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The COVID-19 pandemic has hit broadcasters hard. Characteristically, they have stepped up to meet the public interest need for vital information about how the pandemic has affected their local community, but advertiser economic support has been dwindling and cancellations are enormous. Yet local media is more important than ever, as listeners and viewers tune to their local stations for more vital, up-to-date information regarding shelter-in-place orders, and locating vital supplies and other critical information.
Creative broadcasters have proposed several ideas, including COVID-19 PSA programs, to bring advertisers back at special rates or even for free, to demonstrate their community support in this time of need. But that creates a problem. Lower rates or free spots for commercial advertisers could significantly affect their lowest unit rate calculation for legally qualified candidates in this important political year.
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March 26, 2020
Coronavirus and BroadcastingCredits: My firm, Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP has created a COVID-19 task force to provide information and support to our clients and neighbors during the current, unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. I am honored to be a contributor on that task-force. While I have added ...
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November 12, 2019
2019 - 2020 Political Issue Advertising - The Blessing And The Curse!By Gregg P. Skall Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP With 2020 election less than a year away and the fourth quarter of 2019 already a hot issue advertising season, the FCC rules on issue ads are more important than ever. Not only are candidates beginning to advertise ...
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September 3, 2019
FY 2019 Regulatory Fees - Payment Deadline: September 24th, 2019By Gregg P. Skall Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP The FCC finally has finally released its order on regulatory fees for fiscal year 2019. On August 27th, it issued a public notice announcing the opening of its automated filing and payment system. Notably, the ...
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July 23, 2019
Godot Has Arrived: The FDA Tobacco Deeming Rules UpdateThere has been a tremendous amount of information and opinion lately about teen use of vaping. Broadcasters anxious for new advertisers have looked at vaping as a new source of revenue, but be careful. This is a very dangerous area and one that must be well understood ...
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July 9, 2019
FM Translators Interference Issues ReimaginedPerhaps the most important development to come out of the FCC AM Revitalization docket has been to allow cross-service FM translators for AM stations and the new application windows for new translators. As a result, the number of licensed FM translators has grown from ...
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July 2, 2019
A New System For FM Translators Gets UnderwayBy Gregg P. Skall Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP Last month the FCC adopted new rules to deal with the problem of claims of interference between full-power FM stations and the ever-growing number of FM translators serving both AM and FM stations. By some accounts, ...
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April 23, 2019
Local Radio? File Your Comments With The FCC In The Quadrennial Review April 29th DeadlineBy Gregg P. Skall, Rebecca Goldman & John Garziglia Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP As many readers know, the FCC has teed up a striking review of the FCC radio ownership rules in the 2018 Quadrennial Review in which it will consider a variety of changes to its radio ...
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March 26, 2019
Pot Advertising And The 2018 Farm Act: Are There Spoils For Stations Running Spots For CDB Oils? Here's What Weed Want You To KnowBy: Gregg P. Skall & Bob Silverman We've been getting a lot of calls lately from broadcasters asking about cannabidiol (or CBD) oil. Besieged over the last several years with pleas by marijuana dispensaries for advertising, many a broadcaster believes the 2018 Farm ...
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March 12, 2019
Get Ready!! Big Changes Coming To The FCC Registration System (CORES) And The Use Of The FCC Registration Number (FRN)Nearly every broadcaster who has done business with the FCC is familiar with the FRN. Since 2000, anyone doing business with the Commission is required to first obtain a unique identifying number through the FCC Commissioning Registration System, known as CORES, ...
