The press has been abuzz in recent months regarding the launch of various Internet-based video services and the FCC’s decision to revisit its current definition of Multichannel Video Programming Distributors (MVPDs). In December, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), seeking to “modernize” its rules to redefine what…
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Client Alert: FCC Sets September 20, 2013 Deadline for Payment of 2013 Annual Regulatory Fees
Full payment of annual regulatory fees for Fiscal Year 2013 (FY 2013) must be received no later than 11:59 PM Eastern Time on September 20, 2013. As of today, the Commission’s automated filing and payment system, the Fee Filer System, is available for filing and payment of FY 2013 regulatory…
FCC Adopts Proposed FY 2013 Regulatory Fees
The FCC has released a Report and Order which includes its final determinations as to how much each FCC licensee will have to pay in Annual Regulatory Fees for fiscal year 2013 (FY 2013), and in some cases how the FCC will calculate Annual Regulatory Fees beginning in FY 2014.…
Comments Due Soon on FCC’s Proposed 2013 Regulatory Fees
Last month, the FCC issued its latest annual Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) as well as a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) containing regulatory fee proposals for Fiscal Year (FY) 2013. Those who wish to file comments on the FCC’s proposed fees must do so by June 19, 2013,…
FCC Proposes Wholesale Examination of Satellite and Earth Station Licensing and Operating Rules
The FCC has initiated a rulemaking proceeding seeking comments on a comprehensive review of its satellite and earth station licensing and operating rules. The nearly 100-page Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) is the FCC’s first broad reexamination of its Part 25 rules in over fifteen years. Among other items, the…
Client Alert: FCC Sets September 14, 2011 as the Deadline for Payment of FY 2011 Annual Regulatory Fees
8/15/2011 The FCC has announced that full payment of all applicable Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2011 must be received no later than September 14, 2011. As of this date, the FCC has not released a Public Notice officially announcing the deadline for payment of FY 2011 annual regulatory fees.…
November 9, 2011 Announced as First National EAS Test Date
As I wrote back in February, the federal government has decided to conduct the first-ever national test of the Emergency Alert System. Today, FEMA and the FCC announced that the test will occur on November 9, 2011, at 2pm Eastern Standard Time. On that date, the public will hear a…
A Look Ahead at 2011 Reveals an Interesting Year for Retrans, Renewals, and Indecency
Earlier this month we posted our 2011 Broadcasters Calendar on CommLawCenter as well as on our Pillsbury web page. We have been annually publishing the Broadcasters Calendar, which contains much information regarding broadcast station deadlines and legal requirements, for as long as I can recall. It has always been one…
Retrans Watchers Focused on FCC In-State Broadcast Programming Report to Congress
As we discussed in a previous post and separate Client Advisory, the FCC released a Public Notice to implement a provision of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (STELA) that requires the FCC to submit a report on in-state broadcast programming to Congress by August 11, 2011. The Public…
Retransmission Concerns Make FCC’s STELA Implementation a Mixed Bag for Broadcasters and Satellite Providers
Yesterday, a day in advance of the November 24th statutory deadline to adopt rules implementing the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act, the FCC released a flurry of STELA-related orders. STELA governs the satellite carriage of broadcast stations, and in particular, the importation of distant network stations, in local markets.…