Broadcast Law Blog

Blog Authors

Latest from Broadcast Law Blog

Two FCC Fines for Contests Where Prizes Not Awarded on a Timely Basis – What Broadcasters Should Watch Out for in Conducting Contests

July 10, 2020

The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau this week issued two fines, one for $6000 and another for $5200 for violations of its contest rules, as the contests were not conducted as advertised. In each of these cases, a prize winner was not awarded a prize in a timely manner. In both cases, the prizes were not provided to winners even after the winners inquired, and, for one reason or another, the stations did not immediately respond to…

Broadcast Law Blog

FCC Gives Notice of C-Band Earth Stations Eligible for Reimbursement Before Repurposing Part of that Spectrum – Broadcasters Need to Review and File Corrections By July 16

By David Oxenford

July 9, 2020

The FCC’s International Bureau released a preliminary list of C-Band earth stations (those that operate in the 3.7-4.2 GHz band) in the contiguous U.S. that the Bureau has reviewed and said appear to qualify as “incumbent earth stations” which will be eligible for reimbursement for reasonable costs of changes to their facilities caused by the upcoming repacking of the C-Band. The C-Band will be partially reallocated for use by wireless carriers, requiring changes in many…

Broadcast Law Blog

Copyright Office Extends Until April Date by Which Decision on SoundExchange Royalties for 2021-2025 Must be Released

By David Oxenford

July 8, 2020

A decision was expected in December on the royalties to be paid by broadcasters and other digital media companies who stream their non-interactive audio programming on the Internet. As we wrote at the beginning of the pandemic, the Copyright Royalty Board, which hears the arguments about the royalties to be paid to SoundExchange in a trial-type administrative hearing, had to postpone the hearing that was initially slated to begin in March. That hearing will now…

Broadcast Law Blog

$15,000 FCC Fine Proposed for Underwriting Announcements that Were Too Commercial

By David Oxenford

July 6, 2020

When do noncommercial stations stray from permissible acknowledgment of those local businesses that provide funding for its operations to impermissible commercials? That question was addressed in a Notice of Apparent Liability issued by the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau on Thursday, proposing a $15,000 fine for a low power FM station whose underwriting announcements were deemed too commercial. The decision, which includes examples of the announcements deemed problematic, is must-reading for all noncommercial licensees who want to…

Broadcast Law Blog

This Week at the FCC for Broadcasters – June 27, 2020 to July 3, 2020

By David Oxenford

July 4, 2020

Here are some of the FCC 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’s Enforcement Bureau entered into negotiated settlements with two Boston-area pirate radio operators who admitted to illegal operations and agreed to pay civil fines, to dispose of their broadcast equipment and to not commit—or help anyone else commit—acts of…

Broadcast Law Blog

Goodbye to the Portals – FCC to Continue to Telework at Least Until August 27 When Move to New Office Is Complete

By David Oxenford

June 30, 2020

Multiple press reports yesterday said that the FCC has circulated a memo to its employees announcing that the FCC will not be resuming in-person operations at least until August 27 – and if work resumes then, it will be from the FCC’s new headquarters building. The FCC has been planning for several years a move from its current headquarters at “the Portals,” where it has resided for over 20 years. According to press reports, employees…

Broadcast Law Blog

July Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters: End of the TV Repacking, Quarterly Issues/Programs Lists, Children’s Television Reporting, EEO, Carriage Election Public File Information Deadline, LPTV Settlement Window, Rulemaking Comments and More

By David Oxenford & Adam Sandler

June 29, 2020

July is usually a month of family vacations and patriotic celebrations. While the pandemic has seen to it that those activities, if they happen at all, will look different than they have in years past, there are plenty of regulatory obligations to fill a broadcaster’s long, summer days. Here are a few of the dates and deadlines to watch for in July, and a quick reminder of some of the significant filings due right at…

Broadcast Law Blog

This Week at the FCC for Broadcasters: June 20, 2020 to June 26, 2020

By David Oxenford & Adam Sandler

June 27, 2020

Here are some of the 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: FEMA announced that it has canceled the 2020 test of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), which is the technical infrastructure that delivers EAS messages to radio and TV stations. FEMA noted the “unusual circumstances and working conditions”…

Broadcast Law Blog

Court Reconsiders Decision About Website Getting License to Embedded Photo from Instagram Terms of Use

By David Oxenford

June 26, 2020

We recently wrote about a case where a Judge in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York found that the website Mashable had a license to use a photo accessible from its site that was actually an embedded photo coming from the servers of Instagram. In that decision, the Court found that, under Instagram’s Terms of Use, the photographer, by posting photos on Instagram, gave it the right to sublicense the…

Broadcast Law Blog

FCC Seeking Comment on the Origination of Programming by FM Translators

By David Oxenford

June 24, 2020

Should broadcasters be able to originate programming on FM translators? Playing off the proposal to allow limited amounts of programming on FM boosters – basically the insertion of local ads, news, or emergency alerts – in the zonecasting proposal on which the FCC took comments earlier this year (see our summary here), a group of broadcasters has taken the proposal one step further, and asked if translators (including those FM translators rebroadcasting AM stations)…

Broadcast Law Blog

Blog Authors

Two FCC Fines for Contests Where Prizes Not Awarded on a Timely Basis – What Broadcasters Should Watch Out for in Conducting Contests

FCC Gives Notice of C-Band Earth Stations Eligible for Reimbursement Before Repurposing Part of that Spectrum – Broadcasters Need to Review and File Corrections By July 16

Copyright Office Extends Until April Date by Which Decision on SoundExchange Royalties for 2021-2025 Must be Released

$15,000 FCC Fine Proposed for Underwriting Announcements that Were Too Commercial

This Week at the FCC for Broadcasters – June 27, 2020 to July 3, 2020

Goodbye to the Portals – FCC to Continue to Telework at Least Until August 27 When Move to New Office Is Complete

July Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters: End of the TV Repacking, Quarterly Issues/Programs Lists, Children’s Television Reporting, EEO, Carriage Election Public File Information Deadline, LPTV Settlement Window, Rulemaking Comments and More

This Week at the FCC for Broadcasters: June 20, 2020 to June 26, 2020

Court Reconsiders Decision About Website Getting License to Embedded Photo from Instagram Terms of Use

FCC Seeking Comment on the Origination of Programming by FM Translators

Stay Connected

Company

Support

New to the Network