The Sacramento radio contest gone wrong, which led to the death of a contestant, will apparently not lead to any criminal liability for the station or its employees, according to press reports including one in the San Francisco Chronicle, here.  However, as the standards for a criminal prosecution are higher than those for a finding of civil liability, this may not be the last that we hear about this contest.  A complaint is also pending before the FCC about the matter.

We wrote about some of the problems that can arise with contests, here.  Stations should be careful planning and executing any contest.  A company planning a contest should research state law, to be sure that everything is being done is in compliance with all local requirements, and any necessary registrations are filed or local permits obtained.  The rules of the contest must be spelled out, anticipating every eventuality to the extent possible, carefully followed, and publicized (including the requirement for FCC licensees that the principal rules be broadcast on air – see our post here).  And, of course, try to anticipate the participants’ possible actions while trying to participate, and avoid situations where the contest could create any dangerous situations.  In this day and age, there is much to consider in planning a simple contest in a manner that avoids potential liability.

Effective on Monday, April 2, the Washington DC office of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP that was located at 1500 K Street has changed locations.  We are joining our colleagues from the law firm that was formerly known as Cole Raywid & Braverman, and moving into their office at the following address:

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, 1919 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 200, Washington, D.C. 20006-3402

New phone numbers for our broadcast attorneys will also be in place starting on Monday.  Those include the following new direct dial numbers:

David Oxenford  202-973-4256            Robert Corn-Revere  202-973-4225

David Silverman  202-973-4200           Bryan McGinnis  202-973-4285

Ronald London  202-973-4235              Brendan Holland  202-973-4244 

Karen Ross  202-973-4269                    Amber Husbands  202-973-4219

The main office number is 202-973-4200.  The fax is 202-973-4499.

Please update your contact information, as calling the old phone numbers will just give you a recording. 

The FCC yesterday released a Public Notice announcing that the new Form 340 – Application for Construction Permit for Noncommercial Station – has been approved and is now effective.  This is the revised form that allows noncommercial FM stations operating in the educational reserved band to file for city of license changes as minor changes, rather than having to wait for major change filing windows – which historically have been rare for noncommercial operators.  So, noncommercial FM licensees who have been contemplating city of license changes – or commercial licensees looking at noncommercial city of license changes to "back fill" for their own proposed city of license change applications – are now free to file. 

Commercial FM operators have been free to file city of license changes as minor changes since January 19.  Many such applications have been filed, and they are being quickly processed by the FCC. For details about the new city-of-license-change procedure, see our posts here and here. 

In a recent press release, Clear Channel Communications announced an agreement with mSpot Radio to provide the programming of over 100 Clear Channel radio stations to mobile phone users.  Interestingly, this announcement comes in he thick of the battle over the new royalty rates for the streaming of music on the Internet.  In recent pleadings seeking rehearing of  the decision of the Copyright Royalty Board setting those rates, SoundExchange (the collective that collects the royalties on behalf of Copyright owners and musicians) raised only one issue.  The sole issue on which SoundExchange requested clarification was whether the royalties that were recently adopted would apply to mobile phone transmissions of programming containing music. 

A brave move in light of the current royalty decision – one perhaps reflecting the desire to have radio programming everywhere a listener wants it, or one that foresees revenues from the wireless phone companies compensating the parties for the costs involved.  It will be interesting to see how this roll out of radio stations on mobile phones progresses.

The FCC yesterday approved the sale of the stock of Univision Communications to a consortium of private equity companies.  In order to approve the deal, the FCC agreed to a $24 million dollar payment to the US Treasury by Univision as part of a consent decree for alleged violations of the children’s television rules.  The consent decree, attached to the FCC decision on the sale, while providing for one of the largest fines ever paid to the FCC, provides little guidance to broadcasters on what constitutes educational and informational programming directed to children, the source of the violation found by the FCC. But the separate Statement of Commissioner Copps raises a new issue – one he looks for the FCC to study and report on – the effect of private equity and debt on the ability of broadcasters to operate in the public interest. 

The Copps opinion suggests that the debt incurred in connection with acquisitions by private equity companies may impair the ability of broadcast stations to operate in the public interest, as money needed for operations is instead funneled into debt repayment.  Of course, private equity firms are not the first owners of broadcast companies to incur debt, nor is there any evidence that I have seen that private equity companies which own broadcast companies have proportionally more debt than other broadcast owners.  What would the FCC hope to accomplish through such an investigation?  I can’t see the FCC evaluating each transaction that comes before it to determine if the proposed debt structure would be too much of a burden on the operations of a station.  Nor could I foresee the FCC putting broadcast ownership restrictions on certain classes of otherwise qualified potential broadcast owners.

Continue Reading Follow the Money and Find the Public Interest?

Two press releases on the Internet radio music royalty controversy were issued late last week from groups appealing to musicians  – and they couldn’t have been more different in tone.  The Future of Music Coalition, a group dedicated to voicing the opinions of musicians and citizens on Washington policy decisions regarding copyright and technology issues, released a well considered  position statement finding that webcasters – especially small commercial webcasters and noncommercial entities – "represent a rich and diverse set of listening opportunities" which provide opportunities for musicians by exposing listeners to music that is not heard elsewhere.  FMC suggests that multiple tiers of licensing are necessary so that all kinds of webcasters can continue to exist (unlike the one size fits all scheme adopted by the Copyright Royalty Board).  FMC urges SoundExchange and the webcasters to come to a settlement that will preserve webcasting while fairly compensating musicians.

By contrast, SoundExchange argues in its press release that some webcasters are acting in bad faith in arguing that the rates are too high – and are "engaged in a campaign of misinformation about the process, the decision itself, and the impact of the decision on the participants."  The Press Release itself is subtitled "Suggests Some Webcasters Not Telling the Truth About the Royalty Process."  The release promises an attached summary of the Board’s decision but, at the time of this posting, that summary was not apparent on the SoundExchange website.  The only misrepresentation cited by SoundExchange is the claim by webcasters that the process which arrived at the rates was unfair.  However, as pointed out by editor Kurt Hanson (a client of mine in this proceeding) on the Radio and Internet Newsletter site, here, a decision that overlooks its real world effects can fairly be characterized as being unfair.  Information about the real economics of the industry, which SoundExchange may not have appreciated, demonstrates that unfairness.

Continue Reading A Tale of Two Press Releases – Who Is A Musician to Believe?

This article is no longer available. For more information on this topic, see FCC Deadlines in January – Quarterly Issues Programs Lists, Children’s Program Reports, Comments on TV Online Public File and Public Interest Obligation Proposals, FM Window and More