The FCC should focus efforts to improve the emergency alert system on the internet-based common alerting protocol (CAP) system rather than the legacy daisy chain EAS, said broadcast alerting equipment manufacturers and cable groups in comments posted this week in docket 15-94. A notice of inquiry sought comments on possible improvements to the legacy system to make it more accessible and increase the amount of text in alerts.
FCC arguments on the agency’s authority to require broadcasters to check would-be lessees against databases of registered foreign agents met apparent skepticism from at least two members of a three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Tuesday.
Broadcast groups and the FCC will face off in oral argument before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Tuesday over the agency’s foreign-sponsored content disclosure rules, and broadcast and appellate attorneys told us it's especially difficult to predict how the matter will play out, with rules that were unanimously approved and with the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a backdrop. “There is simply no need -- and it is unlawful -- to force broadcasters leasing to churches, schools and local businesses, among others, to do pointless research as to whether those lessees are foreign agents,” said an NAB spokesperson Friday. NAB is challenging the rules alongside the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters and the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council.
The FCC is ramping up its back-to-work plans and will transition to phase 3 of its re-entry plans May 15, said a memo emailed to employees Tuesday and obtained by Communications Daily.
Trade groups want the FCC to continue a flexible approach to accessibility rules, but consumer groups want Congress to expand the agency’s authority to keep up with shifts in technology, said comments filed by Monday’s deadline in docket 10-213 responding to the FCC’s call for feedback on accessibility under the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (see 2202170052). The CVAA requires the FCC to create a biennial report to Congress on progress in technology access.
Noncommercial educational stations that haven’t had the chance to participate in the ATSC 3.0 transition could receive temporary, internet-only channels to allow their content to be received by 3.0 devices, said Pearl TV Managing Director Anne Schelle in an interview.
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Legislative Affairs Director Narda Jones is widely expected to soon be named FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s chief of staff, and will be joined in Rosenworcel’s office by Facebook’s Priscilla Delgado Argeris, who previously was on Rosenworcel’s staff when the chairwoman was a commissioner. Numerous industry officials told us they see the new hires as part of Rosenworcel gearing up in anticipation of having a Democratic majority, not as indicators of a policy shift. FCC chiefs of staff help shape the chair’s policy but still reflect the agenda of their boss, said Blair Levin, who held that spot under former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt. Industry officials told us they expect the new hires to be announced soon, possibly at the start of April.
The complexities of the content distribution system, a lack of uniformity among different platforms and absence of regulatory requirements are among the reasons for inconsistency in which online content includes audio description, said panelists from streaming services and consumer groups at the FCC’s Video Programming Accessibility forum Monday.
A petition from a nonprofit representing U.S. Ukrainians urging the FCC to designate for hearing the licenses of the owners of a Washington, D.C., area station that airs Radio Sputnik is unlikely to succeed but could lead to a costly process, said broadcast and First Amendment attorneys in interviews Wednesday.
FCC disclosure requirements for broadcasters airing foreign sponsored content took effect Tuesday and several broadcast attorneys told us it isn’t totally clear how the requirements will be implemented. “In light of recent events, this effort -- which is all about transparency -- has taken on new importance,” said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel in a release Tuesday, the effective date. “The FCC’s approach is not only unlawful but is woefully unnecessary to capturing only a handful of relevant agreements,” said an NAB spokesperson. NAB -- along with the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters and the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council -- challenged the rule in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and oral argument in the case is April 12.