The FCC’s video description rules require covered broadcasters and MVPDs to provide audio-narration of the key visual elements of a program during pauses in the dialogue so as to make it more accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired. Under the current rules (which Congress in 2010 directed the FCC to reinstate after […]
The FCC today released a Public Notice with instructions for filing Form 177, the application for licensees of full-power and Class A TV stations to participate in the reverse auction. As a reminder, the FCC recently extended the application filing deadline, so the filing window now begins at noon Eastern Time on December 8, 2015 and runs until 6 […]
October has come and gone, and now the season is upon us—filing season, that is! Though winter is coming, December will be a hot month for radio and television FCC filings. Failure to meet any of these filing deadlines could result in fines or lost opportunities, putting a real damper on the holidays. With that […]
The FCC today released a tentative meeting agenda for its September 17, 2015 Open Commission Meeting. The agenda includes consideration of a Report and Order granting broadcasters greater flexibility in making rule disclosures required by the FCC for station-conducted contests. As we posted here and here, the Commission previously adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking […]
We’ve all heard the warning: once you put something on the Internet, it will be there forever. But an Oregon TV station learned the hard way that records in the FCC’s online public inspection file are easier to delete than you might like—and backdating restored files is not an option. As detailed in our May […]
Beginning next Wednesday, July 1, 2015, TV stations affiliated with the Top Four networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox) in the top 60 markets will be required to provide 50 hours of video description per calendar quarter. Currently, the video description requirement applies only to commercial TV stations affiliated with a Top Four network that […]
As we’ve previously written, the FCC adopted an Audible Crawl Rule in April 2013 requiring TV stations, by today, May 26, 2015, to present aurally on a secondary audio program stream (“SAP”) any non-newscast emergency information that a station presents visually. On March 27, 2015, the National Association of Broadcasters (“NAB”) filed a petition urging […]
At its Open Meeting scheduled for next Thursday, May 21, 2015, the FCC will consider extending emergency information accessibility rules to “second screen” devices such as computers, tablets, and smartphones. The contemplated Second Report and Order and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking would expand the class of entities subject to the FCC’s accessibility rules (adopted […]
The FCC’s Media Bureau issued a Public Notice today announcing that it would immediately suspend the September 1, 2015 digital transition date for LPTV and TV translator stations. The FCC’s Second Report and Order had established the September 1 deadline for LPTV, TV translator, and Class A TV stations to terminate analog operations and transition […]