October 1, 2020 is the deadline for TV stations to (1) upload to their online Public Inspection Files their must-carry/retransmission consent carriage election statements for the three-year cycle covering January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2023, and (2) notify MVPDs of any changes to their election status. As we previewed…
As we noted in last week’s post, television stations eligible to file 2018 distant signal copyright royalty claims with the United States Copyright Royalty Board must do so by July 31, 2019. While that due date still seems far away (especially to those accustomed to the FCC’s real-time electronic filing…
In a Public Notice released this afternoon, the FCC waived certain quarterly Transition Progress Report requirements for stations in Phases 3, 5, and 8 of the post-auction repack process. As subscribers to Pillsbury’s legal advisories are aware, stations that were assigned a new channel as part of the post-Incentive Auction…
Late today, the FCC released a Public Notice further extending the deadlines for filings that it extended yesterday, which it had already extended by a Public Notice released before the FCC shutdown on January 3 (did you follow that?). Skipping over those intermediate steps, the final result now boils down to this…
With the partial government shutdown mercifully at an end (for now), broadcasters must hurry to update their Online Public Inspection File and make up for a month’s worth of missed filings. As we wrote earlier this month, filing deadlines that landed during the shutdown were extended (with a few exceptions)…
For nearly 80 years, the FCC’s Rules have required broadcasters to file paper copies of various types of documents relating to the control and operation of their stations. Section 73.3613 of the FCC’s Rules requires broadcasters to file with the FCC certain contracts and instruments relating to network affiliations, present…
CommLawCenter readers may recall that the FCC adopted a rule in 2013 requiring broadcasters to present aurally on a secondary audio stream (“SAS”) all emergency information provided visually during programming other than during regularly-scheduled newscasts and newscasts that interrupt regular programming. This “Audible Crawl Rule” went into effect on May…
As those that receive our Pillsbury Client Advisories know (you can sign up for those here), April 10th was the deadline for placing various quarterly reports in your station’s public inspection file. With many radio stations having shifted to an online public file on March 1st, this was the first…
Today the FCC publicly released a Report and Order eliminating TV stations’ annual obligation to report whether they have provided feeable ancillary or supplementary services on their spectrum during the past year unless they have actually provided such services. The order was originally slated for discussion and a vote at…
As someone who has been deeply involved in planning for the rollout of ATSC 3.0, I get a lot of questions about the next generation broadcasting standard. By far the two most common questions are “When will the transition start?” and “When will it end?” My answers—which often lead to…