Articles Posted in Ownership Law & Regulation

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September 2009

As we recently reported, the FCC has altered the schedule for the filing of Biennial Ownership Reports by commercial broadcast stations. Those Reports must now be filed by November 1, 2009 and by the same date every two years thereafter. However, the schedule for the filing of Biennial Ownership Reports for noncommercial broadcast stations remains unchanged.

Noncommercial radio stations licensed to communities in Alaska, American Samoa, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Marianas Islands, Oregon, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Washington, and noncommercial television stations licensed to communities in Iowa and Missouri, must file their Biennial Ownership Reports by October 1, 2009.

As discussed in a Client Advisory sent earlier this month, the FCC released an Order on May 29, 2009, suspending the biennial ownership reporting requirement for licensees of commercial radio and television broadcast stations that would otherwise have been required to file their reports by June 1, August 1 or October 1, 2009. Accordingly, all commercial radio and television stations are currently scheduled to sub­mit their biennial ownership reports by November 1, 2009, and every odd numbered year by the same deadline.

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September 2009
As previously reported, the FCC released an Order on May 29, 2009, suspending the biennial ownership reporting requirement for commercial radio and television broadcast stations that would otherwise have been required to file their reports by June 1, August 1 or October 1, 2009.

Accordingly, commercial radio stations licensed to communities in Alaska, American Samoa, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Mariana Islands, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Saipan, Virgin Islands and Washington and commercial television stations licensed to communities in Iowa or Missouri need not file their Biennial Ownership Reports by October 1. Rather, they will be required to file their Biennial Ownership Reports by November 1, 2009, as will all other commercial, full-power AM, FM, TV, LPTV and Class A television stations licensed to communities in any State or Territory of the United States.

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July 2009
The FCC has altered the schedule for the filing of Biennial Ownership Reports by commercial broadcast stations. August 1, 2009 is no longer the deadline for commercial radio stations in California, North Carolina, and South Carolina, or for commercial television stations in Illinois and Wisconsin to file their biennial ownership reports. Those Reports must now be filed by November 1, 2009 and by the same date every two years thereafter, by all radio and television sta­tions nationwide.

As previously reported, the FCC released an Order on May 29, 2009, suspending the biennial ownership reporting requirement for licensees of commercial radio and television broadcast stations that would other­wise have been required to file their reports by June 1, August 1 or October 1, 2009.

Accordingly, commercial radio stations licensed to communities in California, North Carolina and South Carolina and commercial television stations licensed to communities in Illinois or Wisconsin need not file their Biennial Ownership Reports by August 1. They will, however, have to file their reports by November 1, 2009, as will the licensees of all other commercial, full-power AM, FM, TV, LPTV and Class A television stations licensed to communities in any State or Territory of the United States.

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March 2009
Commercial and noncommercial Radio stations licensed to communities in Texas must electronically file their Biennial Ownership Reports with the FCC by April 1, 2009. Commercial and noncommercial Television stations licensed to communities in the States of Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee must also electronically file their Biennial Ownership Reports by the same deadline.
As radio and television stations in the same State/Territory file their renewals one year apart, broadcast stations in the above-referenced states which are not subject to the April 1, 2009, deadline will be required to file their Biennial Ownership Reports by April 1, 2010.

A PDF version of this entire article can be found at Biennial Ownership Reports Due By April 1, 2009, for Certain Radio and Television Broadcasters.

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January 2009
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. 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. Furthermore, the listing of deadlines is not intended to be complete or exhaustive of all regulatory and non-regulatory deadlines that may apply to a given broadcaster year-to-year. Accordingly, broadcasters should seek the advice of communications counsel in each instance to assure timely and proper filing. This edition of our annual “Broadcasters’ Calendar” supercedes all prior editions and accordingly any prior editions should no longer be used.

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January 2009
Commercial and noncommercial Radio stations licensed to communities in Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma must file their Biennial Ownership Reports with the FCC by February 1, 2009. Commercial and noncommercial Television stations licensed to communities in the States of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey and New York must also file their Biennial Ownership Reports by the same deadline.

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November 2008
Commercial and noncommercial Radio stations licensed to communities in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota must file their Biennial Ownership Reports with the FCC by December 1, 2008. Commercial and noncommercial Television stations licensed to communities in the States of Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont must also file their Biennial Ownership Reports by the same deadline.

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September 2008
Commercial and noncommercial Radio stations licensed to communities in Iowa and Missouri must file their Biennial Ownership Reports with the FCC by October 1, 2008. Commercial and noncommercial Television stations licensed to communities in the States of Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington and in the Territories of American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands must also file their Biennial Ownership Reports by the same deadline.

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July 2008
Commercial and noncommercial Radio stations licensed to communities in Illinois and Wisconsin must file their Biennial Ownership Reports with the FCC by August 1, 2008. Commercial and noncommercial Television stations licensed to communities in California, North Carolina, and South Carolina must also file their Biennial Ownership Reports by the same deadline.

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May 2008

Commercial and noncommercial Radio stations licensed to communities in Michigan and Ohio must file their Biennial Ownership Reports with the FCC by June 1, 2008. Commercial and noncommercial Television stations licensed to communities in Arizona, the District of Columbia, Idaho, Maryland, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming must also file their Biennial Ownership Reports by the same deadline

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