Category: Advocacy

Proposal To Allow Radio And TV To Air Cannabis Ads Introduced In Senate.

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There is yet another path open to potentially allowing cannabis advertising on radio and television stations. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) has introduced a bill that would permit radio and television stations to accept advertising for legal cannabis products if the station is licensed in a state that permits the advertising of medical or adult-use cannabis.

The proposed Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Advertising Act is similar to a provision tucked inside the proposed Federal Communications Commission budget for fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. But unlike the budget maneuver under which the ad moratorium would only last for one-year, Luján’s bill would permanently remove any doubt about whether stations could accept cannabis advertising.

“As more states enact common-sense cannabis legislation, it’s crucial that radio and TV stations can accept advertising without fear of losing their license,” said Luján in a statement. “With health and safety measures in place, this legislation will allow broadcasters to accept cannabis advertisements in accordance with state laws.”

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FCC Trying to Visualize New and Improved EAS

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NAB sees no need for a “complex redesign” of EAS

The National Association of Broadcasters believes many of the pieces needed to improve emergency alerting in the United States are already in place and no major overhaul of existing EAS is needed.

The FCC’s pursuit of ways to improve the utility of EAS to more effectively reach larger segments of the population, especially persons who are deaf or hard of hearing with more visual alerts, has generated many responses from legacy EAS stakeholders.

The FCC’s EAS Notice of Inquiry (NOI) in 2021 was part of a broader rulemaking proposal seeking ways to modify the text associated with national EAS messages, including pre-stored templates for NPT messages. It also proposed requiring “triggered” CAP polling by broadcasters.

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NAB Launches Attack Ads Ahead Of Royalty Bill’s Expected Advance In Congress.

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Despite a near-majority of House members on record as opposing the creation of a performance royalty placed on radio stations, the National Association of Broadcasters says it expects a bill that would do just that will move forward in the coming weeks. The NAB says it expects House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) to bring up for a vote the American Music Fairness Act (H.R. 4130) and by its headcount, there are enough supporters of the proposal on the Committee for the bill to advance to the full House for consideration.

Nadler, a longtime supporter of a performance right for AM/FM airplay, held a hearing on the bill last month. If adopted, the American Music Fairness Act would create a performance right on AM/FM airplay, with rates that would be set for most stations by the Copyright Royalty Board. The main target is larger radio groups. Stations that fall under $1.5 million in annual revenue and whose parent companies make less than $10 million in annual revenue would pay $500 per year in performance royalties. And even smaller stations – those with less than $100,000 per year in revenue – would pay ten dollars a year.

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Big Country Stars Thank Radio

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From Dierks Bentley and Jon Pardi performing at The Ryman to Thomas Rhett, who played opening night of CRS at the Amazon Music sponsored event, the gratitude from country artists was clear; thank you for playing our songs. It’s the goal every country artist has and not one complained that radio stations were playing their music for free and they wanted to be paid.

That theme continued when songwriters played their big hits at Bob Kingsley’s Acoustic Alley Thursday night. The relationship between country artists and country radio stations is rock solid. It’s a relationship that both sides know produces number one songs and loyal listeners.

Warner Nashville CEO John Esposito went even further on the topic. During an interview with Mike McVay Esposito said, on the music side of things you cannot win just on streaming. “Radio is still a big discovery vehicle. It’s a big win for us when we get into the top 20. That’s when we start making money.”

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FCC Shares Cyber Warnings About Russia

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All communications companies should heed a recent security advisory, it said

The Federal Communications Commission is encouraging communications companies to read a federal security advisory about cyber threats from Russia, and act on it.

“The commission urges all communications companies to take the recommended actions to protect their networks from cyber threats, to detect and notify CISA of cyber threats impacting communications services and infrastructure, and to share threat information with CISA and other industry stakeholders, as appropriate,” it said in an announcement.CISA is the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

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Broadcasters Push for Local Journalism Tax Break Bill

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Say Big Tech is draining off critical ad dollars

Local broadcasters are urging the Senate to provide tax credits to stations that staff up their newsrooms, citing, in part, Big Tech’s “devouring” of their local ad market. In a letter to Senate leadership, all 50 state broadcaster associations called for passage of the Local Journalism Sustainability Act.

