On Friday, the FCC issued a reminder to all operators “of fixed-satellite service (FSS) earth stations in the 3.7-4.2 GHz band that were constructed and operational as of April 19, 2018 that the filing window to license or register such earth stations closes on October 17, 2018.” This frequency band is commonly referred to as the “C-Band”, and many of the “FSS earth stations” are satellite dishes that receive programming used by both radio and TV stations. The FCC is exploring allowing additional users into this spectrum, and has warned that only registered users of the spectrum will be entitled to any protections against any new users who may be authorized. In Friday’s public notice, the FCC also noted that those being protected not only need to have been operating by April 19 and registered by October 17 to be protected, but those entities will need to certify that the information in their registrations is correct on a form that will be made available at some point in the future. Users who have already registered are urged to make sure that their registrations are accurate by October 17, as certain corrections will not be allowed after that date. So broadcasters using this spectrum to receive satellite-delivered programming should heed the FCC’s advice and register by October 17.

The FCC last week issued a Public Notice announcing another window for mutually exclusive applicants filed in the second translator window to attempt to resolve the interference conflicts that the FCC found to exist between certain of these applications. A window for such settlements had been opened several months ago, but these are additional applications now identified as being in conflict. The conflicting applications are listed here. These applications were filed in the second translator window in late 2017, which was opened primarily so that Class A and B AM stations could seek authority to rebroadcast their signals on new FM translators that would be tied to those AM stations. Engineering amendments resolving the problems or other settlement agreements must be filed before September 20, 2018. If there is no resolution by that date, the applications will end up in an FCC auction.

As we wrote here, applications filed in the second translator window that were not mutually exclusive filed their “long-form” applications detailing their technical proposals back in May. Many of those applications and those that were able to resolve their issues in the first settlement window have already been granted. While these applications are being processed, the FCC is still dealing with other translator issues, including a pending petition for reconsideration of the FCC’s dismissal of objections filed by LPFM advocates in connection with hundreds of translator applications (see our summary of that pleading here), and the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on translator interference (about which we wrote here). Reply comments in that proceeding were due last week, so stay tuned for an FCC decision on those issues.

With the lowest unit charge window for the November elections going into effect tomorrow (September 7), we thought that it was a good idea to review the basics FCC rules and policies affecting those charges. With this election, where control of Congress may well be hotly contested and may result in competitive elections across the country, your station needs to be ready to comply with all of the FCC’s political advertising rules. 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 and particular daypart. Candidates 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 of advertising spots. For instance, there will be different rates for spots running in morning drive than for those 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 on the station is its own class, 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). Even in the same time period, there can be preemptible and non-preemptible time, each with its own set of charges resulting in different classes of time, each with its own lowest unit rate. Any class of spots that run in a unique time period, with a unique rotation or unique rights attached to it (e.g., different levels of preemptibility, different make-good rights, etc.), will have a different lowest unit rate. Stations need to review each class of time sold on their station, find the lowest rate charged to a commercial advertiser for a spot of the same class that is running at the same time that the candidate wants to buy a spot, and that lowest rate will be what the candidate is charged. Continue Reading Broadcasting and Cable Political Window Begins September 7 For November Elections – A Refresher on the FCC’s Lowest Unit Charge Rules

On Thursday, we wrote about the FCC’s release of its order setting the amounts for the Annual Regulatory Fees paid by all of those regulated by the FCC. Those fees are due by September 25. On Friday, the FCC released a Fact Sheet detailing the fees for broadcast and other licensees regulated by the Media Bureau and how those fees should be paid. As we noted in our article last week, fees are due for stations based on the FCC authorization they held on October 1, 2017 – so even stations whose licenses have been surrendered (e.g. through the incentive auction or construction permits for new stations that were never built and expired) must pay fees on the authorizations in effect on October 1, 2017. The FCC also notes that expanded band AM stations, that have previously been exempt from fees as they are part of a paired license with stations in the core AM band, now have to pay fees independently from their paired station.

The Fact Sheet also sets out the fees owed by radio stations based on the population they serve, and for TV stations based on the size of the DMA in which they are located. The Fact Sheet links to this sheet for more information about how to access the FCC’s calculation of the specific amount owed for each of a licensee’s stations. The Fact Sheet also sets out details of the payment process, and notes that those licensees whose total fees are $1000 or less are exempt from any payment obligations as their fees are considered “de minimis.” Licensees who are in this de minimis category don’t even need to report that fact to the FCC – the Commission should be able to recognize that status on its own. Carefully read this information provided by the FCC, and submit your fees when ready – just be sure to do it before the September 25 deadline to avoid the substantial penalties for late payments.

