Washington Beat

The FCC's biggest crusader against unlicensed radio broadcast activity wrote to members of the House with districts in and around the New York City area to personally ask them for further efforts designed to give the Commission's Enforcement Bureau added firepower.

The FCC has opened a new frontier in the amount of spectrum available for unlicensed and experimental operations, adopting rules covering frequencies between 95 GHz and 3 THz (3,000 GHz). Find out what this means for you from a Fletcher Heald & Hildreth attorney.

Media Information Bureau featured columnist Ken Benner is thrilled that the "ABIP Wheel" has rolled into the Portals and captured its attention. Why? It seems things he's advocated for have gotten the FCC's attention -- and they've reacted in a positive manner.

An auction of Construction Permits for Low Power Television and TV Translator Stations is in the works, and a comment date and reply comment date have been set by the FCC as it seeks input on competitive bidding procedures for what will be "Auction 104."

It's a busy month, as Wilkinson Barker Knauer attorney David Oxenford notes. Radio License Renewal, Quarterly Issues Programs Lists and Children’s Television Reports, Repacking and EEO Dates, and Comments on the Quadrennial Review — all are things to consider in April.

On February 14, it was announced that NBC News, MSNBC and Telemundo will host the first democratic presidential primary debate of the 2020 cycle live. We now know where the back-to-back evening debates will be staged.

Should a radio or television broadcasting company point fingers at an alternative inspector in cases where violations are found, leading the licensee to fess to the Commission? The latest column from featured columnist Ken Benner shows why doing so is the wrong move.

It's a well-known fact that FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is a huge sports fan. Pai's likely planning to watch the championship game on Monday, April 8. This could involve a Las Vegas venue, because he's booked for 3pm the next day on the main stage at the 2019 NAB Show.

One of the most frequent inquiries received by RBR+TVBR columnist Ken Benner is the following question, “What are the most frequent violations found during the inspections you conduct?” Given the Entercom/Buffalo news, we are pleased to share it again.

What are the most important broadcast deadline your radio and/or TV stations need to know about during the second quarter of 2019? Fletcher Heald & Hildreth has a handy checklist we're pleased to share with you.

Four seasoned federal legislators – two Democrats and two Republicans – will co-chair the Public Broadcasting Caucus in the 116th Congress. One of these individuals will be very familiar to those who followed the actions of the powerful House E&C Committee of late.

Reps. Dave Loebsack recently introduced legislation that would create a competitive grant program, administered through the FCC, to establish or expand training programs for communications tower jobs. This was cheered by one FCC Commissioner in particular.

The FCC will lift the nine-year old freeze on applications for displacement relief and digital companion channels by LPTVs, and applications will be accepted starting April 18. Peter Tannenwald has much to share on what this new filing opportunity means for applicants.

Here's some advice to radio station owners from featured columnist Ken Benner: "Don’t forget your license to microwave your signal from your studio to transmitter, your individual translators, etc." If not, kiss those AE bonuses and a salary bump goodbye.

The American Cable Association is recommending modest changes to a proposal by the NAB and NCTA – The Internet and Television Association to amend the FCC’s broadcast carriage election rules. Those parties represent the interests of large broadcasters and cable operators, and ACA seeks to ensure the proposal does not unduly burden small operators.