FCC NPRM to Make More Licensees Put Political Files Online Seen Being Approved 5-0
Opening a comment proceeding on extending the online political file obligation to pay-TV operators and radio stations likely will be approved 5-0, but may be met with contention along party lines after the adoption of a draft NPRM that's on circulation, said some FCC officials and industry officials in interviews. But some industry lawyers were divided over whether the item itself will be unanimously adopted, or approved along party lines, as was a 2012 order that required TV stations to put their political and other public files online. A draft NPRM on the issue circulated last week (see 1410300052).
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It’s very unlikely that there will be any partisan rifts over the notice itself, or on calling for such disclosures, an FCC official said. There could be political bickering later on the relative costs of complying with such an obligation, and the reasons behind proposing it now, the official said. Some broadcast attorneys said they expect more pushback on the perceived burden on radio stations, rather than a political rift.
One person who predicted a 3-2 FCC vote on the NPRM, an industry executive, cited the burdens an online political file requirement would put on cable and radio companies, which include smaller businesses. When FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler was being confirmed last year, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, blocked the Senate from voting on Wheeler’s nomination “over the authority that the FCC had on disclosures,” said the executive. The FCC had no comment.
Other attorneys don’t see any glaring partisan tension, but expect concern over the obligation for radio stations. Many small radio stations that are family owned and operated can’t comply with such an obligation without an enormous expenditure of resources, said Peter Tannenwald, a Fletcher Heald attorney. Given the few people who look at the public file, “the burden far exceeds the benefit,” he said. Tannenwald helped Class A TV stations comply with the rule when the FCC required those stations to upload the files, he said. The hours spent working and the amount it cost Class A's was "unconscionable," he said. “They’re in the business of broadcasting, not paperwork.”
There isn’t necessarily a reason to expect Republicans to oppose the further expansion of the online public file to radio, cable and satellite, said Scott Flick, a Pillsbury Winthrop attorney. When the FCC planned to evaluate expanding the requirement to all TV stations, it didn’t open a comment period, he noted. The FCC just put out a notice “reminding stations that the online political file requirement would apply to all TV stations as of July 1,” he said. The Republican commissioners didn’t protest then, he said. If the commission proceeds, it will need to consider how to phase in the requirement, and “where to set the line for exempting smaller radio stations from the requirement,” he said. With more radio stations than TV stations, the FCC needs to make sure that its database systems are up to the task, Flick said.