February 2009 Pursuant to the FCC’s February 5th Public Notice, “Procedures Regarding Termination of Analog Television Service On or After February 17, 2009,” any station wishing to early terminate analog operation was required to notify the FCC no later than February 9th. On February 10, the FCC released a list…

February 2009 Pursuant to the FCC’s February 5th Public Notice, “Procedures Regarding Termination of Analog Television Service On or After February 17, 2009,” any station wishing to “early” terminate analog operation was required to notify the FCC no later than February 9th of their intent to do so. On February…

2/6/2009 Members of our Communications Group sought and received clarification from the FCC staff regarding ambiguities in the FCC’s February 5th Public Notice on Procedures Regarding Termination of Analog Television Service On or After February 17, 2009. A PDF version of this entire article can be found at Supplement to…

On Wednesday, February 4th, Pillsbury’s Communications practice participated in a Webinar session entitled “Retrans Agreements: What the Other Side Knows…That You May Not.” Retransmission agreements are growing more complex and retransmission fees are becoming a bigger share of broadcast revenue. As business approaches and technology evolve, broadcasters are packing more…

2/5/2009 Stations seeking to end analog operations on or before February 17, 2009 must file a NEW notice with the FCC not later than Monday, February 9, and air certain required viewer notifications. A PDF version of this entire article can be found at FCC Issues Procedures Relating to Delay…

A Q&A with Pillsbury’s Lauren Lynch Flick 1/27/2009 Consumer advocates want to push back the February 17, 2009 jump to digital broadcasting, but an extension may do more to simply postpone feared disruptions than prevent them. Next to the Internet, perhaps no consumer technology platform is evolving faster than television.…

1/26/2009 Legislation has been introduced in the United States Senate which, if enacted, would delay the current February 17, 2009 DTV transition deadline for a period of four months, or until June 12, 2009. A delay in the transition date will inevitably cause uncertainty and raise many questions, such as…

January 2009 In late December 2008, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) released a series of six Notices of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture against broadcasters asserting violations of the FCC’s Equal Employment Opportunity rule (“EEO rule”). In a joint statement appended to each of the six cases, FCC Commissioners Michael J.…

January 2009 The following deadlines are based on information known by us as of the date hereof, may or may not apply to a particular broadcaster, are for general informational purposes only, and should be double-checked for currency close to each pertinent date/deadline. Actions by the FCC, Congress, or the…

January 2009 Commercial and noncommercial Radio stations licensed to communities in Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma must file their Biennial Ownership Reports with the FCC by February 1, 2009. Commercial and noncommercial Television stations licensed to communities in the States of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey and New York must also…