Pillsbury’s communications lawyers have published the 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: Unauthorized Oregon Radio Station Transfers Yield $16,000 Penalty Consent Decree Over Upgrade of EAS Equipment Includes $1.1 Million Payment…
Audio Description Requirements Extend to Nielsen Television Designated Market Areas 101 to 110 on January 1
Beginning January 1, 2025, the FCC’s audio description requirements will expand to commercial television stations affiliated with ABC, CBS, FOX, or NBC in 10 additional Nielsen Designated Market Areas (DMAs): Johnson City-Bristol-Kingsport, Reno, Greenville-New Bern-Washington, Davenport-Rock Island-Moline, Tallahassee-Thomasville, Lincoln & Hastings-Kearney, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Johnstown-Altoona-State College, and Augusta-Aiken. Audio-described programming…
FCC Grants Retroactive Six-Month Extension of Audible Crawl Waiver
Many television broadcasters were left scratching their heads last month when a longtime waiver associated with the FCC’s emergency information accessibility rules expired on November 26. That confusion was resolved today, when the Media Bureau granted the National Association of Broadcasters’ (“NAB”) request for a retroactive extension of the waiver…
The 2025 Broadcasters’ Calendar: A Touchstone for Broadcasters Contemplating Trump 2.0 and the Very Unpredictable Year
One thing about being part of a heavily regulated industry—you know well in advance most of the regulatory obligations and deadlines you’ll be facing in the year ahead. While that brings no solace to broadcasters, it does lend a certain level of predictability to an often unpredictable industry. For more…
FCC Proposes Updates to Broadcast Rules
At its final Open Meeting of 2024, the FCC on December 11 adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) seeking comment on the elimination or updating of several rules applicable to broadcast stations, as well as other changes intended to clarify ambiguities and to make the rules consistent with current…