WASHINGTON—The House Appropriations Committee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies this week proposed zero funding for local public broadcasting stations’ educational content and services in its fiscal year 2027 appropriations bills.

Congress nixed funding for PBS’s “Ready to Learn” children’s educational program—which provides competitive grants for local community educational initiatives—when it eliminated funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in 2025. CPB voted to dissolve the organization earlier this year.

This week’s refusal to restore funding elicited a strong response from America’s Public Television Stations, which just last week held its virtual “Protect My Public Media” campaign.

“In addition to being deeply disappointed, as we noted last week, that the House Appropriations Committee did not restore funding for local public broadcasting stations in its FY 2027 Labor-HHS-Education bill, we now know that the bill also neglects to fund the Ready To Learn program, a critically important education competitive grant program that supports the creation and distribution of educational media content and services to millions of children across America,” said Kate Riley, president and CEO of APTS.

“It is deeply disheartening that the House Appropriations Committee proposes to eliminate a proven educational program that provides trusted, free access to content and local services for our nation’s youngest learners—content that is especially important for the over 50% of three- to four-year-olds that do not attend a formal preschool.

“For over three decades, this highly successful program has been proven to prepare children for success in school and life by using the power of public television’s on-air, online, mobile and on-the-ground educational content and services to build the science, math and literacy skills of children ages two to eight, especially those from low-income families.

“The program combines the ability of public television to reach nearly 97% of Americans with a free over-the-air signal, with on-the-ground local station engagement that helps families and teachers make the most of these media resources locally,” she concluded.

Riley pointed to a recently released report from the Education Development Center documenting the significant positive impact Ready to Learn content and the wraparound local-station community outreach services have on the educational outcomes for our nation’s youngest learners.

“Ready to Learn provides parents and caregivers with scientifically based, state standards-aligned media tools to improve their children’s literacy and STEM skills,” she said. “It also builds community engagement through partnerships facilitated by local public television stations to effectively target services where they are most needed.

“Notwithstanding today’s committee action, we remain hopeful that the strong bipartisan support for local public media’s educational services, both in Congress and among the American people, will ultimately result in full funding for Ready to Learn as the appropriations process moves forward.”

WASHINGTON—In the runup to June 10 hearings to examine the antitrust exemptions currently enjoyed by the NFL and other major professional sports, the House Judiciary Committee has released an interim staff report titled “The Sports Broadcasting Act: A Special-Interest Antitrust Exemption Gone Awry” blasting the league’s current strategy for selling media rights.

The NFL has stretched an antitrust exemption created in the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 beyond its original purpose to the detriment of U.S. consumers, the report argues, through a series of deals with streaming companies that have enriched the league and harmed TV viewers.

“The results shown in the data suggest that the NFL's current model of placing games behind a paywall, especially through its Sunday Ticket offering, is harming consumers by forcing them to pay for a large package of NFL games when many consumers only want to see their favorite team's games,” the committee found. “The existence of the data also suggests that the NFL has misstated the nature of its Sunday Ticket product.”

The report comes at a time when the NFL is under increasing political and regulatory pressure from legislators and regulators. President Donald Trump, members of Congress and the Federal Communications Commission, which has opened a probe into the current market for sports rights, have all complained that the shift of major sports rights from free broadcast to streaming platforms have made it increasingly costly and difficult for fans to follow their favorite teams.

In August 2025, the House Judiciary Committee and its Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform and Antitrust opened an investigation into the professional sports leagues’ broadcasting practices, which the SBA governs. The SBA provides the leagues with an antitrust exemption so they can negotiate rights deals on behalf of all their teams.

As part of this oversight, the Committee says it is examining whether anticompetitive broadcasting conduct by the NFL has harmed American football consumers and undermined the letter and spirit of the antitrust laws and the SBA.

The NFL counters that 100% of its “local market games” are available over the air for free and 87% of games have “primary distribution’ on broadcast television. In meetings with the FCC, league officials have argued the NFL offers “the most fan- and broadcaster-friendly [model] in the entire sports and entertainment industry.”

“The NFL’s claim of a fan-friendly distribution model defies the reality experienced by millions of NFL fans,” the committee found. “The NFL's own data show that the average NFL game reaches only 39% of U.S. households. In 2016, broadcasters aired 113 of the NFL’s 256 regular-season games in fewer than 20 percent of U.S. households. When the NFL claims that 87% of games receive “primary distribution” on broadcast television, it means only that a broadcast station carries those games somewhere in the country—not that most fans can watch them.”

