Washington Beat

With summer in the rearview mirror, it’s time to get back to work and look ahead to the rest of the year.  Here’s a list of FCC-related broadcast and telecom deadlines, courtesy of Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth, to print and save.

The FCC on Wednesday released its Broadcast Station Totals for the third quarter of 2018. The biggest headline from the new totals: The total number of commercially licensed UHF stations has dipped below 1,000. At the same time, there are fewer AM radio stations and far more FM translators and boosters.

Media Information Bureau featured columnist Ken Benner is back with another great column designed to prevent your station's accounts payable department from writing a hefty check to the U.S. Treasury or FCC in response to a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture. 

Friday morning saw the appearance of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai at the White House 5G Summit. There, Pai outlined his 5G FAST (Facilitate America’s Superiority in 5G Technology) Plan. What could this mean for broadcast media? Here are Pai's remarks in full, along with a 1-page review of his plan.

FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly on Thursday survived a tricky trip from the Nation's Capital to the 2018 Radio Show, being held just a stone's throw away from Walt Disney World. O'Rielly's after-lunch keynote address was certainly worth hearing for radio station owners hoping for a loosening of the FCC's subcap rules. He believes the NAB's proposal has merit.

The FCC spectrum incentive auction and its impact on FM radio stations is of top concern to the NAB. As such, it filed comments with the Commission on Wednesday concerning the reimbursement of LPTV, TV translators and FM radio stations for expenses incurred as a result of the repacking of TV stations following the close of the broadcast spectrum incentive auction.

America’s Public Television Stations (APTS), with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Public Broadcasting Service, on Wednesday urged the FCC to fully fund the consumer education program established by Congress to help television viewers adjust to new channel assignments required in the aftermath of the 2017 spectrum auction.

The FCC on Monday adopted a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM)  to address how local franchising authorities (LFAs) may regulate cable operators, striking it from the September Open Meeting agenda. Specifically, the Second FNPRM addresses two issues raised by a remand from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Montgomery County, MD. v. FCC. 

South Florida has been long known as the Pirate Radio capital of America. Over the years, many translators and LPFMs have taken over -- legally -- many of the FM frequencies used over the years by pirates. It seems one of these LPFMs has a problem following the rules regarding its transmitter.

On September 6, Media Information Bureau featured columnist Ken Benner offered readers details of his conversation with a regional Commission engineer who agreed to provide an outline of what, in his view, are the most significant items he looks for when visiting a station during a random inspection. It turns out the FCC engineer had more to share. Here's more from Benner that could help your stations avoid costly forfeitures or U.S Treasury consent decree payments.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Tuesday (9/18) affirmed music streaming rates established for 2016 through 2020 set by the Copyright Royalty Board — the so-called "Web IV" rates that didn't sit well with the appellant in this case, SoundExchange.

It turns out two companies with radio stations in the path of the devastating storm voluntarily banded together to deliver mensajes en español to Latinos across the impacted region of the Carolinas. A third company based in Miami pitched in to handle the production of the alerts. Meanwhile, some 25 FM stations, 3 AMs and 5 TV stations are dark.

Come Thursday, unless delayed by a real emergency, FEMA and the FCC are on track to conduct a combined nationwide test of the EAS and the WEA system. It's set for Thursday, Sept. 20, and as Fletcher Heald & Hildreth attorneys note, there's one important reminder all broadcast media stations should take note of: Don't use the EAS tone outside of a test.

Serving the city of Wilmington, Del., 100-watt Class A WMPH-FM is a radio training ground for students in the Brandywine School District, branded as "Super 91.7." Things aren't so super, however. The school district just entered into a Consent Decree with the FCC to resolve issues tied to WMPH's license renewal application. We've got an RBR+TVBR Observation on the matter.

It appears Republican FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly will be seeking out a new Chief Of Staff and Media Advisor. After 12 months in the dual roles, Brooke Ericson has announced her pending departure from the Commission.