David Oxenford

By: David Oxenford, Wilkinson Barker Knauer

Editor's note:  As your MAB News Briefs did not publish last week due to the Thanksgiving holiday, we're a little late on some of these deadlines.  Our apologies.

Even with the holidays upon us, regulation never stops.  There are several yearly deadlines in December which broadcasters need to review, particularly those in certain states with EEO requirements at the beginning of the month.  There is a short freeze on TV applications while applications in a window for new noncommercial TV stations are filed.  And, despite the transition to a Republican-led FCC next year (see our discussion here) and the “pencils-down” requests issued to the FCC by some Republican politicians (see our discussion here), the FCC will be voting on some changes to its broadcast rules at its December 11 open meeting.  What follows are some of the upcoming deadlines that you should be watching.

December 2 is the deadline for the filing of the Annual DTV Ancillary/Supplementary Services Report for the 12-Month Period Ending on September 30, 2024, and the submission of any payments that are due.  This applies to commercial and noncommercial full-power TV stations, Class A TV stations, and LPTV stations (including those operating on Channel 6) that have fee-based, non-broadcast revenues from their digital transmission capabilities.  This means that if TV stations earned fees for data transmission or other non-broadcast services, they must file the report and pay the fees.  If they did not, the report is not required.

December 2 is also the deadline for radio and television station employment units in Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Vermont with 5 or more full-time employees to upload their Annual EEO Public File Report to their stations’ online public inspection files (OPIFs).  A station employment unit is a station or cluster of commonly controlled stations serving the same general geographic area having at least one common employee.  For employment units with 5 or more full-time employees, the annual report covers hiring and employment outreach activities for the prior year.  A link to the uploaded report must also be included on the home page of each station’s website, if the station has a website.

The filing of the Annual EEO Public File Reports by radio station employment units with eleven or more full-time employees or TV stations with five or more employees triggers a Mid-Term EEO Review that analyzes the last two Annual Reports for compliance with the FCC’s EEO requirements.  The Mid-Term EEO Review begins December 2 for these larger radio station employment units in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota.  Television station employment units in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are subject to this review.  Radio stations located in those states that are part of station employment units with five or more full-time employees must also indicate in their OPIFs whether their employment unit has eleven or more full-time employees, using a checkbox now included in the OPIF’s EEO folder.  This allows the FCC to determine which station groups need a Mid-Term EEO Review.  See our articles here and here for more on the Mid-Term EEO Review.

There is also a December 2 deadline for the 150 radio and TV stations listed in the FCC’s Second 2024 EEO Audit Notice to upload their EEO Audit Responses to their OPIFs.  Audited stations and their station employment units must provide to the FCC their last two years of EEO Annual Public File Reports and other documentation showing that the stations complied with the FCC’s EEO rules.  Radio and TV stations in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia impacted by Hurricanes Helene or Milton have instead until January 16, 2025 to respond to the EEO Audit.  See our articles here and here for more on the second round of 2024 EEO audits and the importance the FCC places on broadcast stations’ EEO compliance.

Filing freezes begin at 12:01 a.m. EST on December 3 for all full power TV station channel change petitions and for all full power and Class A TV station minor and major modification applications to allow the opening of a filing window at 12:01 a.m. EST on December 4 for construction permits for new noncommercial TV stations in certain locations in Alabama, Alaska, California, Idaho, Iowa, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia.  The filing window and the filing freezes imposed to enable the window (including the filing freeze beginning on October 10 for petitions to add new reserved noncommercial educational channels to the Table of TV Allotments) will end at 6:00 p.m. EST on December 11.  See the FCC’s Public Notice and our article here for more information on the noncommercial TV station filing window and the associated filing freezes.

December 9 is the deadline for filing reply comments in response to the FCC’s October Notice of Inquiry seeking comment on whether the FCC should review and strengthen its existing customer service standards for cable providers and whether it should establish similar standards for direct broadcast satellite (DBS), voice, and broadband service providers based their low customer satisfaction ratings.  The FCC seeks comment on whether providers should: (1) provide a simple method for customers to cancel services; (2) obtain explicit customer consent for automatic service renewals (see our discussion here of the FTC’s adoption in October of the related “Click to Cancel Rule”); or (3) be permitted to use AI technologies as an alternative to live service representatives.  Of interest to broadcasters, the FCC also seeks comment on whether providers should offer credits to affected customers for service interruptions, including those arising from failed retransmission consent negotiations with broadcast stations.  Comments were due November 22.

At its regular monthly Open Meeting on December 11, the FCC will vote on a draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to start a proceeding looking to update several TV and radio rules to reflect current application processing requirements.  While many of the proposed rule changes are procedural, some of the more notable proposed changes include: (1) allowing AM stations seeking to improve their facilities at their current transmitter sites to request power increases of less than 20% (to eliminate burdens on FCC staff, current rules require do not allow a power increase of less than 20% to be considered by the Commission); (2) allowing directors or designated employees to sign FCC applications – not just officers; (3) allowing STAs for technical or equipment problems to be granted for 180 days, rather than the 90 days currently permitted by the rules; and (4) establishing additional procedures for informal objections.

