Pillsbury’s communications lawyers have published FCC Enforcement Monitor monthly since 1999 to inform our clients of notable FCC enforcement actions against FCC license holders and others. This month’s issue includes: Headlines: FCC Proposes $20,000 Fine for Decade-Old EEO Violations FCC Goes After Small North Carolina Radio Station for Absence During…
Broadcasters Face a (Re)Packed 2018
Each year around this time, Pillsbury’s Communications Practice releases its Broadcasters’ Calendar for the upcoming year. It may not be the perfect stocking stuffer, but broadcasters that don’t read it closely are much more likely to end up on the FCC’s Naughty List next year. When I’m on the road…
FCC Enforcement Monitor ~ November 2017
Pillsbury’s communications lawyers have published FCC Enforcement Monitor monthly since 1999 to inform our clients of notable FCC enforcement actions against FCC license holders and others. This month’s issue includes: Headlines: FCC Fires Broadside at Pirate Stronghold: Nearly Half of November Pirate Radio Notices Go to NY/NJ/CT Area Sorry About…
Annual EEO Public File Report Deadline for Stations in Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Vermont
This Broadcast Station Advisory is directed to radio and television stations in the areas noted above, and highlights the upcoming deadlines for compliance with the FCC’s EEO Rule. December 1, 2017 is the deadline for broadcast stations licensed to communities in Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New…
Most TV Stations Can Stop Drafting Their DTV Ancillary Services Report
The FCC today released an Order waiving, at least for this year, the requirement that full power, Class A and low power television stations file what has traditionally been known as a Form 317 report by December 1. More formally known as the DTV Ancillary/Supplementary Services Report, and due each…
FCC Locks in Dates for Short Lifting of Upgrade Freeze for Unrepacked TV Stations
As Lauren Lynch Flick wrote here several weeks ago, the FCC announced in October that it would be lifting its 2013 freeze on certain TV station modification applications that would increase a station’s coverage area. Lifting the freeze would let full-power and Class A TV stations that weren’t able to…
FCC Enforcement Monitor ~ October 2017
Pillsbury’s communications lawyers have published FCC Enforcement Monitor monthly since 1999 to inform our clients of notable FCC enforcement actions against FCC license holders and others. This month’s issue includes: Headlines: Law and Disorder: FCC Fines New York City Man $404,166 for Interfering with NYPD Radio Frequencies A Friendly Port:…
Breaking News: FCC Releases Details of Its Proposed ATSC 3.0 Approval
This evening the FCC released the Agenda for its November 16 Public Meeting, and as anticipated, the two Media items on it are the Reconsideration of the FCC’s Broadcast Ownership Rules and the FCC’s proposed approval of ATSC 3.0. More importantly, the FCC released the proposed draft orders for each…
The Main Studio Rule Is Dead; Long Live the Main Studio
In a move that would have once been stunning, but which now was so expected as to be anticlimactic, the FCC today voted to eliminate the Main Studio Rule. In doing so, it also eliminated various associated requirements such as the mandate that a station’s main studio be staffed during…
After Nearly 5 Years, FCC Lifting Freeze on Mods for Unrepacked Full-Power and Class A TV Stations
The FCC announced late today that the freeze that has been in place since April 2013 which prevents full-power and Class A TV stations from filing applications to expand their coverage areas will be lifted temporarily, likely before the end of this year. The lifting of the freeze allows stations…