6/17/2009 The FCC issued a Public Notice recommending that viewers having difficulty receiving any of the over-the-air digital television signals of stations in their area should “double rescan” their digital converter boxes or digital television sets. The Public Notice can be found on the Commission’s website at the following link:…
6/11/2009 In its Public Notice released earlier today, the FCC reminded stations of the requirement that television stations that have not yet made the transition to all-digital broadcasting must be prepared to answer calls about the transition immediately after they make the switch from analog to digital. The FCC noted…
5/14/2009 The Commission has announced its proposed annual regulatory fees for Fiscal Year 2009. The final fee amounts and filing deadline will be announced in a Public Notice following consideration of Comments to be filed by June 4, 2009 and Reply Comments to be filed by June 11, 2009. The…
5/8/2009 On December 23, 2008, the FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing to create a new “replacement” digital television translator service. Today, the FCC released a Report and Order creating that service, outlining the parameters of the new service, and setting forth application procedures. The purpose of the…
5/1/2009 A PDF of this entire article can be found at >EEO in 2009 and Forward: A Legal Guide to the FCC’s Equal Employment Opportunity Rule and Policies for Broadcasters.
5/1/2009 As previously reported, the Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act (the “Analog Nightlight Act”) required the FCC to develop a program to permit continued analog television service for 30 days after the DTV transition, thereby permitting stations to provide emergency and DTV transition information to the public in…
Court Ordered Remand May Force the Supreme Court to deal with the First Amendment Issue 4/28/2009 In a 5-4 decision released today, the Supreme Court upheld the FCC’s so-called “fleeting expletives” policy which bans the radio and television broadcast of single so-called four-letter words that are considered indecent. However, the…
April 2009 The FCC has released a new Federal Register notice indicating that the increase in certain FCC application fees will become effective April 28, 2009. A PDF version of this entire article can be found at Reminder: Increased FCC Application Filing Fees Will Become Effective April 28, 2009
4/16/2009 FCC Fines Texas Low Power Noncommercial Educational Station $20,000 for Airing Advertisements. The FCC issued a Public Notice late today providing guidance to broadcasters regarding the DTV walk-in center consumer education requirement it created last month. On March 13th, the FCC imposed a number of additional DTV consumer education…
March 2009 The next Children’s Television Programming Report must be electronically filed with the FCC and placed in stations’ local Public Inspection Files by April 10, 2009, reflecting programming aired during the months of January, February and March 2009. Statutory and Regulatory Requirements As a result of the Children’s Television…