In the 45 days before a political primary and the 60 days before a general election, ads by political candidates (federal, state, or local) airing on a broadcast station or inserted by a local cable system into the programming it transmits to the public are entitled to “lowest unit rates” (LUR). That means that candidates... Continue Reading…
November lacks the usual set of deadlines for routine FCC filings, but there are nevertheless a number of regulatory dates that warrant attention. And come the first of December, those regular filing deadlines return to the calendar. November brings comment deadlines in at least two FCC proceedings relevant to broadcasters. On November 7, reply comments... Continue Reading…
With regulatory fees due today, September 30, 2022 (extended from September 28 because of the effects of Hurricane Ian and some other technical issues with fee payment by this FCC Public Notice, with the date for waiver requests similarly extended by this Public Notice), it is time to look ahead to October and some of... Continue Reading…
The lazy days of summer continue to provide little respite from the regulatory actions of importance to broadcasters. The good news is that there are no license renewal or EEO deadlines during the month of July. Nonetheless, there will be a number of July deadlines that require attention. On July 1, comments are due on... Continue Reading…
With the traditional beginning of summer upon us, there is no vacation from the regulatory actions of importance to broadcasters. Let’s start with the routine actions for the upcoming month. With the radio license renewal cycle having ended with the filing of the last set of renewal applications in April, we enter the last year... Continue Reading…
May is one of the few months on the calendar where there are not routine FCC regulatory deadlines. Yet there are still a number of important dates and deadlines this month (and early next) that broadcasters should note. Some of those dates and deadlines are below. On March 17, the migration of applications and forms... Continue Reading…
The deadline for 2022 candidates in Texas to file for a place on the March 1 primary ballot was this past Monday. Deadlines in other states will follow during the first part of 2022. As a result, broadcast stations and cable companies in Texas are already dealing with legally qualified candidates, and the FCC political... Continue Reading…
After this year’s contentious elections, it is with reluctance that we even broach the subject – but broadcasters and cable companies need to be aware that in many jurisdictions there are elections this November. While most broadcast stations don’t think about the FCC’s political broadcasting rules in odd numbered years, they should – particularly in... Continue Reading…
Earlier this week, we wrote that the FCC issued a public notice stating that Lowest Unit Charges (or lowest unit rates as they are often called) do not apply to post-election political ads (e.g. ads that urge ballots to be counted in any particular manner). One important caveat to that advice is that LUC does... Continue Reading…