Advertising Issues

Sponsorship of Political Advertising On-Air and On-Line – A Video Presentation and a Congressional Research Service Study

By David Oxenford|2020-09-17T22:28:30-05:00September 17th, 2020|Legal News|

Now that we are immersed in the heart of the political broadcasting season, issues of sponsorship identification regularly arise. For on-air broadcasts, any paid advertisement that conveys a message dealing with any controversial issue of public importance (state or federal) requires at a minimum an on-air sponsorship identification stating that the ad was “paid for”... Continue Reading…

Lowest Unit Rate Window for the November Election Opens on September 4 – Thoughts on Computing Your Lowest Unit Charges to Political Candidates

By David Oxenford|2020-08-17T10:59:20-05:00August 17th, 2020|Legal News|

With the lowest unit charge window for the November elections going into effect on September 4, just two and a half weeks from now, we thought that it was a good idea to review the basic FCC rules and policies affecting those charges. In this election, with the Presidency and control in both houses of Congress... Continue Reading…

Identifying the Legal Issues in Using Digital and Social Media – A Video Webinar

By David Oxenford|2020-08-05T10:41:36-05:00August 5th, 2020|Legal News|

Almost every broadcaster and other media company uses digital and social media to reach their audiences with content and information that can be presented in ways different than those provided by their traditional platforms. Whether it is simply maintaining a website or streaming audio or video or maintaining a social media presence to reach and... Continue Reading…

August 2020 Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters: TV and Radio License Renewals, EEO Reporting, FCC Open Meeting, Broadcast Internet Comments and More

By David Oxenford and Adam Sandler|2020-07-27T10:31:01-05:00July 27th, 2020|Legal News|

While was are approaching the end of summer in this most unusual year, the regulatory dates keep coming, though perhaps a bit slower than at other times of the year. One of the big dates that broadcasters should be looking for is the announcement of the Annual Regulatory Fees that will likely be paid sometime... Continue Reading…

FCC Enters Consent Decrees with Six Big Radio Groups – Looking at What the FCC’s Political File Rules Require

By David Oxenford|2020-07-24T11:09:15-05:00July 24th, 2020|Legal News|

The FCC this week announced consent decrees with six large radio groups over problems with the political files maintained by these groups. The consent decrees included very specific compliance plans for each company to ensure that it met all FCC political file obligations in the future. And it suggested that the penalties were mitigated by... Continue Reading…

This Week at the FCC for Broadcasters: June 13, 2020 to June 19, 2020

By David Oxenford|2020-06-20T22:07:45-05:00June 20th, 2020|Legal News|

Here are some of the legal and regulatory actions of the last week of significance to broadcasters, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations. The FCC released a Second Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration regarding Next Gen TV (ATSC 3.0).... Continue Reading…

No Wholesale Pricing Disclosures to be Required in Drug Advertising – Appeals Court Upholds Lower Court Rejection of HHS Requirement

By David Oxenford|2020-06-18T10:57:36-05:00June 18th, 2020|Legal News|

It appears that there will be no requirement imposed on television and cable ads to include disclosures revealing the wholesale prices of prescription drugs in any advertising for those drugs. We wrote about the decision from the US Department of Health and Human Service to impose such a requirement on television ads here, and we... Continue Reading…

Facebook Defends Not Censoring Political Ads – Looking at the Differences In Regulation of Political Speech on Different Communications Platforms

By David Oxenford|2020-06-12T11:25:18-05:00June 12th, 2020|Legal News|

The question about what to do with the protections offered by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act took another turn this week, when Joe Biden suggested that online platforms needed to take responsibility for the content posted on them and correct misinformation in those ads. That position is seemingly the opposite of the President’s... Continue Reading…

Reminder: PSAs Featuring Candidates Can Give Rise to Equal Time and Public File Obligations

By David Oxenford|2020-05-26T10:46:00-05:00May 26th, 2020|Legal News|

In recent weeks, with so many government officials looking to get messages out about the coronavirus pandemic, we have received many questions about issues that arise when political candidates appear on public service-type announcements – either free PSAs provided by the station or paid spots purchased by some governmental entity. While such announcements can be... Continue Reading…