Additionally, survey data obtained by the committee suggested the NFL's Sunday Ticket out-of-market games package is not as consumer-friendly as the league claims. The report argues that:

• Despite the NFL's claims, Sunday Ticket is not just a product for the avid fan of NFL football in general, but a product bought mainly by fans attempting to watch their favorite team who are stuck with no other option.
• According to data from former Sunday Ticket subscribers, when asked, “Why did you sign up for NFL Sunday Ticket?” over 70% of respondents answered that they subscribed to “watch my favorite team, which is out of market.“
• When asked why they canceled their Sunday Ticket subscription, 70% of respondents said the package is too expensive.

The Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust will convene a hearing about the SBA on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, at 10 a.m.

Read the full report here.

Read the full appendix here.

WASHINGTON—America’s Public Television Stations has issued a statement saying it was “disappointed that the House Appropriations Labor-H Subcommittee did not include essential funding for local public television stations today in their FY 2027 appropriations bill."

It also urged Congress to restore the funding and create a new funding mechanism for public stations to replace the now defunct Corporation for Public Broadcasting and thanked the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee for recommending continued funding of $50 million for the Next Generation Warning System (NGWS)

In a June 5 statement from APTS’s president and CEO Kate Riley noted that “as drafted, the House Appropriations Labor-H Subcommittee Appropriations Bill misses an opportunity to extend a desperately needed lifeline to local public media stations that continue to be devastated by the rescission of public media funding last summer.”

To rectify that, Riley said “we have asked Congress to create a new fund in the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Bill which would provide direct grants to local public broadcasting stations throughout the country through a Local Public Broadcasting Commission. Stations would be able to use the funding to support local station operations, local programming and essential community services.”

“With the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) dissolved, a new mechanism is needed to provide direct grants to stations to support their local public services,” she added. “This fund would provide the support needed to ensure the stabilization of local stations and continuity of services that are now at risk at stations nationwide due to the rescission of public broadcasting funding.”

The end of Federal funding and the CPB has been particularly tough on public media because by statute over 70% of the annual appropriation to CPB went to local stations.

“With that funding now gone, many local stations throughout the country are reeling with some struggling to survive,” Riley said. “Stations in communities small and large throughout the country are cutting local programming, staff, public services, operations and more. One station has already closed and an additional station just ceased broadcast operations. Without the restoration of local station funding, more will likely follow suit.”

The group did stress however that it was “grateful that the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee today recognized the essential role that public television plays in the nation’s civil defense, public safety and homeland security. The subcommittee’s recommendation of continued funding of $50 million for the Next Generation Warning System (NGWS) will help ensure public broadcasters are able to meet their public safety missions and provide the highest level of resilient and reliable public safety and homeland security services to communities throughout the country.”

“The NGWS grant program at FEMA enhances public broadcasting stations’ ability to provide alert and warning and interoperable public safety communications and to incorporate emergency technology into lifesaving activities,” Riley said. “NGWS helps stations replace aging infrastructure that is essential to their ability to transmit alerts and warning and their other public safety missions. In addition, NGWS helps stations incorporate emerging technology to enhance those lifesaving activities.”

Riley also stressed that “we remain hopeful that funding for the Local Public Broadcasting Commission and Ready To Learn will be fully funded in the final FY 2027 appropriations bill that will support local stations’ ability to help keep Americans safe, to educate America’s children, and to connect Americans to their own communities and open doors to other hometowns across this country.”

For more information, visit www.apts.org.

WASHINGTON—Sam Matheny, CEO of newly launched Merkhet Solutions, today told a House subcommittee that the country is becoming “dangerously overdependent” on GPS satellites for delivery of precise timing and positioning data.

Merkhet Solutions is the company spun off from the National Association of Broadcasters to develop commercial uses for the Broadcast Positioning System, a terrestrial backup to GPS. In testimony before the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee, Matheny warned lawmakers that GPS disruptions from jamming, spoofing, cyberattacks or natural failures could endanger critical infrastructure including energy, telecommunications, data centers and financial services.

These “risks endanger virtually every American critical infrastructure sector, including energy, telecommunications, data centers and financial services, where a disruption to precision time can trigger grid instability, network outages and lost transactions,” Matheny said.

BPS provides a backup to GPS by leveraging the nation’s TV broadcast transmission infrastructure to deliver precise timing information. “BPS is a patented terrestrial timing and position technology that leverages existing high-power broadcast infrastructure and licensed spectrum already covering the United States,” Matheny told the subcommittee. “BPS was first conceived by my team at NAB in 2021, and you can think of it as the terrestrial equivalent of GPS.”

A potential loss of GPS would affect national security and pose an economic risk of $1 billion in losses per day, Matheny testified.

