Washington Beat

The only full-powered FM station licensed to Beulah, N.D., is no more. It's the result of a FCC Audio Bureau decision that finds this station, which had been taken off the air "for financial reasons," couldn't use that as a reason for its failure to broadcast. As such, its license was cancelled and its call letters were terminated.

First, it was the disproportionate COVID-19 pandemic impact on the Black community. Then, it was the murder of George Floyd, and the resulting nationwide protests tied to a message that "Black Lives Matter." Now, a group of NABOB members believe it is time for Corporate America and Capitol Hill to speak up.

On Tuesday, New Jersey Broadcasters Association head Paul Rotella filed formal comments with the FCC asking that it permanently reduce, “and certainly not raise,” regulatory fees for broadcasters. Now, the NAB is chiming in with its own comments on the Commission's rulemaking pertaining to regulatory fee increases for fiscal 2020.

The FCC is truncating the C-band satellite downlink band from a bandwidth of 500 MHz to 200 MHz, with the other 300 MHz to be auctioned for terrestrial wireless services. Fletcher Heald & Hildreth attorney Peter Tannenwald explains here what's in store satellite dish operators entitled to reimbursement for costs associated with equipment modifications.

Is it that time already? The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene a nominations hearing on Tuesday (6/16) that will consider several presidential nominations. Among them: the renomination of a FCC Commissioner.

The FCC has issued a Declaratory Ruling designed to foster the growth of next-generation data services enabled by the transition of digital television to the ATSC 3.0 standard. It's a move the Commission calls another important step "to further unlock the potential of broadcast spectrum, empower innovation, and create significant value" for TV station owners and consumers.

From offices in Alexandria, Va., National Media works with political campaign managers to research, plan, and manage an election campaign across all mediums. This includes television. As such, National Media has committed to getting a better understanding of ad delivery to key TV audiences, while also gaining greater comprehension of the actual voter.

Broadcast Internet promises consumers "a range of innovative offerings" that can be delivered over the broadcast television spectrum that blankets U.S. communities today. These offerings include support for autonomous vehicles, the "Internet of Things," smart agriculture and telemedicine, among other applications. The very prospect of Broadcast Internet highly excites one FCC Commissioner.

FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks has spoken out on nationwide protests in response to racial injustice and the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis by committing himself to furthering diversity in media ownership. The comment comes just one day after GOP colleague Brendan Carr advocated for the further deregulation of radio industry ownership rules.

America's Public Television Stations on Monday filed comments as an interested outside party with the Commission in response to a NPRM and draft ruling that would bring improved broadband connectivity to rural areas via TV spectrum "white spaces." The organization urged the FCC to adopt the NPRM and a draft resolution, paving the way for "Broadcast Internet."

On Friday, Mike Gravino formally retired, but likely not by choice. The vibrant spectrum rights advocate was entering Hospice, as his fight with pancreatic cancer had become one he couldn't win. On Saturday, Gravino's battle concluded.

What did the NAB's COO say Wednesday to a group of U.S. Senators regarding the scope of music rights within the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)?  Curtis LeGeyt had a lot to discuss, and much of his conversation centered on the role broadcast radio plays in the U.S.

In March 2016, John R. Brooks and Erwin Krasnow penned a Media Information Bureau column that deviated from their common topic of how to find a lender, or ways to work with your lender in tough times. How should a broadcast media owner act if the lender-borrower relationship has failed? Examples of what not to do can be found here, in this encore presentation.

The Colorado Broadcasters Association has written to FCC Chairman Pai and all Commissioners with one big request for its members: Kill the proposed increase in regulatory fees for radio and TV stations. As the CBA sees it, the higher fees, combined with license renewals on the horizon, are "an unnecessary burden" given the COVID-19 pandemic.