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6/25/2009
Through the vehicle of a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (“NPRM”), Acting Chairman Michael J. Copps, and Commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Robert McDowell are looking to change the way the FCC decides what communities and areas deserve new or modified commercial and noncommercial, full-power AM and FM radio stations.

Because the decisions the FCC makes as a result of the NPRM may well determine whether existing, as well as newly proposed, free, over-the-air radio stations thrive or perish, the rule making is likely to have a very significant effect on the radio broadcast industry, including its ownership and program diversity, going forward. If adopted, the FCC’s proposals would substantially reduce or eliminate the flexibility broadcasters currently have to locate or move small community and rural stations to areas where they can serve more listeners and/or listeners with different programming needs. Another effect of the NPRM could be to move more competing applications into an auction process which, in turn, may discourage filings altogether.

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On March 13, 2009, and in response to the Congressional extension of the digital transition deadline from February 17 to June 12, 2009, the FCC released an R&O which, among other things, revised the rules associated with its requirements for DTV Consumer Education Initiatives. Those significant revisions, which became effective on April 1, 2009, included additional viewer notifications regarding antennas, help/walk-in centers, rescanning activities, and service loss.

The FCC has released a draft version of its most recent FCC Form 388 which includes the rule changes. A copy of the revised FCC Form 388, which has not yet received OMB approval, is available for review on the FCC’s website at https://www.fcc.gov/Forms/Form388/388.pdf.

By July 10, 2009, all television stations are required to report on the DTV Education Initiatives undertaken in the months of April, May and June by electronically filing the revised FCC Form 388. The FCC Form 388 is also required to be placed in the station’s public inspection file by July 10, 2009 and posted by that date to the station’s website, if it has one. Details of the FCC’s DTV Consumer Education requirements can be found in our Advisory posted on our website by clicking the link below.

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6/19/2009
The next Children’s Television Programming Report must be filed with the FCC and placed in stations’ local Public Inspection Files by July 10, 2009, reflecting programming aired during the months of April, May and June 2009.

A PDF version of this entire article can be found at 2009 Second Quarter Children’s Television Programming Documentation Advisory.

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5/19/2009
The FCC’s Notice of Inquiry seeks answers to the controversial question raised by “broadcasters, media organizations and others” whether Arbitron is undercounting the audience for stations that air programming targeted to minority audiences, potentially harming the financial viability of those stations. At issue is Arbitron’s commercial use of equipment called the Portable People Meter (“PPM”), a mobile-phone-sized device that consumers wear throughout the day to track their radio listening. Arbitron has replaced the audience-based rating systems with PPM in certain markets and intends to replace audience-based diaries with PPM in the top 50 radio markets next year.

According to the FCC, while it has “a strong interest in encouraging innovative advancements that lead to improved information and data,” it nonetheless wants to know “whether and how the PPM technological changes adversely affect diversity on the airwaves as well as the integrity and reliability of the Commission’s processes that rely on Arbitron ratings data.”

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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 narrow ruling of the Court stopped short of deciding whether the FCC’s change in policy violates the First Amendment. Justice Scalia’s majority opinion emphasized that it was dealing only with the question of whether the FCC’s new fleeting expletives policy was “arbitrary and capricious” as a matter of law. The majority determined that the FCC’s change in policy was “entirely rational” under the Administrative Procedure Act. In doing so, the Court reversed the decision of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals that had found the FCC’s new policy to be arbitrary and capricious and remanded the case to the Second Circuit for further review.

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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

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3/24/2009
This Advisory is intended specifically to help guide individuals and companies, that wish to distribute recorded music over the Internet for pleasure or profit, through the maze of licenses and royalties required for such “webcasting” activities. It discusses the recent settlement agreements entered into between SoundExchange and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (“CPB”) and the National Association of Broadcasters (“NAB”). For certain commercial radio stations considering whether to take advantage of the NAB/SoundExchange settlement, April 2, 2009 is a critical “opt-in” deadline.

Music licensing has always been a complex and controversial subject. The rise of the Internet has served to take this complexity and controversy to a whole new level. The last several years have seen a multitude of developments in online music, both in the types and successes of music-related websites and in the laws and regulations governing music copyrights.

A PDF version of this entire article can be found at Licensing and Royalty Requirements for Webcasters: Details and Deadlines.

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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 Act of 1990 and the FCC Rules adopted under the Act, full power and Class A television stations are required, among other things, to: (1) limit the amount of commercial matter aired during programs originally produced and broadcast for an audience of children 12 years of age and younger; and (2) air programming responsive to the educational and informational needs of children 16 years of age and younger. Each of these requirements translates into the obligation to prepare supporting documents on a quarterly basis.

A PDF version of this entire article can be found at 2009 First Quarter Children’s Television Programming Documentation Advisory

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March 2009
The next Quarterly Issues/Programs List (“Quarterly List”) must be placed in stations’ local public inspection files by April 10, 2009, reflecting information for the months of January, February, and March 2009. The FCC’s action adopting the new program report Form 355, which is intended to replace the Quarterly Issues/Programs Lists for full-power and Class A television stations, is not yet effective and thus will not have any effect on this first quarter public file requirement.

Content of the Quarterly List

The FCC requires each broadcast station to air a reasonable amount of programming responsive to signifi­cant community needs, issues, and problems as determined by the station. The FCC gives each station the discretion to determine which issues facing the community served by the station are the most signifi­cant and how best to respond to them in the station’s overall programming.

A PDF version of this entire article can be found at 2009 First Quarter Issues/Programs List Advisory for Broadcast Stations .

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