We tend to focus on regulatory and legislative issues here at CommLawCenter, as that is the common ground for many of our media clients. However, the truth is that—just like our clients—we spend more time working on business issues than regulatory ones. Whether it’s mergers and acquisitions informed by regulatory…
[UPDATE: The FCC just released its Report and Order defining the requirements for stations wishing to meet their contest disclosure obligations by posting their contest rules online. The revised FCC rule requires a licensee to (i) broadcast the relevant website address periodically with information making it easy for a consumer to…
As we wrote last month, the agenda for the FCC’s September open meeting included consideration of its proposal to modernize the 40-year-old broadcast contest rule. Today, after more than three and a half years of (unopposed) anticipation, the FCC adopted rules that “allow broadcasters to disclose contest rules online as…
August 2015 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: FCC Again Cracks Down on Wi-Fi Blocking at Conference Centers Licensee Faces $27,000 Fine for Repeatedly Failing to…
July 2015 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: Repetitive Children’s Programming Costs TV Licensee $90,000 It’s Nice to Be Asked: FCC Faults Red-Lighted Licensee’s Failure to…
Interns are a perennial part of the media landscape, and you have probably heard a lot over the last few years on the subject of unpaid interns. Specifically, that unless they qualify as genuine interns under a six-part Department of Labor (DOL) test, businesses are required to treat them (and…
The FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) today released the final version of its TVStudy software, which calculates TV station coverage areas for use in the spectrum auction and repacking. The software can be accessed here. In addition, pursuant to an earlier order of the FCC directing the OET…
June 2015 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: Educational FM Licensee Receives $8,000 Fine for Unauthorized Operation FCC Cancels $6,000 Fine for Late Filings due to…
May 2015 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: 404 Not Found: Missing Online Public File Documents Lead to $9,000 Fine Wireless Providers Pay $158 Million to…
May 2015 This Broadcast Station Advisory is directed to radio and television stations in Arizona, the District of Columbia, Idaho, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming, and highlights the upcoming deadlines for compliance with the FCC’s EEO Rule. June 1, 2015 is the deadline…