Many of the revisions to the FCC’s Children’s Television rules become effective on September 16 (as we wrote here), though there are portions of the revised rules whose implementation will be delayed pending approval by the Office of Management and Budget under the Paperwork Reduction Act. The FCC earlier this week released a Public Notice detailing which provisions will become effective on September 16. That notice also discusses how stations should report on their educational and informational programming directed to children on their next Quarterly Children’s Television Report, due to be filed at the FCC by October 10.

As we noted in our earlier article on the effective date, many of the new rules, including the following, will go into effect on September 16: (1) allowing “core programming” (i.e., the programs which meet the educational and informational programming requirements) to air starting at 6 AM (instead of 7 AM under the current rules); (2) eliminating the obligation to air additional core programming for each multicast channel operated by a station; (3) allowing some core programming to air on multicast streams instead of the main program channel; (4) allowing some short-form programming to substitute for core programming of at least 30 minutes; and (5) allowing more flexibility in the preemption of children’s programs. Not going into effect for now are rules relating to changes in the notifications to program guides, rules relating to public notice of preemptions and “second homes” of preempted programs, and the elimination of the need for noncommercial TV stations to display the E/I symbol in children’s programs. Also awaiting OMB approval and thus not yet effective are the rules changing the FCC reporting requirements from a quarterly obligation to an annual one. Yesterday’s public notice addressed how stations are supposed to complete their Quarterly Reports in this interim period. Continue Reading FCC Issues Public Notice on Implementation of New Children’s Television Rules and the Filing of October’s Quarterly Children’s Television Reports

This week, the Radio Music License Committee issued a press release that states that Global Music Rights (“GMR”), the new performing rights organization that collects royalties for the public performance of songs written by a number of popular songwriters (including Bruce Springsteen, members of the Eagles, Pharrell Williams and others) has agreed to extend their interim license for the performance of their music by commercial radio stations until March 31, 2020. The notice says that GMR will be contacting stations that signed their previous extension (through September 30, 2019) to extend the interim license on the same terms now in place. If you don’t hear from GMR by September 15, the RMLC suggests that you reach out to GMR directly (do not contact RMLC as they cannot help) to inquire about this extension.

As we have written before (see our articles here and here), GMR and the RMLC are in litigation over whether or not the rates set by GMR should be subject to some sort of antitrust review, as are the rates set by ASCAP, BMI and even SESAC (see our article here on the SESAC rates). Earlier this year, the lawsuits were consolidated in a court in California, where litigation is ongoing (see our article here about the transfer).  In the interim, there is no license to play the GMR music outside the Interim license offered to all commercial stations, or individually negotiated licenses with the company. Commercial stations that play GMR music should either have a license or should discuss carefully with counsel their potential options and liabilities if they continue to play GMR music. Do not ignore the potential liability as, under copyright law, there are substantial “statutory damages” of up to $150,000 per song for infringement. Noncommercial stations are not covered by this license being offered by GMR to RMLC members, as public performance royalties for noncommercial broadcasting are set by the Copyright Royalty Board (see our article here for more details on the royalties for noncommercial stations). Those stations should also discuss their obligations for royalties under the CRB decision with their counsel.

 

The FCC issued a Public Notice today, announcing that its regulatory fee filing system was now taking payments – and that payments are due by 11:59 PM Eastern Time, on September 24.  Yesterday, we indicated that the fees were due on September 30.  We based that on a sentence in the FCC’s Order that said that was the deadline for the fees – but the FCC must have been talking about its deadline for collecting the fees, not the deadline for fee filers to pay the fees – as today’s Public Notice makes clear.  So make sure you file before September 24 to avoid big penalties.

Broadcasters should review  the Media Bureau’s Fact Sheet when it becomes available for details about your fees.

The FCC on Tuesday released its Report and Order on regulatory fees.  The Order says that the fees will be due by September 24.  The FCC should soon issue additional guidance about the exact filing dates and procedures.

