On June 7, 2019, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or the “Commission”) released a Report and Order (“R&O”) revising the Commission’s rules under which independent programmers may lease cable TV channels to retransmit their programming (“Leased Access Rules”). Leased Access has rarely been used, due to concerns by both cable operators and programmers, and the … Continue Reading
Is there an easier way to notify the Commission when a station has taken part in the Alternative Broadcast Inspection Program (ABIP)? Or does the FCC need to be notified at all? The agency seeks public input on the issue. The alternative program is a series of agreements between the Enforcement Bureau and a private … Continue Reading
PRA notice suggests low-ball estimate, but what about, um, the 10 hours of outside attorney time the FCC told OMB about six months ago? Back in January the Commission announced its most recent overhaul of the biennial Ownership Reports that commercial and noncommercial broadcasters are required to file using, respectively, Forms 323 and 323-E. As … Continue Reading
As part of the Paperwork Reduction Act process necessary to secure another three-year OK from OMB, the FCC has solicited comments on its local public inspection file rules again.… Continue Reading
If you're a broadcaster and you're worried that you may have violated the on-air contest rule - or if the FCC has concluded that you did violate that rule - you may be in luck.… Continue Reading
OMB has approved some relatively modest changes to FCC Forms 314 and 315 to advance implementation of the Tribal Priorities adopted last year with respect to AM and FM stations.… Continue Reading
The revised versions of Section 73.3573 and Form 301 adopted in connection with the FCC's Tribal Priority process relative to the allotment of commercial FM channels have received OMB's seal of Paperwork Reduction Act approval.… Continue Reading
The FCC has adopted a process to assure that Native American tribes get first dibs on commercial FM channels allotted pursuant to Tribal Priorities.… Continue Reading
Last August the Commission decided that all TV pickup licenses in the 6875-7125 MHz and 12700-13200 MHz bands will have to be registered in ULS. The implementation of that requirement is now inching forward.… Continue Reading
The inquiry into whether there really is any need for the public inspection file has now been bucked over to OMB. And the FCC is digging its regulatory heels in.… Continue Reading
The AM and FM channel allotment priorities adopted in the Rural Radio proceeding are now fully effective -- meaning that OMB has signed off on the "information collection", or certification, aspects of those new priorities.… Continue Reading
News on the net neutrality front! The Commission has shipped two "information collection" aspects of its"open Internet" rules over to the Office of Management and Budget for its review.… Continue Reading
All you STELA watchers who have been waiting on tenterhooks for more than six months can now breathe easy: the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved Section 73.686(e).… Continue Reading
Heads up! The deadline for letting the FCC know your thoughts and experiences relative to the local public inspection file rule is fast approaching.… Continue Reading
If you've got anything you'd like to say to the Feds about the FCC's new rural radio certification requirements, your last chance to do so is fast approaching. The Commission has just announced the deadline for what is likely to be the last round of public comments before those requirements formally take effect.… Continue Reading
The effective date for some, but not all, of the rules adopted in the Rural Radio Second Report and Order has been set. But the real attention-grabber in the Second R&O was the Commission's overhaul of Section 307(b) policies. When do those new policies become effective?… Continue Reading
The Commission has signaled that the recently adopted certification requirements for AM/FM applications proposing changes in community-of-license need to be approved by OMB. The process of seeking that approval has now started.… Continue Reading
The last piece of the STELA constellation of rule changes is out for Paperwork Reduction Act comments before heading to OMB. This one involves the procedures for measuring the field strength of digital television signals.… Continue Reading