Last week, we wrote about two dissenting opinions in a Supreme Court decision that highlight the debate that is underway on the principles that govern defamation liability in the United States. While we are reviewing Supreme Court decisions that could have an impact on broadcasters, including on political advertising, we thought that we should highlight... Continue Reading…
For well over 50 years, the Supreme Court’s New York Times v. Sullivan decision has governed the principles applied by the courts when assessing any claim of defamation. That standard requires that, to find a statement about a public figure to be defamatory, not only does the statement need to be false, but it also... Continue Reading…
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 FCC this week reminded television broadcasters of their obligation to make televised emergency information accessible to persons with disabilities.... Continue Reading…
The FCC yesterday released a Public Notice reminding TV stations and other video programming providers including cable and satellite television providers of their obligations on making emergency information accessible for all viewers. With a few tweaks, including emphasizing that more hurricanes and wildfires occurred in the last year, the reminder is very similar to what... Continue Reading…
The FCC’s Public Notice soliciting updated information in its Quadrennial Review of its broadcast ownership rules, a review begun in 2018, was published in the Federal Register today, setting the deadline for initial comments as Monday, August 2, 2021, with reply comments due Monday, August 30, 2021. As we wrote here when the Quadrennial Review... Continue Reading…
Last week, Congressmen Ted Deutch (D-FL) and Darrell Issa (R-CA) introduced the American Music Fairness Act ( see their Press Release for more details) which would impose a new music royalty on over-the-air radio stations. The royalty would be payable to SoundExchange for the public performance of sound recordings. This means that the money collected would... Continue Reading…
While summer has started and minds wander to vacation time, there are still many regulatory obligations to which a broadcaster must pay attention in July. To help stay focused, we have written below about some of the important dates and deadlines applicable to broadcasters in July – and a reminder of what to be ready... Continue Reading…
Last week, the FCC issued a Public Notice announcing an August 11, 2021 nationwide EAS test, with a backup date of August 25 if there are conditions that prevent the test from occurring on the initial date. The test is scheduled for 2:20 PM EDT. For broadcasters, this test will be conducted using the over-the-air... Continue Reading…
The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) on Friday released the rates and terms for webcasting royalties for 2021-2025, and the rates are going up. While the full decision explaining the reasoning for the rate increases will not be released to the public until the parties to the case have the opportunity to seek redaction of private... Continue Reading…