Trying to stay on top of regulatory developments for broadcasters is difficult even in normal times. There are always day-to-day obligations that distract from a focus on legal and regulatory questions – and there are so many developments almost every week that we can’t always write about everything that may have occurred. So we thought... Continue Reading…
The Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC” or the “Commission”) recent rejection of a petition submitted by Free Press to demand FCC action with regard to broadcasters’ coverage of governmental statements about the COVID-19 epidemic has received a great deal of coverage. What may have escaped attention, however, is that, aside from some sharp wording, the decision...… Continue Reading
The FCC issued public notices this week on the license renewal process for both radio and television operators. The Public Notice on television renewals was perhaps more significant, as it addressed several issues and procedures for the television renewal process which begins with the filing of renewals for stations located in Maryland, DC, Virginia and... Continue Reading…
The FCC issued public notices this week on the license renewal process for both radio and television operators. The Public Notice on television renewals was perhaps more significant, as it addressed several issues and procedures for the television renewal process which begins with the filing of renewals for stations located in Maryland, DC, Virginia and... Continue Reading…
The FCC this week issued an Order reconsidering some of the issues addressed in its October 2019 orders (which we summarized here) interpreting its political advertising rules. Those October interpretations required that broadcasters who run ads addressing federal issues must include in the political file, maintained as part of their online public file, information about... Continue Reading…
Recently, FCC staff dismissed a request by the organization Free Press asking the FCC to investigate the broadcast of the President’s press conferences on the coronavirus and programs where commentators supported the President’s pronouncements. In addition to an investigation, the request asked that the FCC require that broadcasters “prominently disclose when information they air is... Continue Reading…
On Friday, the FCC (with the Department of Justice) and a group of interested media industry companies filed requests asking that the Supreme Court review the decision of the Third Circuit overturning the FCC’s 2017 decision on its ownership rules (the FCC petition for a writ of certiorari is available here). The FCC’s 2017 decision... Continue Reading…
The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has invited comments on it’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) on whether it should update its rules that determine whether a television broadcast station is “significantly viewed” in communities outside of its Designated Market area (“DMA”) for purposes of carriage on Multichannel Video Program Distribution (“MVPD”) systems, both cable and...… Continue Reading
This week, the FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Significant Viewing was published in the Federal Register, setting a comment deadline of May 14, with reply comments due by June 15. The NPRM asks for comments as to whether the FCC should update its rules for establishing whether or not a TV station is “significantly... Continue Reading…