Legal File
RMLC 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.
Read MoreOctober 2024 Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – Quarterly Issues Programs Lists, Annual EEO Public File Reports, ETRS Form One, Comment Deadlines, and More
David Oxenford reviews some of the important filing dates coming up in October that may affect broadcasters in Michigan.
Read MoreFCC Announces Filing of Radio Regulatory Fees is Back On – Due Date Still September 26
On September 17, the FCC released a Public Notice announcing that its CORES system, through which regulatory fees are submitted, has been updated and the incorrect regulatory fee amounts for radio stations have been corrected. As we wrote last week, the FCC asked that radio broadcasters suspend their fee filings when it became apparent that many radio fees had been miscomputed and CORES reported those fees to be much higher than they were supposed to be.
Read MoreFCC Regulatory Fees Due September 26 – FCC CORES Database Available for Payment, Some Filing Glitches Reported
As we noted this past weekend in our weekly update of regulatory actions, the FCC last Friday released its Order setting the regulatory fees due from broadcasters and other FCC regulated entities – fees that the FCC is required to collect each year the start of the federal government’s new fiscal year which begins in October. This week, the FCC released a series of public notices detailing filing procedures. First was a Public Notice setting the deadline for payment of the fees as 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on September 26.
Read MoreFCC Announces Form 395-B EEO Report Will Not Be Due September 30, 2024
On Friday (8/30), the FCC released a Public Notice confirming that the Form 395-B, reimposed by the FCC earlier this year (and the subject of several appeals), will not be due September 30, 2024, as we speculated earlier last week in our look ahead at September regulatory dates.
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