Matheny laid out five BPS advantages, including:

• An infrastructure that is already in place.
• Transmission of BPS signals from high-power, tall towers in diverse locations, making it difficult to jam or spoof at scale.
• BPS uses existing licensed spectrum.
• BPS supports unlimited simultaneous users, meaning no bottlenecks—an essential element for emergency and critical infrastructure applications.
• BPS is independent of GPS and other global navigation satellite systems, functioning even when GPS is compromised.

Congress can help advance the speed and scale at which BPS can begin offering reliable GPS backup service, Matheny said.

“First, Congress should help accelerate BPS installation and operations through funding for traceable time, station hardware, calibration and ongoing network operations and monitoring,” he said.

Congress also “should support and work” with the Trump Administration in designating a lead agency to “expedite the activation of BPS and other complements to GPS,” he said.

“Finally, Congress should encourage the Federal Communications Commission to complete the important work it has already initiated on ATSC 3.0,” Matheny said. “In addition to the significant benefits to television viewers, including upgraded picture and sound and better emergency alerting, the full benefits of BPS cannot be harnessed until the FCC completes its work on the ATSC 3.0 transition.”

More information on Merkhet Solution is available on the Merkhet website.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. House of Representatives this week passed its final fiscal year (FY) 2026 minibus package of funding, which includes money for public broadcasting’s Next Generation Warning System as well as its “Ready to Learn” grant program.

The package, which includes the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education (Labor-HHS-Education) bill and the Homeland Security bill, will allocate $48 million for the emergency alert system and $31 million for “Ready for Learn.”

In the summer of 2025, Congress severely cut funding for public broadcasting, resulting in the eventual shuttering of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In August, CPB announced that it was ending its grant program for the Next Generation Warning System, suggesting that the funding for the grant should continue under FEMA.

Kate Riley, President and CEO of America’s Public Television Stations, issued a statement applauding this week’s vote.

“While America’s Public Television Stations are deeply disappointed that the final package does not restore any of the local station funding that was rescinded last year— a devastating missed opportunity for Congress to save local stations, particularly those serving rural areas—we are grateful that the bill provides some funding for the important public safety and education services that public media provides in communities throughout the country.

“We are pleased that the final minibus package recognizes the lifesaving work of local public broadcasting stations and provides $48 million for public broadcasting’s Next Generation Warning System for fiscal year 2026. This program within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s FEMA enhances local public broadcasting stations' ability to provide alert and warning and interoperable public safety communications to communities across the country, and to incorporate emerging technology in those lifesaving activities. Public broadcasting has long been a committed partner with the local, state and federal public safety community. That work depends on reliable and resilient public broadcasting infrastructure, which this program supports.

“We are also grateful for the $31 million for Ready To Learn, a competitive grant program at the Department of Education that supports the creation and distribution of educational media content and services to millions of children across America. For over three decades, this program has been proven to prepare all children for success in school and life by using the power of public television’s on-air, online, mobile and on-the-ground educational content and services to build the science, math and literacy skills of children ages two to eight.

“At the same time, we are incredibly disappointed that this bill misses a critical opportunity to restore essential funding for local stations. Since the rescission vote last year, Americans in every community across the country, especially rural communities, have experienced the loss of essential services that only local, independent public television stations provide.

"Two stations have already announced their closures and without federal funding, many more local stations have been forced to eliminate or reduce local programs and services, including local history programs, community event coverage, agricultural programming and local public affairs programming, among others. Still others are putting off much needed infrastructure investments – risking programming and public safety services. The impacts in local communities are impossible to ignore.

“We appreciate Representative Bacon’s (R-NE) and Representative Amodei’s (R-NV) amendment which attempted to restore some funding for local stations in this minibus package as well as the support of bipartisan Members of Congress in both the House and the Senate, who have been working to try to save local stations throughout the FY 2026 funding process.

“We are not giving up. We will not stop fighting for our local stations and the vital services they provide their communities. We remain hopeful that continued Congressional bipartisan support in the upcoming FY 2027 appropriations process will enable a restoration of local station funding to support stations’ essential missions of public safety, education and local community connections.”

Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr appeared before a House oversight hearing on Wednesday and responded to a wide range of partisan questioning over his actions since he became leader of the government agency.

All three FCC commissioners appeared before the committee, including Olivia Trusty and Anna Gomez. The spotlight was mostly on Carr and his deregulatory policies since taking over as chairman in early 2025.

However, Gomez, the lone Democratic commissioner, also had a prominent role in answering questions from House Energy and Commerce committee members.

[This article originally appeared in our sister publication, Radio World.]

