- On March 16, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) held an open meeting at which it voted to issue “6(b) orders”
NCE points system
This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: March 6 to March 10, 2023
- As widely reported, Gigi Sohn has asked President Biden to withdraw her nomination to become the third Democratic FCC Commissioner
This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: February 27 to March 3, 2023
- FCC Commissioner Simington issued a statement supporting a recent letter from former FEMA leaders to the Department of Transportation highlighting
This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: January 23, 2023 to January 30, 2023
- The FCC issued a Public Notice extending the deadlines for all filings in the FCC’s LMS or online public file
This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: October 22, 2022 to October 28, 2022
Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.
- On October 26, NAB and Xperi Inc. jointly filed a Petition for Rulemaking asking the FCC to amend its rules
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This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: July 30, 2022 to August 5, 2022
Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.
- Both the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the FCC released public notices, available here and here, alerting broadcasters
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FCC Announces that Window to Apply for New Noncommercial FM Stations Will Open in November
The FCC released its decision to limit to 10 the number of applications that can be filed by one party in the next window for new noncommercial FM stations in the reserved FM band (those channels below 92.1 on the FM dial). No party can have attributable interests in more than 10 applications filed in…
FCC Announces Effective Date of Changes in LPFM and Noncommercial Application Processing
Earlier this week, the FCC announced that changes in its processing of LPFM and Noncommercial (NCE) full-power station applications became effective on October 30. We wrote about some of those changes here and here. Of immediate importance is the need to include a certification of reasonable transmitter site assurance in any application for any…
Next Step to a Filing Window for New Noncommercial FM Stations – FCC Asks for Comments on Limits on How Many Applications One Applicant Can Submit
The FCC yesterday issued a Public Notice announcing that it will in fact be opening a window for the filing of applications for new reserved-band noncommercial FM stations (those stations operating in the portion of the FM band below 92.1 FM, which is reserved for noncommercial educational broadcasters). We anticipated that this window was coming…
FCC Dismisses Petition for Reconsideration of Reexamination of Noncommercial Licensing Policy – Next Step, Window for New Applications?
The FCC yesterday dismissed a Petition for Reconsideration of its reexamination of the criteria that it uses for determining which application is granted when there are conflicting applications filed in any window for the filing of new noncommercial FM stations. We wrote about the reexamination of the noncommercial selection criteria in our article here. We did not mention the specific issue that was raised in the request for reconsideration, which is explained in more detail below. The decision resolving this Petition may also be the last step before the FCC opens a window for applications for new stations in the FM reserved band (below 92 FM), something that has not happened in a decade.
In the reconsideration petition, one party asked the FCC to change the position that it has long taken – that if the FCC has to use its points system (the system that awards points for certain favored criteria – criteria including favoring local applicants who are well-established in a community and don’t already have another media outlet and those owned by statewide organizations) to decide between mutually exclusive applications – it will select only one winner even if, by selecting that one winner, other applications may have no technical conflict with the winning application. The petitioner asked that, in this situation, the FCC grant additional applications once it has decided on the preliminary winner. Let’s look at how this situation can arise.
Continue Reading FCC Dismisses Petition for Reconsideration of Reexamination of Noncommercial Licensing Policy – Next Step, Window for New Applications?