David Oxenford, Author at Tennessee Association of Broadcasters

December Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – License Renewals, EEO Reports, Rulemaking Comments on Foreign Government Programming and EAS, and More

By David Oxenford|2022-11-29T09:08:43-06:00November 29th, 2022|Legal News|

Even with the holidays upon us, regulation never stops. There are numerous regulatory dates in December to which broadcasters need to pay heed to avoid having the FCC play Grinch for missing some important deadline. December 1 is the deadline for license renewal applications for television stations (full power, Class A, LPTV and TV translators)... Continue Reading…

Giving Tuesday – How We Can Give Back to the Broadcast Industry

By David Oxenford|2022-11-28T10:16:26-06:00November 28th, 2022|Legal News|

For the last few years at this time of the year, we’ve departed from our usual coverage of legal and policy issues to talk about something else – broadcasters giving back. With Giving Tuesday upon us, we wanted to urge our readers to consider ways to give back to our industry. I guess it is... Continue Reading…

This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: November 19 to November 25, 2022

By David Oxenford|2022-11-27T09:44:41-06:00November 27th, 2022|Legal News|

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. The FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) looking to enhance the security of the Emergency Alert System (“EAS”) and Wireless... Continue Reading…

FCC Decision Discusses Prohibition on Retaining Reversionary Interests in Broadcast Licenses After Sale – What Is a Reversionary Interest and Why Is It Prohibited?

By David Oxenford|2022-11-22T12:11:07-06:00November 22nd, 2022|Legal News|

In a decision this week on the sale of radio stations by Univision Radio to Latino Media Network, the Audio Division of the FCC’s Media Bureau discussed the FCC’s longstanding prohibition on the seller of a broadcast station retaining a “reversionary interest” in the station it is selling. In this case, FCC staff found that... Continue Reading…

This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: November 12 to November 18, 2022

By David Oxenford|2022-11-20T10:12:22-06:00November 20th, 2022|Legal News|

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 November 17, the FCC’s Second Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“Second NPRM”) on foreign government sponsored programming was published in... Continue Reading…

Reminder to Noncommercial FM Stations – Operating Less Than 12 Hours a Day Can Bring Forced Time-Share Requirement

By David Oxenford|2022-11-15T10:08:01-06:00November 15th, 2022|Legal News|

A recent FCC staff decision dismissing an application for a new noncommercial educational (NCE) FM station on technical grounds highlighted a rarely used section of the FCC rules, Section 73.561(b). That section provides that, when an NCE FM station does not regularly operate for at least 12 hours per day, another noncommercial entity can file... Continue Reading…

Reminder to Noncommercial FM Stations – Operating Less Than 12 Hours a Day Can Bring Forced Time-Share Requirement

By David Oxenford|2022-11-15T10:08:01-06:00November 15th, 2022|Legal News|

A recent FCC staff decision dismissing an application for a new noncommercial educational (NCE) FM station on technical grounds highlighted a rarely used section of the FCC rules, Section 73.561(b). That section provides that, when an NCE FM station does not regularly operate for at least 12 hours per day, another noncommercial entity can file... Continue Reading…

FCC Looks at EAS Rules – Requires That Broadcast Alerts Default to CAP, and Seeks Comments on Securing the System

By David Oxenford|2022-11-10T10:10:53-06:00November 10th, 2022|Legal News|

At each of the last two of the FCC’s recent regular monthly open meetings, the Commission addressed EAS issues that affect broadcasters. In one case, it adopted new rules that will, among other things, require that broadcasters use on-air the “IPAWS” internet-delivered emergency message in the CAP format, if the broadcaster receives the alert in... Continue Reading…

Reminder – Lowest Unit Charges Do Apply to Run-Off Elections, But Not to Complaints About Election Results

By David Oxenford|2022-11-09T11:01:35-06:00November 9th, 2022|Legal News|

With election results still being tabulated in many states in close political races, we thought that it is worth reminding broadcasters of the advice given by the FCC in 2020, when it issued a public notice stating that Lowest Unit Charges (or lowest unit rates as they are often called) do not apply to post-election political ads (e.g., ads... Continue Reading…

About David Oxenford