On April 17, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated a $57 million forfeiture order issued by the FCC against AT&T, ruling that the FCC violated the Constitution by imposing the penalty without first bringing the case to a federal court. The decision in AT&T v. FCC could significantly alter the
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FHH Attorneys to Participate in MFM Webinar Series
FHH attorneys Frank Montero and Seth Williams will present a webinar for the Media Financial Management Association’s town hall series. Their presentation, titled Advertising Marijuana and other “Vices” Under the Trump/Carr FCC, will take place March 20, 2025, at 2:00 PM EDT. The presentation will last about an hour, including time for questions. Those interested…
FCC Requires MVPDs to Submit Reports of Broadcast Station Blackouts
By Mark Malonzo
Tags: Broadcast, TV, MVPD, Cable, Satellite, FCC, Retransmission Consent, Medi
The FCC adopted rules on January 3 that require Multichannel Video Programming Distributors, including cable or satellite providers (“MVPDs” or “Reporting Entities”) to report certain broadcast station blackouts. The rules will be effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, but MVPDs will not be…
FCC Opens Limited Filing Window for New Noncommercial TV Stations
The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) has issued a public notice, DA 24-1065, which announces the opening of a filing window for applications for construction permit for new noncommercial educational (“NCE”) TV stations in 12 specified communities in various areas of the United States. This window opens at 12:01 a.m. EST on December 4,…
Comment Deadline Set for Proposed Disclosure Requirements for AI Content in Political Ads
As has been widely publicized, the FCC has proposed that broadcasters be required to air an announcement for all political ads, including both candidate and issue ads that contain content generated by artificial intelligence (AI). The deadlines for comments on this proposal have now been set. Initial comments will be due by September 4, 2024,…
ETRS Form One Due Oct. 4 for All EAS Participants
By Mark Malonzo
The FCC announced today that all EAS Participants must submit their annual Form One filings no later than October 4, 2024. EAS Participants are parties subject to the Emergency Alert System (EAS) rules. Virtually all broadcast stations, wired and wireless cable television systems, Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service, digital audio broadcasting systems, and wireline video…
FCC Sets Effective Date for Foreign Sponsorship ID Rule Changes
On July 16th, the FCC announced that two changes to its sponsorship identification requirements for foreign government-provided programming, as detailed in its June 10th Second Report and Order, are set to become effective on August 15, 2024.
Recall that the FCC modified its sponsorship identification rules in March of 2022 to require broadcasters to…
New Pre-Sunrise and Post-Sunset Power Levels Available for Eligible AM Stations
By Mark Malonzo
The FCC is now accepting letter requests from AM stations for pre-sunrise authorization (PSRA) and post-sunset authorization (PSSA). PSRA permits AM stations to operate at increased power during the two hours immediately preceding sunrise. PSSA allows for increased power for the two hours immediately following sunset.
According to the FCC’s Public Notice, the Audio…
New Commercial FM Programming Non-Duplication Rule Goes Into Effect on August 2, 2024
The FCC recently announced that August 2, 2024, is the effective date of its newly reinstated programming non-duplication rule for commercial FM stations. As we have previously noted here, that rule, which was reinstated in a June 2024 Reconsideration Order, prohibits commonly owned or operated commercial FM stations with overlapping service contours from…
FCC Received Petition for New FM Broadcast Station Class
On June 20, the FCC released a Public Notice announcing a June 13 Petition for Rulemaking submitted by Commander Communication Corporation (“Commander”) to create a new FM station class “A10.” In its Petition, Commander proposed a new FM class with operating parameters of maximum of 10,000 watts effective radiated power (ERP) and 100 meters height…