May 23, 2013 FCC Enforcement Monitor By Scott R. Flick and Paul A. Cicelski May 2013 Pillsbury's communications lawyers have published...
May 10, 2013 FCC Grants Extension of Indecency Comment Deadlines By Paul A. Cicelski A few minutes ago, the FCC issued a Public Notice granting...
April 30, 2013 FCC Enforcement Monitor By Scott R. Flick and Paul A. Cicelski April 2013 Pillsbury's communications lawyers have...
April 29, 2013 FCC Modernizes Its Experimental Licensing Rules By Tony Lin The FCC's revised rules for its Experimental Radio Services ("ERS") were published...
April 16, 2013 Free TV Doesn't Mean Free Lunch By John Hane Recently, TVNewsCheck.com ran a short item noting that a large broadcast group...
April 14, 2013 FCC Issues Lessons Learned From First Ever Nationwide EAS Test By Paul A. Cicelski As our readers are aware, we did a great deal of...
Posted December 21, 2007
By Cydney A. Tune and Marley Degner
12/21/2007
On December 18, members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to require terrestrial or conventional radio stations to compensate performing artists and their record labels when they broadcast their work.
Posted December 21, 2007
By Richard R. Zaragoza and Christine A. Reilly
December 2007
Beginning January 1, 2008, the percentage of "Pre-Rule Programming" per channel each quarter that must be captioned increases from 30% to 75%.
Continue reading "Increased Closed Captioning Requirements Beginning January 1, 2008"
Posted December 19, 2007
By Scott R. Flick and Paul A. Cicelski
December 2007
At an open meeting on December 18, 2007, the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") adopted a Report on the results of its "Localism Proceeding" along with a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ("NPRM") seeking comments on the tentative findings included in the Report. The findings are based on a series of public hearings that took place around the country and on the public comments filed with the FCC in response to its Localism Notice of Inquiry released on July 1, 2004 (MB Docket 04-233). The texts of the Report and NPRM have not yet been released.
Posted December 18, 2007
By Lauren Lynch Flick and Paul A. Cicelski
December 2007
Content of the Quarterly List
The next Quarterly Issues/Programs List ("Quarterly List") must be placed in stations' local public inspection files by January 10, 2008, reflecting information for the months of October, November, and December. The FCC's recent action adopting a new program report form, which is intended to replace the Quarterly Issues/Programs Lists, will not have any effect on this fourth quarter public file requirement.
Continue reading "2007 Fourth Quarter Issues/Programs List Advisory for Broadcast Stations"
Posted December 15, 2007
By Lauren Lynch Flick, Paul A. Cicelski and Christine A. Reilly
December 2007
The next Children's Television Programming Report must be filed with the FCC and placed in stations' local Public Inspection Files by January 10, 2008, reflecting programming aired during the months of October, November, and December.
Continue reading "2007 Fourth Quarter Children's Television Programming Documentation Advisory"
Posted November 28, 2007
By Richard R. Zaragoza and Christine A. Reilly
November 2007
Television stations will now be required to file a new quarterly programming report and post their public inspection files online.
Posted November 15, 2007
By Scott R. Flick and Emily J. H. Daniels
November 2007
Topics include:
Posted November 15, 2007
By Richard R. Zaragoza and Clifford M. Harrington
November 2007
This Advisory provides a review of the FCC's political broadcasting regulations.
Posted November 14, 2007
By Lauren Lynch Flick , Paul A. Cicelski and Christine A. Reilly
November 2007
Annual DTV Ancillary/Supplementary Services Report for Commercial Digital Television Stations
Each commercial and noncommercial educational television broadcast station that has received its digital television license must file FCC Form 317 to report whether its station provided ancillary or supplemental services at any time during the twelve-month period ending on the preceding September 30. Only licensed DTV stations must file. Those operating pursuant to Special Temporary Authority or Program Test Authority need not file. The FCC Form 317 is due by December 1, 2007. Electronic filing of FCC Form 317 is mandatory. Paper versions will not be accepted for filing after October 31, 2006 unless accompanied by an appropriate request for waiver.
Posted November 11, 2007
By Richard R. Zaragoza , Lauren Lynch Flick and Christine A. Reilly
November 2007
This Broadcast Station EEO Advisory is directed to radio and television stations licensed to communities in: Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Vermont, and highlights the upcoming deadlines for compliance with the FCC's EEO rule.
Posted November 5, 2007
By Richard R. Zaragoza , Clifford M. Harrington and Christine A. Reilly
November 2007
Commercial and noncommercial Radio stations licensed to communities in Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont must file their Biennial Ownership Reports with the FCC by December 1, 2007. Reports for commercial and noncommercial Television stations licensed to communities in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota must also file their Biennial Ownership Reports by the same deadline.
