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Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the last week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.

  • President Joe Biden made official his permanent FCC Chair – selecting Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to fill that position. He

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Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the last week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.

  • The four television network affiliates groups have asked the FCC to clarify its new rules for sponsorship identification of programming

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In 2019, the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice began a review of the court-administered antitrust consent decrees that have bound ASCAP and BMI since the 1940s.  We wrote about the issues in their review here.  The formal review of these decrees began as part of the DOJ’s broader review of its antitrust consent decrees covering many different industries.  The DOJ received almost a thousand comments on the questions that it asked about the ASCAP and BMI decrees.  It also held public roundtables as well as private discussions with interested parties during its review.  Last week, Makan Delrahim, the outgoing head of the Antitrust Division, presented remarks at a Vanderbilt Law School virtual event where he said that the review would be ending without any proposals for reform.  While the statement notes some of the reforms that were sought by the music industry, it also notes that music users around the country rely on the systems established under the decrees and judge them to be working well.  Mr. Delrahim’s statement says that because of the complexity of the issues and the interruptions caused by the pandemic, no reforms would be offered at this time, but it urged the DOJ to continue to review these decrees on a regular basis – at least once every five years.

This action is significant for broadcasters and other music users as it leaves in place these consent decrees that are the basis on which so many businesses use music in their day-to-day operations.  Given the volume of music they have under license, most businesses do not have an alternative to using the blanket licenses offered by these organizations.  The only alternative would be to license the music themselves which, due to the complexity of the copyright laws and the lack of transparency in music ownership, would be exceedingly difficult for a business where music is but a secondary component to their operations.  Together, ASCAP and BMI provide a license to broadcasters and other music users (including any business that performs music to the public, such as bars and restaurants, retail stores, digital music services, concert venues, hotels and so many other locations).
Continue Reading DOJ Ends its Review of ASCAP and BMI Consent Decrees – For Now…What Does it Mean?

Press reports following a speech this week by the head of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division have many in the broadcast industry paying attention. In response to a question following a speech at a DC conference by Makan Delrahim, the chief of the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, he is reported to have said that the DOJ will be holding a workshop to assess whether online advertising should be considered in assessing the local television marketplace, and whether the facts should support a change in the Department’s assessment of mergers by considering online advertising as part of the same competitive market as local TV advertising. Why is this important?

In recent years, particularly in its review of combinations such as last year’s proposed Sinclair-Tribune merger, the DOJ has looked only at the marketplace for over-the-air television in assessing a transaction’s likely competitive impact, refusing to look at the competition for viewers and advertisers that now comes from online sources like YouTube, Facebook and the many other digital platforms competing in today’s media marketplace. Were the DOJ to conclude that digital platforms are indeed part of the same market as TV, there is a greater likelihood that transactions previously questioned on antitrust grounds could see a more favorable reception from the DOJ. This could also have an impact on radio ownership – where the FCC is just about to embark on its own review of the local radio ownership rules.
Continue Reading DOJ Reportedly to Review Impact of Digital Advertising on Broadcast Merger Review