broadcast

Yesterday, with vocal support from fellow Commissioner Brendan Carr, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai released a draft Declaratory Ruling and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“DR” and “NPRM”) to promote the use of broadcast spectrum for internet services (referred to by the FCC as “Broadcast Internet”). The full, five-member Commission will vote on adoption of the DR and NPRM at the agency’s next monthly public meeting on Tuesday, June 9.
Continue Reading FCC Proposes Spectrum Leasing to Promote Use of Broadcast Spectrum for Internet Services

The FCC Media Bureau’s designated May 29, 2015 “Pre-Auction Licensing Deadline” is rapidly approaching.  Full power and Class A facilities must be licensed by this deadline in order to be eligible for protection in the repacking process that will be part of the television incentive auction. For these purposes, facilities subject to a pending application…

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in which it proposes satellite television “market modification” rules to implement Section 102 of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act Reauthorization Act of 2014 (STELAR).  STELAR amends the Communications Act and the Copyright Act to give the FCC authority to modify a commercial television broadcast station’s local television market for purposes of satellite carriage rights.  The FCC previously had such authority to modify markets only in the cable carriage context.  The FCC also proposes to change the factors relevant to the market modification process.  Below, we list some of the tentative conclusions and interpretations on which the FCC seeks comment.

The main effect of a market modification is to expand or contract the areas in which a station may elect mandatory carriage under the must-carry rules.  To the extent that a station’s network affiliation or other agreements authorize a station to grant retransmission consent only in the station’s Nielsen DMA, a market modification petition granted by the FCC would not alter the boundaries of that DMA.   However, for stations that have elected retransmission consent, a market modification may have implications with respect to the areas in which such stations’ signals may be carried as “local” signals under the copyright laws.Continue Reading FCC Releases NPRM Regarding STELAR’s Market Modification Provisions

Last week, the FCC released a Public Notice (“PN”), following up on its July Public Notice, concerning the software to be used during the Incentive Auction to determine whether the acceptance of each bid from a broadcaster will result in a feasible, and optimal, repacking process.
Continue Reading SpectrumWatch: FCC Releases Information Related to Repacking Process

The Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit found that the retransmission consent agreement between Nexstar Broadcasting Inc. and Time Warner Cable, Inc. allows Time Warner to rebroadcast the signals of three television stations owned by Nexstar without any geographic restriction across its entire system.  Rejecting Nexstar’s request for an injunction to stop Time Warner from retransmitting certain Nexstar broadcasts to distant markets, the Court of Appeals found that the agreement between the companies likely allows Time Warner to do so.  The Court of Appeals thus upheld the District Court’s decision to deny an injunction sought by Nexstar.
Continue Reading Appeals Court Finds that Retransmission Consent Agreement Allows Time Warner to Rebroadcast Nexstar Signals Across Entire System

New rules adopted by the FCC require that when television stations in the U.S. display emergency information visually during non-news programming, they must provide the same information aurally on a secondary audio stream. The new rules do not change the requirement that emergency information provided visually during newscasts be conveyed aurally on primary audio.

The…

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has published a notice in the Federal Register that the requirement to file an Annual Employment Report is effective immediately.  This requirement — entailing the filing of an FCC Form 395-A for multichannel video programming distribution systems (MVPDs) and an FCC Form 396-B for broadcasters — was adopted years ago…

Interested parties have filed comments at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding proposed changes to the requirements for ownership reports.  In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking released in January, the FCC asked for comment on several issues related to the ownership reports filed by broadcast licensees and by others with attributable interests in licensees.

Among…

The Federal Communications Commission received over 300 comments from the public regarding its proposals to allow broadcast television stations to voluntarily participate in an auction of their spectrum to mobile broadband providers and to involuntarily repack remaining television stations into a smaller television spectrum band.  Broadcast television station groups, individual stations, mobile broadband providers, wireless microphone operators, proponents of unlicensed spectrum uses, equipment manufacturers, radio astronomers, wireless medical device makers, and a variety of trade associations weighed in on the Commission’s proposals.  There was significant disagreement on a number of the FCC’s proposals — including the extent to which viewers’ existing television services should be preserved in the repacking, the timeframe to complete the repacking, and how to address wireless microphones and unlicensed uses in the spectrum band.  However, at least three key areas of general industry agreement emerged:
Continue Reading SpectrumWatch: 3 Key Areas of Industry Agreement Regarding the FCC’s Spectrum Auction and Repacking Proposals