Posted October 10, 2007
By Scott R. Flick and Emily J. H. Daniels
October 2007
Topics include:
Posted September 15, 2007
By Lauren Lynch Flick, Paul A. Cicelski and Kathryn R. Schmeltzer
September 2007
The next Children's Television Programming Report must be filed with the FCC and placed in stations' local Public Inspection Files by October 10, 2007, reflecting programming aired during the months of July, August, and September.
Continue reading "2007 Third Quarter Children's Television Programming Documentation Advisory"
Posted September 12, 2007
By Scott R. Flick, John K. Hane and Paul A. Cicelski
September 2007
At a late-night meeting on September 11, 2007, the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") adopted a "viewability" rule that will govern cable carriage of must-carry stations after analog broadcasting terminates in 2009. The rule requires cable operators to deliver the primary digital stream of a must-carry television station in a manner that will permit it to be viewed by all cable subscribers after the transition to digital television occurs on February 17, 2009. Specifically, cable operators will be required to carry the primary digital stream of a must-carry station, and will be required to either provide the digital signal in analog format as well, or carry the signal only in digital format, but ensure that all subscribers have the necessary equipment toview the broadcast content on their particular television.
Posted September 10, 2007
By Scott R. Flick and Emily J. H. Daniels
September 2007
Topics include:
Posted September 10, 2007
By Richard R. Zaragoza, Lauren Lynch Flick and Paul A. Cicelski
September 2007
This Broadcast Station EEO Advisory is directed to radio and television stations licensed to communities in: Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Missouri, Oregon, Washington, as well as American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and highlights the upcoming deadlines for compliance with the FCC's EEO rule.
Posted September 9, 2007
By Lauren Lynch Flick, Paul A. Cicelskiand Kathryn R. Schmeltzer
September 2007
Content of the Quarterly List
The next Quarterly Issues/Programs List ("Quarterly List") must be placed in stations' local Public Inspection Files by October 10, 2007, reflecting information for the months of July, August, and September.
Continue reading "2007 Third Quarter Issues/Programs List Advisory for Broadcast Stations"
Posted September 9, 2007
By Lauren Lynch Flick, Paul A. Cicelski and Kathryn R. Schmeltzer
September 2007
The next Children's Television Programming Report must be filed with the FCC and placed in stations' local Public Inspection Files by October 10, 2007, reflecting programming aired during the months of July, August, and September.
Continue reading "2007 Third Quarter Children's Television Programming Documentation Advisory"
Posted September 5, 2007
By Richard R. Zaragoza and Kathryn R. Schmeltzer
September 2007
Radio stations licensed to communities in Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Florida, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico must file their Biennial Ownership Reports with the FCC by October 1, 2007. Reports for Television stations licensed to communities in Iowa and Missouri must also file their Biennial Ownership Reports by the same date.
Posted August 28, 2007
8/28/2007
On Tuesday, August 21, SoundExchange--the organization representing copyright owners in connection with statutory licenses for broadcasting music on the Internet--began sending formal offers of discounted royalty rates through the year 2010 to qualified small webcasters. These are generally those webcasters earning $1.25 million or less in gross revenues.
Posted August 28, 2007
By Richard R. Zaragoza and Christine A. Reilly
Obligation to Provide Emergency Information to Persons with Hearing Disabilities
August 2007
Mindful of Hurricane Dean, and with three months left in this year's hurricane season, it is imperative that television station broadcasters ensure they have adequate policies in place and reliable procedures tested to insure that persons with hearing disabilities have timely access to the emergency information that such stations have provided aurally in their programming.
Continue reading "Emergency Broadcasting Readiness in the Midst of Hurricane Season"
Posted June 16, 2007
By Scott R. Flick and Emily J. Helser
June 2007
Topics include:
Posted April 13, 2007
By Richard R. Zaragoza , Clifford M. Harrington, and Veronica M. Tippett
4/13/2007
The FCC today released four Orders adopting Consent Decrees with CBS Radio, Citadel Broadcasting Corporation ("Citadel"), Clear Channel Communications, Inc. ("Clear Channel"), and Entercom Communications Corp. ("Entercom"). Pursuant to the Consent Decrees, the broadcasters agreed to pay a combined $12.5 million to close investigations into possible violations of the FCC's sponsorship identification rules. Specifically, the Consent Decrees resolved allegations that the broadcasters may have accepted cash or other consideration from record labels in exchange for airplay of artists from those labels without disclosing those arrangements, a practice commonly referred to as "payola."
Continue reading "Broadcasters Pay $12.5 Million to Settle Payola Allegations"
