Broadcast Law Blog
JANUARY 26, 2015
'The FCC seems to be making another statement – releasing one decision upholding two very large fines against major cable programmers for improper use of EAS tones in ads for a movie , while just two days later releasing another decision approving a consent decree with a broadcaster imposing a penalty and monitoring conditions for using those tones in a radio show.
Paralegal Essentials
JANUARY 23, 2015
This blog post contains information very relevant to paralegals in California and how they represent themselves. Nothing can make you lose credibility more quickly than misrepresentation of your credentials to someone who knows the difference. Take quick read: [link].
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Broadcast Law Blog
JANUARY 30, 2015
'In a Public Notice issued yesterday , the FCC asked for comments from the public on whether broadcast stations should be able to enforce “ Last In, First Out ” (“LIFO”) pricing against political candidates in election races. During the 45 days before a primary election or the 60 days before a general election, for advertising buys by a political candidate’s authorized campaign committee, a station cannot charge more than the lowest price charged to the station’s best commercial advertise
Broadcast Law Blog
JANUARY 28, 2015
'As in any month, February has many impending deadlines for broadcasters and media companies – many routine regulatory obligations as well as some that are specific to certain proceedings. First, let’s look at some of the routine filing deadlines. On February 2, license renewal applications in the second-to-last filing window of this renewal cycle are due to be submitted to the FCC by TV stations in New York and New Jersey.
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Broadcast Law Blog
JANUARY 27, 2015
'Yesterday, we wrote about a case involving an applicant for a new commercial FM station , where the FCC clarified its policies on reasonable assurance of transmitter site availability – holding that an applicant in an auction process can amend to a new site if it is found that its originally specified site is not available for its use. That policy does not apply to applications for LPFM stations or noncommercial FM stations, which are not settled by an auction but instead through the applicati
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Broadcast Law Blog
JANUARY 23, 2015
'In odd numbered years like 2015, most broadcast stations don’t think about the FCC’s political broadcasting rules. But they should – and we have been receiving many calls from clients about the perhaps surprising number of elections that are taking place this year. These include many races for state and local political offices, everything from school boards and city council to state legislative positions, plus the odd special election to fill vacancies in Congress or some other office.
Broadcast Law Blog
JANUARY 22, 2015
'Last week, the Copyright Royalty Board asked for comments on a proposed settlement agreement between Sirius XM and SoundExchange , and some articles about that announcement have not been entirely clear about what the deal covers. It has nothing to do with webcasting royalties for 2016-2020, which are still being litigated (see our article here about the proposals of the parties in that case).
Broadcast Law Blog
JANUARY 22, 2015
'This week, several notices of the intent to audit the records of several webcasters and other digital music services were published in the Federal Register, indicating that SoundExchange was planning on having the royalty payment records of these services reviewed. Notices were sent to services including Live365 , iHeartMedia and CBS ). Those notices have prompted several calls asking what this is all about.
Broadcast Law Blog
JANUARY 20, 2015
'With the Martin Luther King Day holiday just passed, it seems appropriate to review the FCC’s EEO rules , which look to promote broad access to broadcast employment opportunities. The FCC’s EEO rules no longer seek exclusively to promote minority employment, but instead seek to have stations reach out to all groups within the area they serve to try to attract people from diverse sources into broadcasting – rather than allowing stations to simply recruit through word-of-mouth and traditional br
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Broadcast Law Blog
JANUARY 15, 2015
'Who says that the Internet is not regulated? Whether to treat Internet video providers by the same rules that apply to cable and direct broadcast satellite systems is the subject of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking released by the FCC just before Christmas, notice of which was published in the Federal Register today , setting the comment dates on the proposal.
Broadcast Law Blog
JANUARY 13, 2015
'With the college football champion now decided, and the NFL league championships this coming weekend to decide this year’s Super Bowl teams, it’s that time when we post our warning about being careful with using the phrase “ Super Bowl” in your promotions and commercials. Both copyright and trademark issues can arise at Super Bowl time. Trademark is usually the biggest concern, as there are always issues when broadcasters and advertisers don’t watch their commercials and promotions to avoid i
Broadcast Law Blog
JANUARY 12, 2015
'There are times that the FCC, though its Daily Releases, appears to be trying to make a point. And Friday was one of those days, when it simultaneously released four separate orders, each fining the owner of a tower used for communications purposes for failures to maintain the required tower lights on those towers. Three of the fines were for $8000, and one for $6000, and three were against broadcasters and one was against a non-broadcast licensee.
Broadcast Law Blog
JANUARY 12, 2015
'A consent decree, requiring $50,000 payment to the FCC by the licensee and programmer of a noncommercial radio station, demonstrates two potential problem areas for broadcasters involved in LMA or Time Brokerage (TBA) arrangements. First, for noncommercial licensees it makes clear that the programmer cannot be paying the licensee any more for the programming time on the station than the costs of operation of the station itself – the licensee cannot “profit” from the LMA payments and use money
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Broadcast Law Blog
JANUARY 9, 2015
'With the obligation of television stations to file the quarterly Children’s Television Reports on FCC Form 398 by Monday (as the usual January 10 date is on a weekend) and the simultaneous requirement to place into their online public file documentation of compliance with the commercial limits in Children’s programming , it is worth reminding stations of the seriousness with which the FCC continues to view its children’s television rules.
Broadcast Law Blog
JANUARY 8, 2015
'Today is Elvis Presley’s 80 th birthday, so it seems appropriate to revisit the issue of pre-1972 sound recordings, and to take a deeper look at the recent decisions by courts in New York and California finding that there is a public performance right in these recordings. The NY decision in a case brought by Flo & Eddie of the band the Turtles, coming after the California cases, is in many ways the more interesting of the cases.
Broadcast Law Blog
JANUARY 7, 2015
'Each year, at about this time, we pull out the crystal ball and make predictions of the issues affecting broadcasters that will likely bubble up to the top of the FCC’s agenda in the coming year. While we try each year to throw in a mention of the issues that come to our mind, there are always surprises, and new issues that we did not anticipate. Sometimes policy decisions will come from individual cases, and sometimes they will be driven by a particular FCC Commissioner who finds a specific i
Broadcast Law Blog
JANUARY 5, 2015
'A new year, and a new set of regulatory obligations and deadlines for broadcasters and others. To help track many of the important deadlines for broadcasters in the new year, we have put together a Broadcaster’s Calendar of important regulatory dates for 2015, available here , which highlights many of the dates for the regulatory obligations of broadcasters in 2015.
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Broadcast Law Blog
JANUARY 2, 2015
'Right before Christmas, the FCC’s Media Bureau released a Public Notice announcing that they have reviewed the final set of mutually exclusive LPFM applications. “Mutually exclusive applications” are applications for stations in the same geographic area which cannot all be granted without creating interference issues. The notice identifies tentative winners selected by the “point system” that the FCC uses to decide between mutually exclusive applicants (or applicants headed for shared time arr
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