Defining Public Interest

The committee’s Democrats asked pointed questions about Carr’s definition of “public interest” and the role it plays in FCC policymaking. Carr was strident in defending the use of the public interest standard when managing broadcast licenses.

“What the Supreme Court has said on this issue is that, quote, ‘No one has a First Amendment right to a license,’” Carr said. “So the FCC enforcing the public interest standard on broadcasters, according to the Supreme Court, doesn’t violate the First Amendment and doesn’t constitute censorship.”

When fielding a question about the standard from ranking member Rep. Doris Matsui, the top Democrat on the telecom subcommittee, Carr said: “The FCC has an obligation to enforce the public interest, and that’s very unique as to broadcasters. Again, if you step back, broadcasters are unique among all other distributors of news and information because they have a license.”

Carr continued: “Among all other distributors of information or even data, they have a license given them by the federal government and that necessarily means the government has excluded other voices that might have wanted to use those airwaves; and so they have an obligation to stand not just in their own shoes, but in the shoes of their entire community of license. And that means they have to operate differently than a cable channel or a podcast or social media.”

Gomez suggested Congress should impose “guardrails” for the FCC to follow in defining the public interest standard.

Meanwhile, Carr faced harsh criticism from Democrats but effusive praise from Republicans for his handling of FCC matters early in his tenure as chairman.

Democrats on the committee zeroed in on Carr’s recent claim that the FCC is not an independent agency. Critics on the committee questioned the legitimacy of Carr’s claim.

When asked directly if he made the statement, Carr replied: “I said the FCC is not, formally speaking, an independent agency.”

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) said Carr has engaged in “quid pro quo” in favor of the president, and is abusing his power to violate Americans’ rights.

“Our duty to conduct oversight of the FCC has never been more critical than it is today, because in Trump’s ongoing crusade to chill free speech, punish news networks and vilify American journalism, there has been no greater ally than Chairman Brendan Carr,” Pallone said in opening remarks.

Gomez answered a question from Pallone about the FCC’s independence.

“Congress set up the FCC as an independent agency because it feared that the agency should not be subject to the whims of one person or one political party. That is why we have an independent multi-member expert body that regulates our communications medium,” Gomez testified.

“So when we declare that we are not independent, what we are doing is not recognizing what Congress wanted when it created this independent agency, but we are also putting way too much power into one person and then doing their political whims.”

Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) was direct in her criticism of Carr over what she called “the weaponization” of the FCC.

“Less than one year into his tenure, the FCC under Chairman Carr has given this committee many worthy avenues of exploration and oversight, most of which appear to stem from his new role as an obsequious partisan fulfilling President Trump’s desire to exact revenge on his perceived enemies and line the pockets of the oligarch class,” she stated.

However, instead of questioning Carr about his tactics, Clarke turned to Gomez and asked her about why the independence of the FCC is essential to its credibility.

Gomez said it’s important to have an independent agency because it must be seen as an expert body that makes decisions based on that expertise and not based on the policies of one administration.

Ownership Caps
There were calls to modernize outdated ownership restrictions and lift the national TV ownership cap from committee chairs Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) and Richard Hudson (R-NC).

Guthrie asked Carr about the importance of media modernization and how removing outdated regulations allows broadcasters to better compete with big tech.

Carr’s reply dealt mostly with television and the loss of balance between local TV stations and television networks.

“One of the main concerns I have with respect to media policy is you have on the one hand all of these individual licensed local TV stations, and on the other hand you have these national programmers, including Disney, Comcast, a handful of others,“ he said. ”And over the years historically we had a balance between the national programmers and the licensed local TV stations.

“But recently what we’ve seen is those national programmers have just consolidated and amassed a massive amount of power. And we’re losing that balance between the national programmers and the actual local TV stations.”

Carr had emphasized in his opening statement that the FCC is working to “empower local broadcasters to serve the public interest and meet the needs of their communities.”

The commission is considering changes to broadcast ownership rules as part of its quadrennial review process.

Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif) described Carr as “a tool of President Trump’s Project 2025 agenda,” and said Carr’s ultimate plan is to “suppress freedom of speech and those who criticize Trump and to forcefully favor Trump’s billionaire friends and supporters in order to control the content.”

Ruiz asked Gomez about the wisdom of further broadcast consolidation.

“What happens when we have too much consolidation by these national corporations that own these local broadcasters is we lose the diversity of voices and we lose that local news content. Couple that with the defunding of public media and we are also losing even more voices in our local communities,” Gomez said.

Spectrum Authority

Republicans on Wednesday asked mostly about telecom issues, including the expansion of high-speed internet and the FCC’s renewed spectrum authority.

