Legal File
2025 Broadcasters Regulatory Calendar – Looking Ahead to Some of the Regulatory Dates and Deadlines for the New Year
2025 has begun – and everyone is speculating as to what the New Year will bring, particularly given the upcoming change in administration in the White House and at the FCC. On January 2, we published an article looking at some of the regulatory issues that we expect the FCC will address this year. And we promised to let you know about some of the deadlines that are already on the 2025 calendar. So, as we do each year at about this time, we put together a look at the regulatory dates ahead for broadcasters. To that end, we offer for your review, our 2025 Broadcasters Regulatory Calendar.
Read MoreDecember 2024 Regulatory Updates for Broadcasters -Annual DTV Ancillary/Supplementary Services Report, EEO Deadlines, NCE TV Filing Window and Related Filing Freezes, Comment Deadlines, and More
Despite the transition to a Republican-led FCC next year and the “pencils-down” requests issued to the FCC by some Republican politicians, the FCC will be voting on some changes to its broadcast rules at its December 11 open meeting.
Read MoreA Message from MAB President & CEO, Casey Jones
Dear MAB Members….We’ve made incredible strides this year to advance the AM Radio in Every Vehicle Act (AM4EVA), but time is running out. To get this vital bill across the finish line, we need your help for one final, coordinated push.
Read MoreNAB Requests Further Delay in Requirement that TV Stations Provide Audio Description of Non-Textual Emergency Information While Rule Changes are Considered
Since 2015, TV broadcasters that transmit any emergency information visually in text during non-news programming have been required to convert that information into an audio broadcast on a station’s Secondary Audio Programming channel (its “SAP channel”). The SAP channels are usually used for Spanish and other non-English translations of the audio on TV programs.
Read MoreRMLC Announces Arbitration Decision on SESAC Royalties for Commercial Radio Stations for 2023-2026
In a Press Release issued on November 1, the Radio Music License Committee announced the results of its arbitration with SESAC. Despite the arbitrators’ decision that rates for commercial radio broadcasters are going up modestly, RMLC declared the decision a win. How can an increase in royalties be a win? Let’s provide some background on this decision and why the radio industry may breathe a sigh of relief.
Read MoreHow FCC Regulation of Broadcasters May Change in a New Administration – Looking at the Pending Issues
With the election over, broadcasters and their Washington representatives are now trying to decipher what the next administration will have in store at the FCC and other government agencies that regulate the media. Already, the DC press is speculating about who will assume what positions in the government agencies that make these decisions. While those speculations will go on for weeks, we thought that we would look at some of the issues pending before the FCC affecting broadcasters that could be affected by a change in administration.
Read MoreNovember 2024 Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters: AM Stations Need to Adjust to the End of Daylight Savings Time, Deadline for Aural Description of Visual Emergency Alerts for TV, Final Rules for FM Zonecasting and More
With much of everyone’s focus on the outcome of the November 5 general election, broadcasters can’t forget the regulatory dates and deadlines in November and early December. While the dates and deadlines in November are lighter than in many other months, many routine deadlines do fall in early December, and even the upcoming month does have dates worthy of note.
Read MoreFCC Announces Second EEO Audit of 2024 – 150 Radio and TV Stations Targeted; 5 Michigan Stations on List
On Friday (10/18), the FCC released another EEO audit notice for 2024. The FCC’s Public Notice, audit letter, and the list of the 150 radio and TV stations selected for audit is available here.
Read MoreBroadcasters Should Evaluate Attack Ads for Liability Concerns in the Final Weeks Before the November Election
With less than a month to go before the November election, we can expect more and more attack ads, some of which may lead to cease and desist letters from the candidate being attacked. These letters can raise the risk of defamation claims against broadcasters and cable companies when the ads are not bought by candidates. The use of artificial intelligence in such ads raises the prospect of even nastier attack ads, and its use raises a whole host of legal issues beyond defamation worries.
Read MoreWNMU Public Media and WLUC-TV Team Up on Candidate Forum
In their first meeting together, the two candidates vying to become the Central Upper Peninsula’s representative in Lansing squared off in a pre-recorded, one-hour forum presented by WNMU Public Media (Marquette) and WLUC-TV (Marquette). “The Michigan House of Representatives 109th District Candidate Forum” is expected to put the candidates and their positions in front of more voters than any other event this year.
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