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Last week, another bill was introduced in both the House and the Senate with the intention of supporting local media to help offset the erosion of their advertising base by digital media.  The Local Journalism Sustainability Act (text of House bill here, and summary of Senate bill here) proposes certain benefits for local newspaper subscribers, as well as benefits to advertisers who advertise on local media – both broadcast and print.  For newspaper subscribers, individuals can get tax credits of up to $250 per year to cover a portion of their newspaper subscription fees.  For advertisers who place advertising on either a local newspaper or a local broadcast stations, a tax credit of up to $5000 would be available to certain small businesses who utilize local media to get their advertising messages to their communities.

In addition, the bill would provide local media a tax credit of up to $12,500 for hiring local “journalists” who spend at least 100 hours per year on reporting local news.  While the current House version of the bill provides this credit only to newspaper companies, the summary of the Senate version proposes that it also be extended to broadcasters.  This provision in particular has brought support from the RTDNA – the association that represents news professionals – who see it as an incentive to local media outlets to hire more news professionals.
Continue Reading The Local Journalism Sustainability Act – Another Congressional Proposal to Help Local Media

Next week, I will be discussing regulatory issues for media companies with Eriq Gardner of the Hollywood Reporter (who covers legal issues on their must-read THR, Esq site) in a “Candid Conversation” hosted by Matrix Solutions (more information here, including a registration link).  The sponsor of this conversation consults on media advertising matters, so the content will likely be geared toward the impact of changes on the advertising industry.  While the conversation will cover structural media regulation issues, like broadcast ownership, the relationship between television and various multichannel video providers (both traditional, like cable and satellite television, and online), and similar matters, I think one of most interesting topics will be a discussion of the proposed regulation of tech platforms.  In thinking about that issue (about which we have written many times, including recent articles here and here), it occurs to me that such regulation could have a huge impact on the digital and social media giants that have arisen in the modern media world.

Much has been written, particularly in recent days, about the antitrust regulation to which these tech giants may be subject – with calls for action from both the political right and left (see, for instance, this article drawing parallels between the books recently written about this subject by Amy Klobuchar and Josh Hawley).  Even if such sweeping changes are not adopted, there are more targeted regulatory proposals that could have a direct impact on the advertising on these online platforms.  As we have noted before, advertising on online platforms is now estimated to constitute over 50% of the local advertising sales in virtually every geographic market.  Certainly, privacy regulation limiting the ability of companies to track users across various online platforms could affect such sales.  Less publicized has been the impact of Section 230 reform, which in at least one bill would exempt advertising from the protections afforded companies for the online content that they host.
Continue Reading Regulation of Online Platforms and the Effect on Advertising – Including Section 230 Reforms

The broadcast trade press is full today with the news that NAB CEO Gordon Smith will be stepping back from that position at the end of the year, to be replaced by current COO (and former head of Government Relations) Curtis LeGeyt.  As many will remember, Smith took over the organization over a decade ago during a turbulent time for the industry.  At the time, TV stations faced increasing calls for other uses of the broadcast spectrum, and radio stations faced a possible performance royalty on their over-the-air broadcasts of sound recordings.  Since then, through all sorts of issues, there has been a general consensus in the industry that its leadership was in capable hands and meeting the issues as they arose.

But many issues remain for broadcasters – some of them ones that have never gone away completely.  The sound recording performance royalty for over-the-air broadcasting remains an issue, as do other music licensing issues calling for changes to the way that songwriters and composers are compensated, generally calling for higher payments or different compensation systems (see our articles here on the GMR controversy and here on the review of music industry antitrust consent decrees).  TV stations, while having gone through the incentive auction giving up significant parts of the TV broadcast spectrum, still face demands by wireless operators and others hungry for more spectrum to provide the many in-demand services necessary to meet the need for faster mobile services (see our articles here on C-Band redeployment and here on requests for a set aside of TV spectrum for unlicensed wireless users).  But competition from digital services may well be the biggest current issue facing broadcasters.
Continue Reading With a Change at the Top at the NAB as CEO Gordon Smith Plans His Departure – What are the Regulatory Issues That are Facing Broadcasters?

The FCC announced on Friday that it will be hosting a symposium on the state of the broadcast industry on November 21.  On that day, there will be a panel in the morning on the state of the radio industry and one in the afternoon on television.  The Public Notice released Friday lists a diverse group of panelists, but says little beyond the fact that the forum will be occurring.  What could be behind the Commission’s decision to host this session?

The FCC is working on its Quadrennial Review of its ownership rules (see our articles here and here).  There were many who expected that review to be completed either late this year or early next, with relaxation of the radio ownership rules thought to be one of the possible outcomes.  Of course, quick action may have been derailed by the decision of the Third Circuit Court of the Appeals to vacate and remand the Commission’s 2017 ownership order.  The court’s decision unwinds the FCC’s 2017 order which included abolition of the broadcast newspaper cross-ownership rule and the rule that limited one owner from owning two TV stations in the same market unless there were 8 independent television operators in that market – see our article here on the 2017 decision and our article here on the Third Circuit’s decision.  The basis of the Third Circuit decision was that the FCC did not have sufficient information to assess the impact of its rule changes on minority ownership and other potential new entrants into broadcast ownership.  If the FCC did not have enough information to justify the 2017 decisions, many believe any further changes in its rules are on hold until the FCC can either satisfy the court’s desire for more information on minority ownership or until there is a successful appeal of that decision.  Even though FCC changes to its ownership rules may be in abeyance, the November 21 forum can shed light on the current state of the industry and why changes in ownership rules may be justified.
Continue Reading FCC To Hold Symposium on Radio and TV Industry – What Does it Mean for Broadcast Regulation?

Last week, Aaron Burstein of our law firm and I conducted a webinar for several state broadcast associations on legal issues in digital and social media advertising. As broadcasters become more active in the digital world, whether it be through social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, or by posting their content online through…