Late Friday, the FCC denied the request of several broadcasters to extend the time to comment on the FCC proceeding looking at the requirement of “good faith” in retransmission consent negotiations, though it did extend the time for reply comments by two weeks. The FCC is reviewing the good faith requirement, to determine if it… Continue Reading
As we reported last Friday (i.e., October 30), the FCC has asked the Office of Management and Budget to approve new Form 177, the form that broadcasters intending to participate in the reverse auction will have to file no later than 6:00 p.m. (ET) on December 18, 2015. Also as we indicated there, the FCC … Continue Reading
But what happened to the First Order on Recon? its break-neck pace with respect to all things Broadcast Incentive Auction, the Commission has published its most recent order on channel sharing in the Federal Register. (We reported on that order when it was first released by the FCC just last week.). As a result of … Continue Reading
November is another of those months with no regular filing obligations – no EEO public file and Mid-Term reports, no noncommercial ownership reports, and no quarterly issues programs lists or children’s television reports. EEO public file reports and noncommercial station ownership reports, being tied to renewal dates, will be back in December. See our Broadcaster’s… Continue Reading
Statutory comment periods fall by the wayside in the headlong rush to get the auction up and running. Just yesterday we reported that the public notice setting out the Incentive Auction procedures had made it into the Federal Register. Readers will recall our observation that, unlike the FCC-issued version of the notice, the Federal Register … Continue Reading
Dueling letters from SESAC and RMLC offer distinct alternatives for radio stations in their dealings with SESAC As we reported several months ago, in July the Radio Music License Committee (RMLC) reached a settlement agreement with SESAC that resolved RMLC’s antitrust lawsuit against SESAC and brought some measure of certainty and stability to the license … Continue Reading
October 2015 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: Time Brokerage Agreement Costs Station and Broker/Buyer $10,000 Telecom Provider Agrees to Pay $620,500 to Resolve Investigation of Cell Tower Registration and Lighting […]
STELAR-mandated changes permit market modifications for satellite carriage; some cable matters tweaked, too The market modification process is about to get, um, modified, and thanks to Congress, it will be more inclusive as a result. In fact, the FCC has already signed off on the changes and some, but not all, of them are set … Continue Reading
The FCC requires each full-power broadcast station, commercial and noncommercial, to maintain a public inspection file. Even though this is a longstanding FCC requirement, there are always questions about what goes into the file, and how long those materials must be retained. The week before last, I conducted a webinar for about 20 state broadcast… Continue Reading