The FCC yesterday released a Public Notice calling for public comment on the state of the communications marketplace so that it can prepare a report to Congress – a report that is required every even-numbered year. The Notice calls for comments on the state of competition in various sectors of the communications industry – including... Continue Reading…
Broadcast Deadlines: March 9, 2020 All-Digital AM Broadcasting – Comments are due in response to the Federal Communication Commission’s (“FCC” or the “Commission”) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking input on a proposal to allow AM broadcasters to broadcast an all-digital signal using the HD Radio in-band on-channel (IBOC) mode known as MA3. March 30, 2020...… Continue Reading
Pillsbury’s communications lawyers have published FCC Enforcement Monitor monthly since 1999 to inform our clients of notable FCC enforcement actions against FCC license holders and others. This month’s issue includes: Violations of the Live Broadcasting Rule Lead to $50,000 Consent Decree Decision Affirming Dismissal of Mississippi Station’s License Renewal Application Highlights Intricacies of License Renewal […]
As the calendar flips to March, many of us have put our trust in Punxsutawney Phil’s weather forecasting expertise that an early spring is coming. A surer place to put our trust, however, is in the guarantee that there are always some regulatory dates about which broadcasters should be aware. While March is a month... Continue Reading…
In a decision released this week, the FCC reiterated a policy of being very tough on petitions to add communities to television markets to change the stations that are considered to be part of the market for cable and satellite carriage purposes. This strict compliance policy was set out in another case decided last year. ... Continue Reading…
While press coverage is always welcome, and while most trade reporters are thorough and careful in their reporting, occasionally one must address a situation where a reporter has wildly misunderstood what was said. That is the case with the Broadband Breakfast article concerning my remarks during an open webinar put on by the Schools, Health...… Continue Reading
Super Tuesday is less than two weeks away, Michael Bloomberg is spending a king’s ransom on political advertisements, and the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) is actively engaged in investigating stations’ compliance with the political file rules. Now is the time to make sure your station staff understands the FCC’s political file requirements and implements any...… Continue Reading
Global Music Rights, the relatively new performing rights organization that signed a number of composers of popular songs away from ASCAP and BMI in order to seek higher music royalties for the public performance of their works on radio stations and other media platforms (see our articles here and here), lost one round in its... Continue Reading…
In late January, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) released a Consent Decree penalizing Salem Media Group to the tune of $50,000 for “violat[ing] the FCC’s live broadcast rules by broadcasting prerecorded programming as ‘live’ without announcing before the broadcast that the programming was prerecorded.” In addition Salem has agreed to a three-year compliance plan to...… Continue Reading