Death, taxes, and ownership reports: all three are unavoidable, but broadcasters had a brief respite from the last one. That respite has now come to an end. One of the joys of being a broadcast licensee is filing biennial ownership reports detailing the extended ownership structure of each station. These…
The fact that you are reading this tells us that you have found your way to CommLawCenter.com, our effort to simplify the gathering of information and resources relating to the communications industry, particularly regarding its legal aspects. CommLawCenter is an effort to step outside the normal confines of law firm…
In the latest chapter of what seems like a never ending saga of the Commission’s effort to adopt new ownership rules, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently lifted its stay of the FCC’s revised cross-ownership rules adopted in 2007, which immediately allows the FCC to presume…
March 2010 The next Children’s Television Programming Report must be filed with the FCC and placed in stations’ local Public Inspection Files by April 10, 2010, reflecting programming aired during the months of January, February and March 2010. Statutory and Regulatory Requirements As a result of the Children’s Television Act…
The 2010 NAB Show in Las Vegas is fast approaching! Your Pillsbury attorneys, including Dick Zaragoza, Cliff Harrington, Scott Flick, Miles Mason, Laurie Lynch Flick, Paul Cicelski and Christine Reilly will be at this annual event, which takes place in just one month, from April 10th to the 15th. We…
This Advisory provides a review of the FCC’s political broadcasting regulations. Introduction Eight years after adoption of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (“BCRA”) of 2002, popularly known as “McCain-Feingold,” Congress’ and the FCC’s interest in political broadcasting and political advertising practices remains undiminished. Broadcast stations must insure that a broad…
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has ruled that the Copyright Royalty Board is constitutional. The decision ends for now a long-running controversy over the legitimacy of the CRB, which sets royalty rates that webcasters pay to copyright owners– rates that webcasters see as excessively high and…
The Federal Communications Commission recently proposed revisions to its rules as part of its stated goal to “reform and transform the agency into a model of excellence in government.” As part of its goal, the FCC has released a Second Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) proposing to modify its ex…
Video Programming Distributors Must Notify FCC by March 22, 2010 of Certain Contact Information and Begin Compliance with Telephone Directory Listing Requirements. Earlier this week, we advised you of a recent Commission action which could affect video programming distributors’ obligations under closed captioning complaint rules that the Commission adopted in…
In response to a petition for clarification filed by DISH Network, L.L.C. (“DISH”), the FCC has issued a “limited waiver” of its requirement that video programming distributors, including television stations, publish two types of information in local telephone directories–contact information for the receipt and handling of immediate closed captioning concerns,…