In the Order, the FCC did reduce the fees for radio somewhat from those proposed in their Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in May.  However, it was not the decrease sought by many broadcast groups.  The radio fees, even though reduced, still result in an increase from last year’s fees.  The FCC attributed that increase both to a somewhat smaller number of stations and an increase in the operating costs of the FCC that had to be shared among all regulated entities. Continue Reading 2019 FCC Regulatory Fees to be Due By September 24 – Commission Issues Fee Order

In many states, we are in election season for local offices, which has resulted in a question that has come up repeatedly in the last few weeks about local candidates – usually running for state or municipal offices – who appear in advertisements for local businesses that they own or manage. Often times, these individuals will appear in their business’ ads outside of election season, and don’t want to stop appearing in those ads during their bid for elective office. We wrote about this question in an article published two years ago and again a bit more than a year ago.  But, as the question continues to come up, it is worth revisiting the subject. What is a station to do when a local advertiser decides to run for office?

While we have many times written about what happens when a broadcast station’s on-air employee runs for office (see, for instance, our articles here, here and here), we have addressed the question less often about the advertiser who is also a candidate. If a candidate’s recognizable voice or, for TV, image appears on a broadcast station in any “positive” way, whether it is political in nature or not, it is considered a “use” by the political candidate.  What is a “positive” use?  Basically, it is any appearance that is not negative to the candidate (i.e., it is not in an ad attacking that candidate).  To be a positive “use” by the advertising candidate, the appearance must also be outside of an exempt program (in other words, outside of a news or news interview program which, as we wrote here, is a very broad category of programming exempt from the equal time rules).. “Uses” can arise well outside the political sphere, so Arnold Schwarzenegger movies were pulled from TV when he was running for office, as were any re-runs of The Apprentice and The Celebrity Apprentice featuring Donald Trump.  An appearance by a candidate in a commercial for his or her local business is similarly a positive “use” which needs to be included in a station’s political file (providing all the information about the sponsor, schedule and price of the ad, as you would for any pure political buy). But that does not necessarily mean that a station needs to pull the ad from the air. Continue Reading When a Broadcast Advertiser Becomes A Political Candidate, What is a Station to Do?

With the summer winding down, you can expect that come September, like everywhere else, Washington will leap back to life and the government will try to accomplish what they can before the end of the year. That will no doubt mean some regulatory actions (and potentially court actions and legislative actions) affecting broadcasters this Fall, though what they are remains to be seen. In the meantime, there is plenty to keep broadcasters busy. While September is one of those months in which there are few of the normally recurring filing deadlines (no EEO reports, renewal filings or quarterly reports need to be submitted during the month), there is one big deadline that no commercial broadcaster should forget – the filing of annual regulatory fees.

We understand that there is an order circulating at the FCC right now to set the final amount of the regulatory fees for the year. As these fees must be paid before October 1 when the government’s new fiscal year begins, we can expect that order shortly, with fees due at some point in September. As the Commission’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposed significant unexplained increases in the fees paid by radio, and a change to the methodology used to compete TV fees, moving from a DMA-based fee to one calculated based on an individual station’s predicted coverage (which had the effect of raising some fees, especially for high-powered VHF stations, while lowering others), a number of broadcasters and the NAB complained about those proposals. Watch for the FCC’s decision in the coming days to see how it addresses these complaints about the proposed fees, and to see when the fees will be due. Continue Reading September Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – Reg Fees, Children’s TV Rule Changes, EEO Comments, EAS Reports, License Renewal Obligations and More

Last week, we wrote about the FCC’s announcements of the opening of the filing period for LPTV, TV translator and FM stations that are seeking reimbursement for the costs they incurred because of the repacking of TV channels into a smaller part of the spectrum following the incentive auction. The FCC forms that need to be filed to request reimbursement must be submitted by October 15. As we wrote, the process is somewhat complicated, as those seeking reimbursement need to document their costs and to prove their eligibility to share in the reimbursement funds. This week, the FCC announced that next week, on Wednesday, August 28 at 11:00 AM Eastern Time, the FCC will hold a webinar to detail the process for seeking reimbursement (see the notice of that webinar here and log-in details here). For those seeking reimbursement, it may be worth your time to listen in live or catch the archived webinar when a link to the webcast is posted here at some point after the completion of the session.

