Earlier this week, we highlighted a letter sent last week from Congresswoman Anna Eshoo asking the FCC to review CALM Act compliance. The letter noted that the FCC has received thousands of complaints about loud commercials in the decade that the law has been in effect without having taken any enforcement action. The FCC wasted... Continue Reading…
As we highlighted yesterday in our weekly summary of regulatory issues for broadcasters, last week saw a letter from Congresswoman Anna Eshoo to the FCC asking for the FCC to review the enforcement of the rules established by the CALM Act, which prohibits loud commercials on TV stations. The letter cites news reports of thousands... 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. According to press reports, broadcasters should pencil in August 11, 2021 on their calendars for the next national test of... Continue Reading…
Back in January, we reminded broadcasters that state and local elections, even those held in “off-years” like 2021, still fall within the FCC’s political broadcasting rules. Virtually all FCC rules, with the exception of reasonable access, apply to candidates for the local school board or town council just as they do for candidates for President... Continue Reading…
The broadcast trade press is full today with the news that NAB CEO Gordon Smith will be stepping back from that position at the end of the year, to be replaced by current COO (and former head of Government Relations) Curtis LeGeyt. As many will remember, Smith took over the organization over a decade ago... Continue Reading…
The broadcast trade press is full today with the news that NAB CEO Gordon Smith will be stepping back from that position at the end of the year, to be replaced by current COO (and former head of Government Relations) Curtis LeGeyt. As many will remember, Smith took over the organization over a decade ago... Continue Reading…
Last week, the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau issued an Advisory reminding broadcasters about their obligation to provide sponsorship identification information to their audiences whenever they receive something of value in exchange for airing any programming. The Enforcement Bureau’s advisory was quite concise, basically just reminding broadcasters of their sponsorship identification obligations. But the FCC also highlighted... Continue Reading…
Yesterday, I wrote about the history of the NCAA’s assembling of the rights to an array of trademarks associated with this month’s basketball tournament. Today, I will provide some examples of the activities that can bring unwanted NCAA attention to your operations. Activities that May Result in a Demand Letter from the NCAA The NCAA... Continue Reading…
Part 1 of my 2020 annual update on the use of trademarks associated with the NCAA Basketball Tournament was published on the same day that the NCAA announced it was cancelling the tournament due to the pandemic. Fortunately for all concerned (the players, fans, the NCAA and the broadcasters), it appears that the tournament will... Continue Reading…