so the rates that are adopted in the current proceeding will be retroactive to January 1, 2006.
The proceeding to determine the new rates has been underway for more than a year. Written cases were filed by the parties in October 2005. Discovery, including depositions and document discovery, took place in the early part of 2006. A trial began in May and lasted through the first week in August, with a rebuttal phase that ended the week after Thanksgiving.Continue Reading Copyright Royalty Board to Decide Internet Radio Music Royalties By March 4
New City of License Change Rules Effective January 19
The FCC Order announcing a simplification of the procedures for changing cities of licenses of radio stations, and the modification of procedures for amending the FM Table of Allotments, was published in the Federal Register today. Thus, the new rules will become effective in 30 days, on January 19. The freeze on FM allotment changes that has been in place for the last year and a half will be lifted on that date.
Substantial questions remain about how these new rules will be implemented in practice. Informal conversations with FCC staffers have indicated that further explanations of the procedures may be forthcoming. Issues in the new rules include the fact that only 4 stations may be changed in any single, interrelated filing, which may hamper some of the larger, more complicated facilities changes that have become common over the last few years – and which allow many stations to improve their facilities through interrelated changes.
There are also issues with city of license changes for noncommercial FM stations, as the new rules as written limit city of license changes to situations where the 1 mv/m contour of the station when moved would overlap with some part of the 1 mv/m service area of the station as currently licensed. In other services, the limits are that the move must be mutually exclusive with the present facilities (e.g. the interfering and protected contours of the stations would overlap). Continue Reading New City of License Change Rules Effective January 19