Publicly, the Commission appears determined to proceed full speed ahead, but a couple of FCC pleadings to the D.C. Circuit suggest otherwise. Pretty much since the FCC set out on its headlong race to design and implement the upcoming Incentive Auction, one of the Prime Directives appears to have been to get the thing done … Continue Reading
Broadcasters, like other federally regulated industries, continue to be leery about advertising for marijuana, even in states where cannabis dispensaries have been legalized for medical or even recreational use. This week, the NY Times ran an article about companies trying to provide ways for dispensaries to use electronic payment systems, as federally regulated banks… Continue Reading
FCC seeks comments on Part 15 wideband waiver request. By now we all know the drill. Shoes off. Or not. Separate oneself from luggage, coats, electronics, various other items. Stand in line. And when the TSA calls you forward, step into the body scanner, feet on the footprints, arms in the air. We do this … Continue Reading
It’s not necessarily as easy as you might expect. couple of weeks ago we reported that the effective date for revised Section 73.1560 and the new Form 338– had been announced in the Federal Register. (Short term memory problems? That date is March 3, 2016.) The FCC has now reconfirmed the date in a public … Continue Reading
FEMA-organized test to include 22 states, two territories and D.C. Here’s a big CommLawBlog HEADS UP for those of you broadcasting in any of these 25 (count ‘em, 25!) jurisdictions: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, … Continue Reading
According to Politico, Ted Cruz’ campaign has demanded that TV stations pull certain PAC ads which he claims distort his voting record on immigration issues. This kind of claim from a political candidate about the unfairness of attack ads is common. Here, Cruz’ representatives apparently don’t threaten lawsuits against the stations for running the ads,… Continue Reading
But legislation currently in the works could improve prospects considerably. It seems like everybody’s been talking about drones and the myriad ways that they will make our lives better. Even we here in the CommLawBlog bunker have devoted considerable attention to the topic (although we’re trying to get our readers used to the proper terminology: … Continue Reading
The text of the Copyright Royalty Board decision on Internet Radio Royalties for 2026-2020 was released last Friday. While it is 203 pages long, the basis for the decision is relatively simple. As required by the Copyright Act, the Copyright Royalty Judges looked at all of the evidence presented to determine what rate a willing… Continue Reading
The FCC’s new Licensee-Conducted Contest Rule became effective this past Friday. Under the new rule, a broadcast licensee conducting a contest still has the obligation to disclose the material terms of the contest “fully and accurately” and to conduct the contest substantially as announced. However, as we wrote last September, the new rule allows broadcasters to […]