December 15 is the deadline for tied tentative selectees in the December 2023 LPFM filing window to submit their voluntary time-sharing proposals and for mutually exclusive (MX) applicants to file major technical amendments to their applications to resolve their mutual exclusivities (applications that cannot all be granted under the FCC’s technical rules).  The FCC previously announced the tentative selectees (listed here in bold) from 93 groups of MX’d LPFM construction permit applications filed during the December 2023 LPFM filing window.  The FCC evaluated the LPFM applications using a points system and the tentative selectee of each MX group was either a single applicant with the highest point total or multiple applicants tied for the highest point total from each MX group.  The Notice provides guidance on filing voluntary time-share proposals and major technical amendments.

December 16 is the revised deadline for filing petitions to deny against the Paramount-Skydance Media transfer applications.  The FCC’s Media Bureau updated the filing deadline after the Paramount and Skydance filed amendments to the applications to revise their proposed post-merger ownership structure.  As we discussed here, the amended applications now propose that David Ellison, Larry Ellison’s son, will hold a controlling stake in the company, in addition to serving as its Chairman and CEO.  Oppositions to any petitions to deny filed are due January 2, and replies to any oppositions filed are due January 13.

December 19 is the deadline cable operators and DBS providers to begin specifying the “all-in” price for video programming in promotional materials and on subscribers’ bills.  The FCC adopted the “all-in” rule in an April Report and Order, requiring that video programming charges as a single line item, including charges for broadcast retransmission consent, regional sports, and other programming.  Small cable operators (those with $47 million or less in annual receipts), however, have until March 19, 2025 to comply with the rule.

December 26 is the deadline for comments on the National Association of Broadcasters’ request for an 18-month extension of the November 26 deadline to comply with the FCC’s rule requiring TV stations to provide an aural description of non-textual emergency information, such as maps or other graphic displays, conveyed outside of station newscasts.  On November 25, the FCC asked for comments on the extension request. Reply comments will be due January 9.  The extension is requested to permit the FCC to consider NAB’s proposal to amend the rules.  As we discussed, here, here, and here, and here, the FCC has extended this deadline numerous times since its 2013 adoption because of the unavailability of technology needed for stations to comply.  The NAB now requests a rule change allowing broadcasters to meet the FCC’s requirements if they provide “textual crawls that provide emergency information duplicative or equivalent to the information conveyed by the visual image.” Otherwise, NAB argues, many stations will cease airing visual images regarding emergencies when the rule takes effect today.  See our article on our Blog for more on the NAB’s petition.

Looking ahead to January, licensees of full-power TV/AM/FM stations and Class A TV stations need to remember that Quarterly Issues/Programs lists are to be uploaded to their stations’ OPIFs by January 10.  The lists should identify the issues of importance to the station’s community and the programs that the station aired in October, November, and December that addressed those issues.  As you finalize your lists, do so carefully and accurately, as they are the only official records of how your station is serving the public and addressing the needs and interests of its service area.  See our post here for more on the importance of the Quarterly Issues/Programs list obligation.

An extension of the FCC’s audio description rules will take effect on January 1, 2025 for TV stations affiliated with the Top 4 Networks (i.e., ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC) operating in Nielsen Designated Market Areas (DMAs) 101 through 110: (101) Tri-Cities, TN-VA; (102) Reno, NV; (103) Greenville-New Bern-Washington, NC; (104) Davenport-Rock Island-Moline, IA-IL; (105) Tallahassee-Thomasville, FL-GA; (106) Lincoln & Hastings-Kearney, NE; (107) Evansville, IN; (108) Ft. Wayne, IN; (109) Johnstown-Altoona-State College, PA; and (110) Augusta-Aiken, GA-SC.  The FCC’s Media Bureau last week issued a reminder to TV broadcasters about this date. In 2023, the FCC expanded its audio description requirements to Top 4 Network-affilated TV stations operating in DMAs 101 through 210 beginning with DMAs 91-100 on January 1, 2024, and ending with DMAs 201-210 on January 1, 2035 (see our discussion here).  Audio description provides narrated descriptions of a television program’s key visual elements during natural pauses in the program’s dialogue, for the benefit of individuals who are blind or visually impaired.

Enjoy your holidays and, as always, consult your own legal and technical advisors for other dates of importance that might apply to your stations in the upcoming month.

David Oxenford is MAB’s Washington Legal Counsel and provides members with answers to their legal questions with the MAB Legal Hotline. Access information here. (Members only access). There are no additional costs for the call; the advice is free as part of your MAB membership.