3/18/2011 Full power commercial and noncommercial radio stations and LPFM stations licensed to communities in the states listed above must begin airing pre-filing license renewal announcements on April 1, 2011. License renewal applications for these stations, and for in-state FM Translator stations, are due by June 1, 2011. Pre-filing License…
2011 First Quarter Children’s Television Programming Documentation Advisory
The next Children’s Television Programming Report must be filed with the FCC and placed in stations’ local Public Inspection Files by April 10, 2011, reflecting programming aired during the months of January, February and March, 2011. Statutory and Regulatory Requirements As a result of the Children’s Television Act of 1990…
2011 First Quarter Issues/Programs List Advisory for Broadcast Stations
The next Quarterly Issues/Programs List (“Quarterly List”) must be placed in stations’ local public inspection files by April 10, 2011, reflecting information for the months of January, February and March, 2011. Content of the Quarterly List The FCC requires each broadcast station to air a reasonable amount of programming responsive…
Broadcast Station EEO Advisory
This Broadcast Station EEO Advisory is directed to radio and television stations licensed to communities in: Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas, and highlights the upcoming deadlines for compliance with the FCC’s EEO Rule. Introduction April 1, 2011 is the deadline for broadcast stations licensed to communities in the…
Broadcasters Catch a Break on License Renewal Advertising Certification
Pity the post office. Even its federal brethren have abandoned it. Today the FCC announced that, with the beginning of the broadcast license renewal cycle fast approaching, it will not be sending its traditional postcard reminders to broadcast licensees. It did say, however, that it would email reminders to broadcasters…
Client Alert: New Generic Top-Level Domain Application Process Brings Business Opportunities, Issues
3/10/2011 Beginning later this year, ICANN is expected to accept applications for new generic domain suffixes for industries, interests and communities, such as “.bank,” “.movie” or “.music.” In addition to the generic terms, this round also includes the potential for various geographic tags that are not country codes (e.g., “.nyc”…
Client Advisory: FCC Adopts Order in its Proceeding to Promote Rural Radio Service
As we reported previously, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in 2009 which requested comment on a number of proposals to modify its allotment criteria. In particular, the NPRM sought to restrict the ability of rural radio stations to move into Urbanized Areas. The…
Client Alert: FCC Proposes Rules to Reinstate and Expand Video Description Obligations for Television Stations
On March 3, 2011, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) setting forth proposed rules to implement the video description requirements contained in the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (“CVAA”), which became law in October 2010. The CVAA mandates that the FCC take a…
Client Advisory: A Look at the Decision Enjoining ivi TV From Streaming Broadcast Content on the Internet
On February 22, 2011, US District Court Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald of the Southern District of New York issued a 59-page decision enjoining ivi TV, Inc. from streaming the programming of various network-affiliated television stations on the Internet without their permission. The judge’s opinion articulates a basic principle of copyright…
Perspectives on the FCC’s First Broadcast Spectrum Reallocation Rulemaking
More than two months after the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing preliminary steps to reallocate and reassign television broadcast spectrum for wireless broadband, the government machinery has finally announced comment deadlines: March 18 for initial comments and April 18 for replies. This is the first of several…