9/4/2008
On September 2, 2008, the FCC released a Public Notice Warning Regulatory Fee Filing Payers About Potential “Phishing.”
8/26/2008
The Commission has announced that full payment of all applicable Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2008 must be received no later than September 25, 2008.
8/5/2008
In July 2008, the FCC released the latest edition of “The Public and Broadcasting” manual, its second update in three months.
7/15/2008
Yesterday, the FCC announced that, effective as of August 4, 2008, it was lifting the freeze on the filing of two types of Class A television station applications: (i) ones to expand authorized coverage through facilities modifications, and (ii) ones to substitute channels where current channels are expected to be displaced.
May 2008
The Commission has announced its proposed annual regulatory fees for Fiscal Year 2008. The final fee amounts and filing deadline will be announced in a Public Notice following consideration of Comments to be filed by May 30, 2008 and Reply Comments to be filed by June 6, 2008.
4/25/2008
On April 24, 2008, the FCC released the latest edition of its “The Public and Broadcasting” manual. Please remove the 1999 version of the manual from your public inspection file and replace it with the new 2008 edition.
January 2008
The following deadlines are based on information known by us as of the date hereof, may or may not apply to a particular broadcaster, are for general informational purposes only, and should be double-checked for currency close to each pertinent date/deadline. The reason is that actions by the FCC, Congress, or the courts could affect any of these deadlines by, for example, eliminating a particular reporting/filing obligation altogether or modifying the form used, content, deadline, fee, or manner of reporting/filing, such as requiring the posting of a report on the Internet or filing a report with the FCC electronically. It should also be noted that any FCC filing date which falls on a weekend or federal holiday, as a general rule, causes the filing deadline to be shifted to the immediately following business day. Accordingly, broadcasters should seek the advice of communications counsel in each instance to assure timely and proper filing. With respect to the tax-related deadlines identified herein, broadcasters should consult with their tax advisors. This edition of our annual “Broadcasters’ Calendar” supercedes all prior editions and accordingly any prior editions should no longer be used.
This material is not intended to constitute a complete analysis of all tax considerations. Internal Revenue Service regulations generally provide that, for the purpose of avoiding United States federal tax penalties, a taxpayer may rely only on formal written opinions meeting specific regulatory requirements. This material does not meet those requirements. Accordingly, this material was not intended or written to be used, and a taxpayer cannot use it, for the purpose of avoiding United States federal or other tax penalties or of promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any tax-related matters.
July 2006
The Commission recently rescinded the license grants and cancelled the underlying construction permits of two low power television stations in California. The FCC discovered that the licensee of the two stations falsely certified in its license application that “all terms, conditions, and obligations” set forth in the underlying construction permit had been met.
By Kathryn R. Schmeltzer, Scott R. Flick, Lauren Lynch Flick and Paul A. Cicelski
June 2006
TV, Class A TV, LPTV and TV translator stations licensed to communities in Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, American Samoa, Guam and the Mariana Islands should be receiving soon a postcard from the FCC reminding them that their license renewal applications must be filed by October 1, 2006.
Comm Law Center