Notice was published in the Federal Register today of the FCC’s changes in the children’s television rules – setting the effective date for most of those new rules as September 16. The elimination of the obligation to air three hours of children’s educational and informational programming for each digital multicast channel will expire on that date.  The ability to count children’s educational programming broadcast as early as 6 AM toward the broadcaster’s obligations to run 3 hours per week of such programming on its primary channel will also take effect that day, as will the ability to meet that 3-hour requirement with up to one hour of programming broadcast on a multicast channel.  A number of other changes, particularly in the ability of a broadcaster to compute its compliance based on a quarterly obligation rather than a weekly one and liberalizing the preemption rules, are also to take effect on September 16.    See our summary here of the changes in the rules.

Rules not yet taking effect are those rules that impose new or different paperwork requirements.  So the change in reporting obligations to an annual FCC filing instead of a quarterly one remains pending until approved by the Office of Management and Budget pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act.  The rule amending the obligation to inform program guides about certain aspects of children’s programming (including the ages to which the programs are targeted) is also still being reviewed.  The FCC is expected to issue additional guidance about how (or whether) to complete the next quarterly FCC Form 398 children’s television programming report, which is currently due October 10.  The FCC is moving to an annual report, but because of these Paperwork Reduction Act requirements, the new form has not been approved yet.

As we noted in our post yesterday, the OMB recently approved the FCC’s forms to allow for reimbursement of the expenses of LPTV and TV translator stations and FM stations (full power and low power) and FM translators caused by the repacking of the TV spectrum following the incentive auction.  This approval sets the stage for the reimbursement process to begin.  The FCC yesterday released a public notice giving details for the filing of those reimbursement requests – and setting a deadline of October 15 for the initial filings.  Only stations operating as of April 13, 2017 are eligible for such reimbursement – and broadcasters seeking reimbursement will need to file sufficient information to detail the expenses for which they seek reimbursement.  Other eligibility restrictions apply, so review the instructions and filing guidelines carefully to make sure that you qualify, and that you submit the information necessary to justify your reimbursement request.

Also, the FCC issued a second related Public Notice providing instructions for use of the FCC’s CORES database which will be used to verify the payment information for each licensee entitled to reimbursement.  Stations need to provide the FCC with their financial account information in order to be reimbursed.  Again, it’s important that you follow the instructions carefully to ensure that the reimbursement is made on a timely basis.

Months ago, the FCC approved reimbursing TV translators, LPTV stations, FM stations, and FM translators that incurred costs as a result of the repacking of TV stations into less spectrum following the TV incentive auction (see our post here).  Congress last year allocated the FCC money so that LPTV stations and TV translators forced to change channels and FM facilities forced to relocate temporarily or permanently because of work on the towers on which they were located could be reimbursed for their costs caused by this repacking.  The FCC has even published a list of expenses that will be routinely reimbursed when incurred by these stations due to the repacking.  But the reimbursement process has not yet begun, as the FCC paperwork to allow for the reimbursement process had not been approved by the Office of Management and Budget as being compliant with the Paperwork Reduction Act – until yesterday.

In yesterday’s Federal Register, the OMB’s approval of the FCC Forms was published, meaning that the FCC can now start the reimbursement process.  Look for an FCC announcement shortly announcing when affected stations can start submitting their reimbursement requests.  Get your bookkeepers and accountants busy collecting details of the expenses that can be reimbursed, as the time for filing for that reimbursement should be upon us in the very near future.