Vol. 2, Issue 4, July 2003

Has It Really Been That Long?

This month celebrates the two year anniversary of the opening of my own law practice. It will be a celebration because of the tremendous support I have received from family, friends and clients (all of whom I am fortunate enough to consider as friends). My family and I are very grateful for all of kindness and encouragement we have been shown during some pretty trying times. As a new small business operator, I now understand what most of you have probably known for a long time -- the biggest compliment a customer can pay is to refer you to another potential customer. That’s the surest way to grow a business. I am fortunate enough to have a pretty good network of people trying to spread the word about what we do and how we do it. Many thanks again to all who have enabled me to stay on course so far.

New Ownership Rules Create a Freeze on Assignments and Transfers

The new broadcast ownership rules were adopted on June 2, but the Report and Order was not formally released until July 2, 2003. Of course, it was a very divided Commission that adopted these rules and there is much political wrangling concerning the new rules. The rules will not become effective until 30 days after a summary of the new rules is published in the Federal Register.

Meanwhile, there is a freeze on the filing of applications for assignments or transfers of licenses until new forms are created by the FCC to reflect the changes adopted in the new rules, and those forms must then be approved by the Office of Management and Budget. Even more disconcerting, the FCC has frozen the processing of pending assignment and transfer applications, at least until the new FCC forms are adopted. After they are adopted, pending applicants will have to amend or refile their applications or seek a waiver of the rules because a multiple ownership study is not required for the grant of the application (i.e., someone purchasing a first station).

A Step Towards FM Auctions?

The FCC has adopted rules that provide a framework for resolving situations where mutually exclusive commercial and non-commercial educational (“NCE”) applicants are competing for a non-reserved (i.e., commercial) band facility. These new rules allow NCE applicants to apply for commercial AM, FM, TV, LPTV, and FM translator stations. If the NCE applicant is a “singleton,” the application can be processed and granted. If the application is MXd only with other NCE applicants, then the case is resolved using the recently adopted NCE point system. If there are commercial applications that are MXd with NCE applications, the resolution is more complicated, and less favorable to the NCE applicants.

In the FM or television service, if an NCE applicant is mutually exclusive with a commercial applicant for a commercial frequency, then the FCC will simply dismiss the NCE applicant. It will not allow the NCE applicant to change its status to “for-profit” in order to participate in an auction for the facility.

In the AM and secondary (LPTV, FM translator) services, a post-filing window will open to allow mutually exclusive commercial and NCE applicants to resolve conflicts using engineering solutions (site changes, directional antennas, etc.)

The new rules also provide a procedure that would allow an NCE entity to petition the FCC to change a commercial allotment in the FM or TV Table of Allotments into a non-commercial allotment.

Renewal and Ownership Report Schedule

August 1, 2003 is the deadline for radio licensees in North and South Carolina to get their license renewal applications on file with the FCC. It is also the day that pre-renewal filing announcements start for radio stations located in Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. And it is also the date when biennial ownership reports for radio and television stations in California, Illinois, North Carolina, South Carolina and Wisconsin are due. For help with any of these matters, please call us.

October 1, 2003 is the deadline for radio stations located in Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands to file their renewal applications with the FCC. It is also day pre-renewal filing announcements should start at radio stations located in Alabama and Georgia. And finally, it is the deadline for radio and television stations in Alaska, American Samoa, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Iowa, Mariana Islands, Missouri, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and Washington to file biennial ownership reports.

Double Check Your EAS

Fining stations for EAS violations seems to be all the rage in the Enforcement Bureau these days. Fines are generally ranging between $4,000 and $8,000 depending on how bad the EAS violation is (like not having the equipment versus forgetting to run or log the required tests for a few weeks) and what other violations are found at the station. If you are looking for a way to avoid inspections altogether, check with your state broadcasters association to see if they have a voluntary compliance program. Call me if you need more information.

NAB Radio Show in Philly October 1 and 2

Unfortunately, we missed the BIG NAB show in Vegas this year, however, we are planning to attend the NAB Radio Show in Philadelphia. I look forward to meeting with 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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