Just when you thought that it might be safe to stop watching your email and prepare to enjoy the long weekend, the FCC comes along and reminds you that there is work ahead in September. As we warned in our summary of the regulatory dates for broadcasters in September, the FCC announced the deadline for filing annual regulatory fees – they will be due by 11:59 pm ET on September 25, 2018.  A copy of the FCC order announcing the amounts of the new fees is available here.  The filing date is available on the FCC’s website.  Fee information is provided in Appendix C of the decision, which begins on Page 18 of order.  In the past, the Media Bureau has followed up with a Public Notice and Filing Guide specifically addressing fees to be paid by broadcasters.  Expect to see that in the next few days.

The Order also announces in Paragraph 14 of the decision that the method calculating TV regulatory fees will be changing beginning next year. It will be moving to a system for setting fees more like that used in radio by assessing fees for full-power broadcast TV stations based on the population covered by the station’s contour, instead of by the station’s DMA.  Beginning in 2019, the FCC plans to adopt a fee based on an average of the current DMA methodology and the population covered by a full-power broadcast TV station’s contour.  Thereafter, in 2020, the FCC will assess regulatory fees for full-power broadcast TV stations based solely on the population covered by the station’s contour. But for this year, the FCC detailed the procedures for payment that are much the same as last year. Continue Reading Annual Regulatory Fees Due September 25 – Expect Changes in TV Fees Starting Next Year

The FCC yesterday issued a Declaratory Ruling approving the acquisition of an FM radio station in upstate New York by a company that is 100% controlled by two individuals, neither of whom is a US citizen. One is a UK citizen, the second a citizen of Poland. These individuals have lived in the US for three years. As the Foreign Investment Review Staff at the Department of Justice indicated to the FCC that it had no objection to the sale after coordinating with other Executive Branch agencies, the FCC concluded that the public interest favored this foreign investment to insure continuity in the operation of the radio station.

This is the third case where the FCC has approved ownership of US broadcast stations by a company 100% owned by foreign citizens (see our articles here and here on earlier cases). In each of these cases, the acquisitions have been by individual investors of smaller, privately-owned stations. In 2016, the FCC issued a ruling providing greater opportunity for more foreign investment in public companies (see our article here), but large public companies have been slow to take advantage of this liberalized regulatory regime. We have seen companies including Univision obtain approval for non-controlling foreign interests, but as of this point, we have not seen a situation where a public company has sought approval for majority foreign ownership. Even under the FCC’s liberalized rules, there still need to be specific foreign investors identified and approved by the Executive Branch agencies involved in homeland security issues before they can take control of any company. So the process is not a wide-open invitation for any foreign owner to come into the US and buy a broadcast company. But in the 5 years since the FCC first made clear that they would allow foreign ownership above 25% of a company controlling a broadcast station (see our article here), significant foreign investment in US broadcast stations has occurred, and we expect the trend to continue.

Yesterday, we wrote about the regulatory dates coming up for broadcasters in September.  Even though that was an extensive list, we realized later that we left a few off.  So here are a few more issues to consider in September.  Plus, the FCC yesterday reminded repacked TV stations of all of the requirements for TV stations involved in the repacking of the TV band following the Incentive Auction which, as we noted in our post yesterday, formally begins this month.

One date that we overlooked was the effective date for a general increase in FCC application fees – those fees that commercial broadcasters pay every time they file an application for a construction permit, approval of a purchase or sale of a station, a license renewal, an STA or many other requests for FCC action.  As we wrote here, the FCC recently announced that the fees were going up to reflect inflation.  Last week, the FCC issued a Public Notice announcing that those new fees are effective on September 4.  So commercial stations filing applications on September 4 or afterward need to remember to pay the new fees, or risk having their applications returned. Continue Reading More September Regulatory Dates – Effective Date of New Application Fees, Filing Deadline for TV Shared Services Agreements, Lowest Unit Rate For September Election and Reminder on Repacking Requirements

While September is one of those months with neither EEO reports nor Quarterly Issues Programs or Children’s Television Reports, that does not mean that there are no regulatory matters of importance to broadcasters. Quite the contrary – as there are many deadlines to which broadcasters should be paying attention. The one regulatory obligation that in recent years has come to regularly fall in September is the requirement for commercial broadcasters to pay their regulatory fees – the fees that they pay to the US Treasury to reimburse the government for the costs of the FCC’s operations. We don’t know the specific window for filing those fees yet, nor do we know the exact amount of the fees. But we do know that the FCC will require that the fees be paid before the October 1 start of the next fiscal year, so be on the alert for the announcement of the filing deadline which should be released any day now.

