On Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission announced a new rule banning employee non-compete agreements, treating them as harmful and an “unfair method of competition.” This includes non-competes in the broadcast industry, where they serve a vital purpose that was given short shrift by the FTC. Stations spend large sums of…
Pillsbury’s communications lawyers have published the FCC Enforcement Monitor monthly since 1999 to inform our clients of notable FCC enforcement actions against FCC license holders and others. This month’s issue includes: Maine LPTV Licensee Agrees to Pay $2,500 for Closed-Captioning Violation Georgia Broadcaster Loses FM Translator License, Faces Five-Figure Fine…
The next Quarterly Issues/Programs List (“Quarterly List”) must be placed in stations’ Public Inspection Files by April 10, 2024, reflecting information for the months of January, February, and March 2024. Content of the Quarterly List The FCC requires each broadcast station to air a reasonable amount of programming responsive to…
April 1 is the deadline for broadcast stations licensed to communities in Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas to place their Annual EEO Public File Report in their Public Inspection File and post the report on their station website. Under the FCC’s EEO Rule, all radio and television station…
Pillsbury’s communications lawyers have published FCC Enforcement Monitor monthly since 1999 to inform our clients of notable FCC enforcement actions against FCC license holders and others. This month’s issue includes: New Hampshire Presidential Primary Deepfake Robocalls Lead to Enforcement Action Against Call Originator TV Broadcaster Faces $720,000 Fine for Failure…
Yesterday, the FCC released its Fourth Report and Order, Order on Reconsideration, and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in its Review of the Commission’s Broadcast and Cable Equal Employment Opportunity Rules and Policies docket, which was first opened in 1998. The Report and Order portion of the document reinstates…
February 1 is the deadline for broadcast stations licensed to communities in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, and Oklahoma to place their Annual EEO Public File Report in their Public Inspection File and post the report on their station website. Under the FCC’s EEO Rule, all…
Pillsbury’s communications lawyers have published FCC Enforcement Monitor monthly since 1999 to inform our clients of notable FCC enforcement actions against FCC license holders and others. This month’s issue includes: TV Broadcaster Faces $150,000 Fine for Failure to Negotiate Retransmission Consent in Good Faith Sponsorship ID and Political File Violations…
The deadline to file the 2023 Annual Children’s Television Programming Report with the FCC is January 30, 2024, reflecting programming aired during the 2023 calendar year. In addition, commercial stations’ documentation of their compliance with the commercial limits in children’s programming during the 2023 calendar year must be placed in…
If there was any doubt that the late-2023 confirmation of Anna Gomez as the fifth commissioner would bring a flurry of FCC activity in 2024, the FCC has laid those questions to rest. In addition to a $150,000 good faith NAL, $500,000 sponsorship ID consent decree, $26,000 EEO report NAL,…