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November 2009
On December 1, 2009, the FTC’s newly-revised Guides on Endorsements and Testimonials will become effective. Broadcasters, including their on-air talent, need to know when a claim is an endorsement/testimonial, what on-air disclosures may be required, and what their obligations are to ensure that claims are truthful and not misleading. These endorsement/testimonial-related issues can arise in a variety of contexts, including when station personnel voice commercials, prepare copy for advertisers, engage in banter regarding a product or service, serve as a spokesperson for an advertiser, or provide content to their station websites.

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November 2009
In a Public Notice released by the FCC today, the Media Bureau has announced that it has extended to January 11, 2010, the prior December 15, 2009 deadline for commercial radio and television broadcast station licensees to file their Biennial Ownership Reports on revised FCC Form 323.

This announcement comes as a great relief to licensees of commercial broadcast stations given that the electronic version of revised FCC Form 323 is not yet available on the FCC’s CDBS system for uploading of data.

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November 2009
All commercial and noncommercial educational digital television broadcast station licensees and permittees must file FCC Form 317 to report whether their stations provided ancillary or supplemental services at any time during the twelve-month period ending on the preceding September 30. The FCC Form 317 is due by December 1, 2009. Electronic filing of FCC Form 317 is mandatory. Paper versions will not be accepted for filing unless accompanied by an appropriate request for waiver.

Ancillary or supplementary services are all services provided on the portion of a DTV station’s digital spectrum capacity or bitstream that is not necessary to provide the required single free, over-the-air signal to viewers. Thus, any video broadcast signal provided at no direct charge to viewers is exempt. According to the FCC, examples of services that are considered ancillary or supplementary include, but are not limited to, “computer software distribution, data transmissions, teletext, interactive materials, aural messages, paging services, audio signals, subscription video, and the like.”

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11/11/2009
In Satterfield v. Simon & Schuster, Inc., 569 F.3d 946 (9th Cir. 2009), the Ninth Circuit held that unsolicited text messages to mobile phones sent by a retailer may constitute a “call” in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (the “TCPA”). This decision has sparked an increase in consumer class actions filed against retailers who send advertisements to consumers by text message.

The TCPA makes it unlawful “to make any call” using an automatic telephone dialing system (“ATDS”) to, among other things, a mobile telephone or pager. 47 U.S.C. Section 227(b)(1)(A). Congress enacted the TCPA in 1991, before text messaging was available, and intended it to prohibit automated voice calls from telemarketers to mobile phones. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in Satterfield v. Simon & Schuster, Inc., 569 F.3d 946 (9th Cir. 2009), extended this consumer protection to text calls made using ATDSs.

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November 2009
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.

Introduction
December 1, 2009 is the deadline for broadcast stations licensed to communities in the States/Territories referenced above to place their Annual EEO Public File Report in their public inspection files and post the report on their website, if they have one.

Under the FCC’s EEO rule, all radio and television station employment units (“SEUs”), regardless of staff size, must afford equal employment opportunity to all qualified persons and practice nondiscrimination in employment.

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