Ownership Transfer, Before FCC Consent, Results In Consent Decree

Willamette Broadcasting Company has entered into a Consent Decree with the FCC allowing it to resolve, without a blemish to its permanent record at the Commission, a matter in which a controlling interest in the company was transferred prior to getting regulatory approval of the transaction.

FCC Privacy, Cybersecurity Enforcement Gets State AG Boost

As part of the work of the FCC’s Privacy and Data Protection Task Force, the agency’s Enforcement Bureau has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with the Attorneys General of Connecticut, Illinois, New York, and Pennsylvania.
Rick Kaplan

NAB Legal Leaders Press FCC On 2018 Quad Review

As the clock ticks, the NAB's three key legal and regulatory affairs leaders have called on the Commission to "carefully its prior determinations" regarding to its local TV ownership rules. The FCC has until the end of 2022 to complete its long-overdue 2018 quadrennial review of its rules, per a court order.
NAB / National Association of Broadcasters

NAB Hires A Government Relations Director

He joins the NAB from the congressional office of Rep. Darren Soto, who serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee as is a Democrat from Florida.

Audio Description Rules To Take Effect In Certain DMAs

If you're a broadcast television station in one of 10 Designated Market Areas (DMAs), there's a new requirement that goes into effect on January 1, 2024, with respect to the FCC's October 2020 approval of an Audio Description Order, which expanded its rules to smaller markets.

GOP Attacks ‘Net Neutrality’ Redux At FCC Oversight Hearing

It was officially a FCC Oversight Hearing. However, Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chair Bob Latta and House E&C Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers devoted the entire session to Broadband. How did Ranking Member Frank Pallone react?  It "is fine with me," he said, explaining why.

Sage Alerting Systems Customers Get Later EAS Deadline

Emergency Alert System participants that are customers of a particular equipment vendor have been granted a 90-day extension of a new requirement that prioritizes the Common Alerting Protocol-formatted version of an EAS message when it receives both a legacy version and a CAP-formatted version of the same alert.
Texas Public Radio logo

A LeGeyt Case For AM Radio, Courtesy of TPR

In Gonzales, Tex., an FM translator fed by a 1kw Class C AM serves as the local home for Texas Public Radio. For those tuned to the AM signal during the noon hour on Monday, a topic of particular importance took up 25 minutes of air time — "saving" AM radio. The guest on TPR's The Source? None other than the NAB's head.
The FCC Seal

Turvaville Loses Fight Over New Noncommercial FM’s Creation

In Brush, Colo., the local public school district filed an application with the FCC for a new noncommercial FM radio station. A noted broadcast engineer filed an informal objection to the application. The FCC has now ruled in favor of the school district, allowing it to build the new facility.

Open Commission Meeting Schedule For 2024 Arrives

Curious as to when the voting members of the FCC will be holding their monthly Open Meetings next year? The calendar has just been released by the Commission.
Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)

Latta, McMorris Rodgers To Tackle ‘Biden’s Broadband Takeover’

As far as the House E&C Chair and Communications and Tech Subcommittee Chair see it, "President Biden's FCC" is wreaking havoc on broadband, thanks to the potential return of "net neutrality." McMorris and Latta will make their viewpoints loud and clear next Thursday at a just-scheduled FCC Oversight Hearing.

AEI To FCC: ‘Scrap the FCC’s Indecency Regime’

The nonresident senior fellow for Technology Policy Studies at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute wants the Commission to kill its live broadcast indecency and profanity regulatory policy. His comments came in response to a November 11 live post-game interview with the fill-in coach for the University of Michigan football team.
The NextGenTV team sets up its booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center for CES 2022

FCC Now Accepting NextGen TV License Applications For Multicast Streams

With an official Public Notice distributed Thursday, the FCC's Media Bureau says all ATSC 3.0 multicast licensing rules adopted in the Third Next Gen TV Report and Order are now in effect. As such, the Bureau is now ready to accept NextGen TV license applications that involve simulcast multicast streams and/or non-simulcast 1.0 multicast streams.
Robert Branson, President and CEO of the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC)

MMTC Assails House GOP Bill To Defund Equity/Diversity Council

The MMTC has circulated a letter to Members of the House of Representatives that urges them to oppose an amendment that would defund the federal advisory committee chartered by the FCC to help it develop policies to achieve greater equity in the telecommunications and electronic mass media industries. 
The FCC Seal

Leadership Team Revealed For FCC Office of International Affairs

The FCC’s newly created Office of International Affairs has announced its leadership team. They'll oversee an office that will lead and coordinate the FCC’s overseas efforts, including its participation in the upcoming World Radiocommunications Conference, cross-border negotiations, foreign ownership, and national security reviews.