September 20 brings the next Nationwide Test of the EAS system, and the obligations to submit information about that test to the FCC. As we have written before (here and here), the first of those forms, ETRS Form One, providing basic information about each station’s EAS status is due today, August 27. Form Two is due the day of the test – reporting as to whether or not the alert was received and transmitted. More detailed information about a station’s participation in the test is due by November 5 with the filing of ETRS Form Three. Also on the EAS front, comments are due by September 10 on the FCC’s proposal to require stations to report on any false or inaccurate EAS reports originated from their stations. See our articles here and here. Continue Reading September Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – Annual Regulatory Fees; Nationwide EAS Test; Comment Dates on FM Translator Interference, Audio Competition, Children’s Television Requirements, and Reimbursement for LPTV and FM Repacking Costs; and More

In Monday’s Federal Register, publication is scheduled for the FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on reimbursing LPTV stations, TV translators and FM radio stations (both full-power and FM translator stations) for costs they incur because of the TV incentive auction and the resulting repacking of the TV spectrum. The publication in the Federal Register means that comments on the FCC proposals are due September 26, and reply comments on October 26.

The FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposes reimbursing the costs of LPTV stations and TV translators (including Digital Replacement Translators) for moving to new channels. These channel moves were required either because of the contraction of the TV band after the auction (requiring that TV channels above 37 be cleared of TV users so that the upper channels can be repurposed for wireless users) or because these secondary stations operate on channels on which full power stations were relocated as the FCC shuffled channels to fit all remaining full-power and Class A stations into the smaller TV band. Radio stations operations may be disrupted by the repacking principally when those stations operate on a tower used by TV stations. Radio stations either may have to relocate their antennas, either permanently or temporarily, to another tower (or elsewhere on the existing tower) to accommodate the installation of a new TV antenna or other work on the TV stations on the tower. What does the FCC propose? Continue Reading Comments Due September 26 on FCC Proposals for LPTV, TV Translator and FM Reimbursement of Costs Incurred By Incentive Auction Repacking – What Are the Issues to be Addressed?

In recent weeks, I’ve written about my presentation at the Podcast Movement Convention on legal issues for broadcasters who are thinking about podcasting, and followed up with an article warning any company with employees or contractors creating podcasts or other digital media projects to be sure to clarify who owns the content that is created. Recently, there has been litigation about another issue – the individuals featured in podcasts suing the producer for unauthorized uses of the interviews recorded for use in the podcast, under theories including the invasion of privacy or violation of the rights of publicity of the interviewees.

One lawsuit receiving significant publicity (see for instance the detailed articles here and here) is from the family of the individual who became the main focus of the popular podcast S-Town. The podcast focused much of its attention on the life of an individual who was not an elected official or any other sort of public figure. As the individual died before the podcast’s release, the family sued on his behalf, arguing that the podcast violated his rights of publicity. Various states grant individuals rights of publicity to exploit their names, likeness, or stories – essentially barring others from exploiting that person without his or her permission. Other state laws grant individuals a right of privacy to keep private facts private. While the details and exceptions to these rights differ from state to state, they generally do not restrict bona fide news stories about public figures or reporting on other matters that are in the public interest. Most broadcasters, covering news events, don’t routinely run up against the restrictions set out in these laws. But podcasts and various other reality programming may be more lifestyle-oriented, and may detail private facts about individuals who are not in the news, leading to issues like these. Getting a release from the subject of an interview waiving any such rights, and otherwise giving the producer the rights to exploit the recordings that are made, can help to reduce the risk that these laws may otherwise pose. Plus, there are other reasons that a release may be helpful. Continue Reading More Podcast Legal Issues – Getting Releases From Interview Subjects