Public Radio Webcasters: Have We Got a Deal for You!

Posted on January 15, 2009 by Kevin Goldberg

Attention all broadcasters: 

Are you a noncommercial broadcaster currently engaged in webcasting?

Are you one of the more than 450 public radio webcasters that is:

  • A CPB supported station;
  • An NPR member;
  • A National Federation of Community Broadcasters Member; or
  • Part of American Public Media, the Public Radio Exchange or Public Radio International? 

If the answer to both of these questions is "YES!", you'll want to read more about an exciting new offer available to you.

SoundExchange and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting have announced that a settlement has been reached that will alter the way in which these stations pay royalties and report webcasting performances through 2010. 

The current royalty rates have been the subject of significant discussion in the broadcasting community, including  several  informative  articles  in  this  very blog.  The sharp increase in rates for the period 2006-2010 was especially feared by noncommercial stations with a large web audience, as those noncommercial stations would pay at commercial rates anytime their internet listenership exceeded 159,140 "aggregate tuning hours" in a given month, as opposed to the flat fee these stations (and small webcasters) had paid prior to the institution of new rates.

Pursuant to the Webcaster Settlement Act of 2008, this settlement agreement can go into effect immediately, with the following applicable terms: 

  • Any eligible radio station which chooses to participate will not have to make any further royalty payments until December 31, 2010, as CPB will make a single, up front payment of $ 1.85 million to SoundExchange on behalf of public radio staitons. 
     
  • SoundExchange will also create a consolidated playlist reporting system for use by all stations which choose to become a part of this program; those stations will be responsible for providing playlist information to CPB.
     
  • Stations wishing to participate must register their intent with CPB on a designted website; CPB will provide details regarding that registration website in the near future.
     
  • This agreement does not affect the "sound performance complement" portion of the statutory license (the restrictions on the number of songs that can be played from a certain CD or by a certain artist within a given time frame, the length of time for which a program can be archived, etc), meaning even participating stations must follow those rules.
     
  • As a condition of the settlement, NPR will withdraw its appeal of the Copyright Royalty Board decision (we see this as an indication that more settlement discussions continue between SoundExchange and those segments of the webcasting community that are part of the pending court appeal).

No station is required to participate in this settlement. Thus, a station that is certain it will never exceed the aggregate tuning hour limitation in any given month may simply decide to ride out the next two years until the new rates are determined for 2011 and beyond in a proceeding that will commence in the near future (more on that soon).  Still, if you believe you may be eligible and wish to participate, keep an eye out for further communications from CPB or contact a Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth attorney.
Tags: , , , , , ,

Expedited Settlement Opportunity for NCE FM Applicants Available Until January 7, 2008

Posted on November 8, 2007 by Harry Cole

The FCC has announced that applicants who filed during the recent noncommercial educational (NCE) FM filing window may settle with mutually exclusive (MX) applicants and receive expedited processing of their proposals as long as the settlement agreements and any related technical amendments are filed by January 7, 2008. (Of course, as the Commission's public notice acknowledges, mutually exclusive applicants may settle at any time - not just within this prescribed window - but the FCC has indicated that settlements filed by January 7 will receive expedited processing.)

In order to take advantage of this window opportunity, applicants may resolve technical mutual exclusivity by one of two methods: (a) settlement or (b) technical amendment.

A settlement must propose the grant of at least one technically acceptable application with an MX group and must not create any new MX conflicts. All settlements are subject to reimbursement restrictions - that is, neither the applicant nor any of its principals may received (or be promised) consideration in excess of the legitimate and prudent expenses incurred in the preparation, filing, prosecution and settling of the application.

Technical amendments must resolve all conflicts between at least one applicant and all other applications filed in the window. Only "minor" engineering amendments will be accepted. Such amendments would include specification of an adjacent channel, a new transmitter site, lower power, and the like.

A copy of the Commission's announcement - which specifies a number of filing requirements associated with the submission of settlements - may be found here.

According to the public notice, all applications filed during the October, 2007 window are being made publicly available as of November 8. However, a public notice identifying the various MX groups of applications will not be released until after the close of the settlement window. In other words, it's up to the applicants to determine any and all pending MX proposals for settlement purposes.
Tags: , , , ,