David Oxenford

By: David Oxenford, Wilkinson Barker Knauer

With much of everyone’s focus on the outcome of the November 5 general election, broadcasters can’t forget the regulatory dates and deadlines in November and early December.  While the dates and deadlines in November are lighter than in many other months, many routine deadlines do fall in early December, and even the upcoming month does have dates worthy of note.

The one broadly applicable deadline for AM stations that does fall early in the upcoming month is November 3, when Daylight Savings Time ends.  AM daytime-only radio stations, AM stations with different daytime and nighttime patterns, and those operating with pre-sunrise and/or post-sunset authority should check their sign-on and sign-off times on their current FCC authorizations to ensure continued compliance with the FCC’s rules.  Broadcasters need to note that all times listed in FCC licenses are stated in standard time, not daylight savings time even if it is in effect.

For television stations, there is a deadline later in the month. November 26 is the deadline for television stations to provide an aural description of visual but non-textual emergency information, such as maps or other graphic displays, conveyed outside of station newscasts.  This would include maps showing severe weather and other graphic depictions of emergency information during non-news programming.  Since 2013, stations must make textual information about emergency conditions that occur during non-newscast video programming (such as textual crawls about emergency conditions) audibly accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired through having the textual information presented aurally on the station’s SAP channel – the secondary audio channel.  The 2013 rules required that visual maps and other non-textual information also be described on SAP channels but, as we discussed in articles here, here, and here, the FCC has extended this deadline numerous times because of the unavailability of workable technology that can automatically perform the functions required by the rule.  By the November 26 deadline, stations will either need to provide aural information about non-textual emergency information that runs outside of a newscast, or avoid airing such graphical alerts during non-news programming, or hope that there are new requests for FCC relief before the looming deadline.

FM stations should be tuned to the FCC’s November 21 open meeting.  In the Chairwoman’s preview of that meeting, she announced that the meeting will consider final rules for the origination of limited amounts of original programming on FM boosters to provide different news or commercials in different parts of the primary station’s market.  The FCC approved “geocasting” or “zonecasting” through the use of FM boosters in April, though stations have so far had to provide such service through experimental authorizations (see our article here).  If the Commission adopts the rules announced in the Chairwoman’s notes at the November meeting, the process of initiating such service may be simplified.  Look for more information about the likely new rules in the coming days.

There are a few comment deadlines in the coming month. November 1 is the deadline for replies to oppositions to petitions to deny filed against Paramount’s transfer applications proposing the company’s merger with Skydance Media, LLC, which will result in the family of billionaire Larry Ellison holding a controlling stake in the company.  In an amendment to the application filed this week, the proposed buyer said that all control would be exercised by David Ellison, the son of Larry, as the sole manager of the LLCs which will invest the family’s money in Paramount and hold control of the company.  Paramount holds licenses, through various direct and indirect subsidiaries, for 28 TV stations, in addition to a Class A TV and two LPTV stations.  Petitions to deny were due October 7 (see petition here) and oppositions to the petitions to deny were due October 22 (see opposition here).

November 12 is the deadline for filing comments and objections to the Copyright Royalty Board’s 2026-2030 proposed rates and terms for the payment of sound recording performance royalties by nonprofit webcasters not affiliated with National Public Radio or the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and that are operated by colleges and other educational institutions.  See our article here that mentions this deadline and provides more detail on this proceeding.

November 15 is the deadline for filing petitions to deny against the tentative selectees from 93 groups of mutually exclusive LPFM construction permit applications filed during the December 2023 LPFM filing window.  See the FCC notice here for more information on the FCC’s review of the LPFM applications, here for a list of the tentative selectees (listed in bold), and here for a list of the full power FM stations and FM translators affected by the second-adjacent channel waiver requests made by some of the LPFM applicants.

November 22 is the deadline for comments responding to the FCC’s Notice of Inquiry regarding 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), service providers.  Of interest to broadcasters, the FCC seeks comment on whether providers should offer customers credits for service interruptions, including those arising from failed retransmission consent negotiations with broadcast stations.  Reply comments are due December 9.

In November, some previously adopted rules will become effective.  November 18 is the effective date of the FCC’s February Report and Order permitting the use of a new type of wireless microphone system called “Wireless Multi-Channel Audio System” (WMAS) on a licensed basis in frequency bands where wireless microphones are currently authorized, including the TV bands (VHF and UHF).  The FCC’s goal in licensing WMAS is to enhance the spectral efficiency of wireless microphones without altering the spectrum rights or expectations of existing users, including broadcast licensees.

November 20 is the effective date for some rules adopted by the FCC in its September Report and Order permitting digital FM radio stations to operate at different power levels on their upper and lower digital sidebands.  The new rules that become effective on November 20 include the FCC’s new definition for asymmetric sideband operations.  Most of the rules adopted in the Order, however, including the new Form 335-FM digital FM operation notification procedures needed to allow stations to initiate the newly authorized operations without prior FCC approval, still require the Office of Management and Budget’s approval before the will become effective.

Looking ahead to early December, December 2 (as the 1^st is a Sunday) is 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 five or more full-time employees to upload their Annual EEO Public File Report to their stations’ Online Public Inspection Files.  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 five 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.  Be timely getting these reports into your station’s OPIF, as even a single late report can lead to FCC fines (see our article here about a recent $26,000 fine for a single late EEO report).

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 Alabama and Georgia are subject to this review.  Additionally, 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 on radio stations’ Mid-Term EEO Review reporting requirements.

December 2 is also the date by which television stations that provided non-broadcast ancillary and supplementary services between October 1, 2023 and September 30, 2024 must file FCC Form 2100, Schedule G, Annual DTV Ancillary/Supplementary Services Report along with any fees that are due to the Commission.  Expect the FCC to issue a reminder about this obligation in November, setting out the details of who must pay and the process for making the required payments.

In early December, there are two other dates worth noting.  Stations selected in the most recent random FCC EEO Audit must upload their responses to their FCC-hosted online public inspection file by December 2 (except for stations in areas hit by the recent hurricanes who have until January 16 to respond).  See our article here for more on the EEO audits.

TV stations should also note that there will be a freeze on the filing of applications for changes in the facilities of full-power and Class A TV stations from December 3 through December 11 to provide a stable database for applicants for 12 new noncommercial television stations.  Applicants seeking those new noncommercial television stations can file in a window from December 4 through 6 PM Eastern Time on December 11.  For more on the freeze and the window, see the FCC’s Public Notice about the filing window.  We also wrote an article here on this window and why we have not seen any windows for the filing of applications for new commercial broadcast stations in several years.

In November, broadcasters need to continue to provide lowest unit rates through the November 5 election.  But, in some states, it is possible that the political campaigns will not end on November 5.  There are several potential runoff elections scheduled for November and December, dependent on the outcome the general election, and broadcasters serving Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi should be on the alert in case runoff elections are required in their states.  The dates for such runoff elections are set forth below, as are the dates  for the political windows for these runoff elections during which Lowest Unit Rates apply to advertising sales to candidates and their authorized committees (see our article here on the basics of computing LUR):

As always, check with your attorneys and advisors to see if there are other dates not mentioned here that are of importance to your station.  Always stay on top of all regulatory requirements.

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.