David Oxenford, Author at Tennessee Association of Broadcasters

July Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – Quarterly Issues Programs and Children’s Television Reports, Renewal Announcements, Copyright Filings, EAS, EEO and More

By David Oxenford|2019-06-30T11:18:47-05:00June 30th, 2019|Legal News|

July is an important month for regulatory filings – even though it is one of those months with no FCC submissions tied to any license renewal dates. Instead, quarterly obligations arise this month, the most important of which will have an impact in the ongoing license renewal cycle that began in June (see last month’s...… Continue Reading

FCC Releases Draft Order on Changes to Children’s Television Rules – Action Expected July 10

By David Oxenford|2019-06-24T09:00:40-05:00June 24th, 2019|Legal News|

In anticipation of its July 10 open meeting, the FCC last week released its draft Order making changes to its rules requiring television stations to broadcast specific amounts of educational and informational programming directed to children. The current rules require that stations air an average of three hours of such programming every week for every...… Continue Reading

Another EEO Audit Released – Looking at the FCC’s Current EEO Obligations

By David Oxenford|2019-06-19T11:05:22-05:00June 19th, 2019|Legal News|

The FCC yesterday released another of its regular EEO audit notices (available here), asking that approximately 80 radio stations, and the employment units with which they are associated, provide to the FCC (by posting the information in their online public inspection file) their last two year’s EEO Annual Public File reports, as well as backing...… Continue Reading

Preparing for the 2020 Elections – Our Updated Political Broadcasting Guide

By David Oxenford|2019-06-17T10:25:34-05:00June 17th, 2019|Legal News|

2020 will no doubt be a very active year for political advertising. To help broadcasters sort out the confusing rules they need to follow in connection with such advertising, we have updated our Political Broadcasting Guide for Broadcasters (note that the URL for the updated version has not changed from prior versions, so your bookmarks...… Continue Reading

FCC Incubator Order Becomes Effective Just as Third Circuit Hears Arguments on 2017 Order Relaxing FCC Broadcast Ownership Rules

By David Oxenford|2019-06-12T10:49:26-05:00June 12th, 2019|Legal News|

The Office of Management and Budget, acting pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act, has just approved the FCC’s broadcast incubator program, about which we wrote here. That approval makes the program effective. The program permits an established broadcaster to provide assistance to a new broadcaster (generally, a qualified small business) to enter the radio broadcast...… Continue Reading

US Attorneys and FCC Combine to Shut Down Pirate Radio Station

By David Oxenford|2019-06-11T11:23:15-05:00June 11th, 2019|Legal News|

The FCC yesterday issued a News Release about an unusual action taken by the US Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts entering into a consent decree with a pirate radio operator, where the operator agreed to surrender all of its operating equipment to the FCC, and to stop broadcasting illegally. If the operator is again caught operating...… Continue Reading

Maybe Serial Moves of FM Translators to Relocate Them From Rural to Urban Areas are Not So Bad….

By David Oxenford|2019-06-07T07:05:23-05:00June 7th, 2019|Legal News|

You may remember a few years ago, the FCC cracked down on “serial modifications” of FM translators to move them from rural to more urban areas (see, for instance, the cases about which we wrote here and here), considering such moves an abuse of process. In a decision released earlier this week, it looks like...… Continue Reading

Maybe Serial Moves of FM Translators to Relocate Them From Rural to Urban Areas are Not So Bad….

By David Oxenford|2019-06-07T07:05:23-05:00June 7th, 2019|Legal News|

You may remember a few years ago, the FCC cracked down on “serial modifications” of FM translators to move them from rural to more urban areas (see, for instance, the cases about which we wrote here and here), considering such moves an abuse of process. In a decision released earlier this week, it looks like...… Continue Reading

DOJ Starts Review of BMI and ASCAP Consent Decrees – Exploring the Background of the Issues

By David Oxenford|2019-06-06T09:54:34-05:00June 6th, 2019|Legal News|

The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division yesterday announced that it was starting a review of the ASCAP and BMI antitrust consent decrees that govern the United States’ two largest performing rights organizations for musical compositions (referred to as the “musical work”). The DOJ’s announcement of the initiation of the examination of the consent decrees poses...… Continue Reading

About David Oxenford