Washington Beat

Paul Feldman at Fletcher Heald & Hildreth has been monitoring when the effective date of the new rules will be, minus portions of the rules that require OMB approval. He now has a date circled on his 2022 calendar.

The FCC's Communications Equity and Diversity Council (CEDC) will gather online on February 23. The agenda for what will transpire has been released by the Commission.

The NAB on Wednesday filed a 157-page ex parte brief with the FCC that the nation's chief lobbying organization for broadcast media says "corrects numerous misstatements and mischaracterizations by other parties about the Supreme Court's media ownership decision."

The Initiative will involve actions by both agencies to strengthen the processes for decision making and information sharing and to work cooperatively to resolve spectrum policy issues.

A battle against the FCC that sees the NAB; Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC); and the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB) join hands in a united fight to stop the Commission's order mandating disclosures for foreign government-sponsored programming has yielded a freshly submitted reply brief — one that reiterates its belief that the new rules are overreaching and burdensome.

The ATVA is sharing its thoughts with the FCC on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking crafted to consider changes in the ATSC 3.0 licensing regime — a matter that comes following a NAB request.

In November 2021, the FCC's Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA) and the Media Bureau joined together to seek comment on the procedures to be used for "Auction 112," a sell-off of construction permits for full-power television stations. Now, the Commission is moving forward with the auction. And, as expected, bidding will begin in June.

The FCC's proposed rules would explicitly permit ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 stations licensing flexibility for multicast streams. That's something both PBS and APTS want codified by the Commission.

It appears a Central California school district didn't realize that the FCC won't accept a tardy slip. As a result, it is on the line for a fine for its untimely submission of a license renewal application for the low-power radio station it operates.

On February 1, KPCQ-AM celebrated its fourth birthday under the ownership of its current licensee. But, it may not have future birthdays, thanks to the FCC and its new Media Bureau Chief, Holly Saurer.

The NAB's Distinguished Service Award is presented annually to "a broadcaster who has made a significant and lasting contribution to the American broadcasting industry." The 2022 recipient of the DSA: the man who led the NAB until his retirement at the end of 2021.

The U.S. Senate has confirmed three Corporation for Public Broadcasting board members. Two are renominated, while the third is new. And, that new CPB board member happens to be a major entertainment industry executive. Here are the details.

Ensuring a broadcast station's license renewal application is filed in a timely manner with the FCC is a must. Yet, it doesn't always happen. That's the case with a Meridian, Miss., licensee that's just received a forfeiture notice for its tardiness.

A multimedia initiative that enables Members of Congress in cities where Sinclair Broadcast Group-owned stations have a local news department to speak directly to their constituents on a regular basis has returned.

While the "AMFA" support is dwarfed by that of the "Local Radio Freedom Act," with NABOB and the former FEMA Administrator now supporting the LRFA, one advocate pushing for the bill's passage is calling for the board of directors of two of the nation's biggest radio broadcasting companies to discuss "how music creators should be paid when their songs are played on AM/FM radio."