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Court Decision Gives NAB More Ammo In Battle Over FCC Regulatory Fees.

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The National Association of Broadcasters is doubling down on its position that Big Tech companies should pay annual regulatory fees to the Federal Communications Commission. In reply comments filed Friday, the trade group says a June 4 DC Circuit Court decision gives the agency the authority to do so.

The FCC has proposed to hike annual fees by an average of eight percent as it aims to collect $374 million from all the industries it regulates. Some fees will go up by as much as 15% in what would be a third consecutive year of broadcast owners being asked to dig deeper.

The NAB’s position is the FCC has the authority to ensure that all industries pay for their fair share of the Commission’s indirect costs and should charge big tech companies and other unlicensed spectrum users regulatory fees to more accurately reflect the work the Commission performs.

Now the trade group is calling on the Commission to issue a Further Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on charging regulatory fees for Big Tech and other unlicensed spectrum users.

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NAB Announces Leadership Transition

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Washington, D.C. — National Association of Broadcasters President and CEO Gordon H. Smith announced today his plans to transition to an advisory and advocacy role effective Dec. 31, 2021. The organization’s Chief Operating Officer Curtis LeGeyt has been named the next president and CEO of NAB effective Jan. 1, 2022.

In a video message to members, Smith said, “It has been my great honor to give the lion’s roar for broadcasters – those who run into the storm, those who stand firm in chaos to hear the voice of the people, those who hold to account the powerful – and to stand with those of the fourth estate who have the hearts of public servants.”

NAB Joint Board of Directors Chairman Jordan Wertlieb, president of Hearst Television, thanked Smith for his service to the industry. “Gordon is the ultimate statesman, bringing people together from both sides of the aisle to discuss ideas, find common ground and lead NAB to success on countless fronts,” said Wertlieb. “On behalf of the leadership of NAB, we extend our sincere gratitude for more than a decade of service to the broadcast industry. We look forward to continuing to work with Gordon and benefiting from his guidance for years to come.”

Wertlieb noted that Smith worked closely with the board leadership on a succession plan that will enable him to continue to serve NAB in a special advisory role through December 31, 2024, which includes lobbying on behalf of the broadcasters.

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Supreme Court upholds FCC move to loosen media ownership rules

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The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a move by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to relax media ownership rules, handing down a unanimous ruling that favors large broadcasters.

The decision dealt a blow to challengers who argued that laxer regulations could usher in more media consolidation at the expense of minority and female media ownership.

The justices found the FCC had acted reasonably in its 2017 regulatory rollback, which included scrapping a rule that had barred a single company from owning a radio or TV station along with a newspaper in a single local market.

Read more from The Hill: https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/545957-supreme-court-upholds-fcc-move-to-loosen-media-ownership-rules

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How To Make Ownership More Diverse? Broadcasters Tell FCC It Comes Down To Money.

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Familiar problems of tight-fisted lenders and new hurdles brought by the coronavirus, and the recent focus on racial justice dominated much of the conversation Friday as the FCC’s Diversity Advisory Committee put the focus on broadcast ownership. The daylong symposium was held virtually, a reflection of the current situation with COVID-19. Beasley Broadcast Group CEO Caroline Beasley, who chairs the FCC Diversity Committee’s Access to Capital Working Group, said their focus “shifted” this year as the impact of the pandemic on business became clear.

Much of the discussion centered on the ongoing problem of too little financing available for minority owners, which has prevented them from buying stations. FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said the pandemic has only made the problem worse for small business owners like radio station operators. “Many of them are in small markets where they operate on razor thin margins to be profitable. Unfortunately, some have had to shutter and hopefully more won’t before this is over,” he said.

Starks, like nearly all of the speakers, backed a revival of a minority tax certificate program, which has been long been endorsed by the Diversity Committee. The bill that use the federal tax code to incentivize current radio and TV station owners to spin-off stations to women and minorities was passed out of committee in September and there is hope it will be taken up by the House and Senate during the lame duck session.

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