Vol. 2, Issue 3, February 2003

FM Translator Window for New and Major Change Applications

The FCC has announced a filing window for the acceptance of application for new FM translator stations and major changes to existing translator stations. The window will open on March 10, 2003, and all applications must be electronically filed by 6 pm EST on March 14, 2003. Mutually exclusive applications filed in this period will be subject to an FCC auction. To accommodate the filing window, from now until the close of the new/major change window, there is a freeze on minor change applications for FM translators.

Once the window closes, the FCC will examine all of the short-form applications filed during the window period, and all previously filed and pending applications for major change. It will first publish a list of all non-mutually exclusive applications that can proceed to grant without auction upon the filing and processing of a long-form application. It will then publish a list of groups of mutually exclusive applications, and provide a window for engineering solutions to cure mutually exclusive situations. Applications that are unable to cure the mutually exclusivity will be grouped together and go to auction.

Please contact me if you would like more information on the process, or have questions about FM translators, generally.

Additional Public Hearings on Revisions to Broadcast Ownership Rules

In addition to the February 27 all day hearing in Richmond on the topic, the FCC is planning two additional public hearings in March. The first will be in early March at the University of Washington in Seattle and the second will be later in the month at Duke University in North Carolina.

Over 13,000 members of the public have filed comments in this proceeding, and I urge all of you who have strong feelings on the issues of media consolidation, localism and diversity in ownership to make your voices heard.

If you need any help using the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System, please call me.

Presence at Main Studio Location

In the past month, two licensees have been fined by the FCC for failing to maintain a presence at the station’s main studio during normal business hours. One fine was for $7,000 and the other was fined $10,000 because that licensee also failed to register its antenna structure.

Section 73.1125(a) of the FCC’s rules requires but does not describe what kind of a “presence” is required at the main studio. To comply with the rule, a full time manager and a full time staff member must be present at the main studio during normal business hours. The manager does not have to stay chained to the desk (i.e., he or she can attend out-of-office meetings and make sales calls), but the manager must report to the main studio on a daily basis, spend a “substantial” amount of time there and use the studio as a “home base.” These same requirements hold true for station owners who broker the air time of their station to programmers. The licensee must maintain the same kind of main studio presence during the term of the time brokerage agreement.

NAB – Will YOU be there?

If all goes well, I will be packing up the office and headed to Vegas in April for NAB. I look forward to a chance to meet with many of you while I am there. Please drop me a note and let me know if you’re planning to attend.

This newsletter is intended to be for informational use only. Readers should not act upon the information presented here without seeking professional legal counseling to address the facts and circumstances specific to them. The transmission and/or receipt of this newsletter does not create an attorney-client relationship.

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