At the end of last week, the FCC released several orders clarifying the rules for upcoming windows where construction permits for new FM channels will be made available to parties interested in starting new radio stations, and a few AM construction permits will also be auctioned off. The Public Notice released on Thursday for commercial... 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 Supreme Court this week announced its decision in Federal Communications Commission v. Prometheus Radio Project, the broadcast ownership case... Continue Reading…
Capitol Hill President Biden on March 11, 2021 signed a further Coronavirus emergency spending package into law – the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act ($1.9 trillion). A very high-level summary of the major spending components of the legislation can be found here (courtesy of CTC Technology & Energy) – but the notable highlights include a...… Continue Reading
The United States Supreme Court yesterday released its decision upholding the FCC’s 2017 changes to its ownership rules in the FCC v Prometheus Radio Project case (see our summary here). Those rules had been put on hold in 2019 by a decision by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals which held that the FCC had... Continue Reading…
The United States Supreme Court yesterday released its decision upholding the FCC’s 2017 changes to its ownership rules in the FCC v Prometheus Radio Project case (see our summary here). Those rules had been put on hold in 2019 by a decision by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals which held that the FCC had... Continue Reading…
On Thursday, April 1, 2021 the Supreme Court unanimously voted to overturn the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia (“Third Circuit”) in the case of Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) v. Prometheus Radio Project, No. 19-1231. The possibility of this result was something we had considered in a previous post, which...… Continue Reading
Turns out, some things are simpler than you think. Few rules in the Code of Federal Regulations have as tortured a history as 47 CFR § 73.3555—the broadcast multiple ownership rules. The subject of court decisions too numerous to count, a brief review of FCC decisions revising (or deciding not to revise) these rules reveals […]
Noncommercial radio stations ignoring their FCC public file obligations should be expecting to enter into consent decrees at license renewal time obligating them to take formal steps to monitor compliance and submit information to the FCC on any issues that arise. In the last few weeks, we have seen at least four such decrees announced... Continue Reading…
Broadcast Deadlines: April 1, 2021 Radio License Renewal Applications Due – Applications for renewal of license for radio stations located in Texas must be filed in Licensing and Management System (LMS). These applications must be accompanied by Schedule 396, the Broadcast Equal Employment Opportunity Program Report (EEO), also filed in LMS, regardless of the number...… Continue Reading