Texas Rep. August Pfluger was among those asking Carr about the FCC’s timeline to make additional spectrum available for 5G and other wireless services. The FCC’s authority to hold spectrum auctions had lapsed under the Biden administration.

“We’re finalizing rules for the upper C-band, which will clear at least 100 megahertz,” Carr said. “We’ve sought comment on clearing up to 180 Megahertz. There’s also active work underway on the 7 gigahertz band, on the 2.7 Gigahertz band, and even unlicensed.

“Again, this month alone we’re voting to supercharge Wi-Fi by allowing higher power devices. In addition, we are clearing the barriers in the secondary markets so spectrum that wasn’t fully loaded, that could have been sitting fallow, is moving into the hands of carriers that are loading it and lighting it up and increasing speed.”

Congress has authorized the FCC to auction off 800 MHz of spectrum for commercial broadband by 2034.

[This article originally appeared in our sister publication Radio World. You can access their full coverage of business, legal and regulatory issues here.]

WASHINGTON—The FCC announced that it suspended operations at 12:01 am this morning after Congress failed to reach an agreement on funding the federal government.

Although the FCC website will remain up, it will not be updated except for matters related to spectrum auction activities and threats to life and property. Most filing deadlines that fall during the shutdown will be extended with submissions due the next business day after the FCC resumes normal operations.

The only exceptions where deadlines will not be extended are for filings for the Network Outage Reporting System (NORS) and Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) as well as all filings and deadlines related to spectrum auction activities; provider responses to Broadband Data Collection (BDC) challenges, verification, or audit requests. Most deadlines for enforcement matters and investigations, at the discretion of the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau.

The FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) and Integrated Spectrum Auction System (ISAS) will have support only for auction-related activities, while the Broadband Data Collection (BDC) system, National Broadband Map, Antenna Structure Registration System (ASR), and Robocall Mitigation Database (RMD) will be available, but with no user support.

All other FCC electronic filing and database systems, including the Fee Filer System, will be unavailable. However, no deadline for payments of any type is being extended, unless applicants are only able to pay through the Fee Filer. In those cases, the applicable due date is extended in the same manner as the due dates for other regulatory filings herein, the FCC said.

“Otherwise, we expect payments to be timely made through the use of US Bank as they normally would if normal operations had not been suspended,” the commission said in its public notice.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who chaired a monthly meeting on Tuesday that was briefly interrupted by protestors, told attendees at the SCTE Tech Expo on Monday that they commission was prepared.

“We have been hard at work the last couple of weeks preparing for a possible government shutdown,” Carr said. “Hopefully we don't get there, but we do have a game plan in place.”

C-SPAN and YouTube this week announced an agreement in which YouTube will sponsor C-SPAN’s America 250 programming and expand access to C-SPAN’s political, public policy, and cultural programming across YouTube and YouTube TV.

C-SPAN will also be added to Hulu + Live TV, a C-SPAN spokesman told Deadline.

The three C-SPAN channels—C-SPAN, C-SPAN2, and C-SPAN3—will all join YouTube TV’s base package lineup this fall. YouTube has also agreed to sponsor the network’s coverage of America 250 celebrations, and “investing in the optimization of C-SPAN's presence on YouTube,” C-SPAN said.

C-SPAN—the only TV network that provides complete gavel-to-gavel coverage of Congress, congressional hearings, and in-depth public affairs events—is a privately funded non-profit television network, operating free of government money and supported primarily through license fees paid by cable, satellite, and streaming companies.

Launched in 1979, C-SPAN is carried by most pay-TV providers and was once seen in more than 100 million homes, but cord-cutting in recent years has dropped viewership to around 70 million. In June, Congress unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution from Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) marking the 39th anniversary of C-SPAN 2’s first Senate broadcast and urging all television providers, including streaming services, to carry the network.

"In addition to the main YouTube platform, we are excited to bring C-SPAN's unfiltered, unbiased programming to YouTube TV’s growing streaming audience," said C-SPAN CEO Sam Feist. "For nearly half a century, C-SPAN has partnered with cable and satellite providers who recognize the value of our important public service. We now look forward to working closely with YouTube to bring C-SPAN's unfiltered coverage of the democratic process to millions more Americans.”

"C-SPAN has long been a vital resource for civic engagement, and we look forward to partnering with them to both expand their footprint on YouTube and to celebrate America 250 together,” said Mary Ellen Coe, Chief Business Officer, YouTube. “Through this partnership, Americans will have access to content that showcases the creators and entrepreneurs who are shaping the future, explores American pastimes and music, and takes a look back at the key historical moments that shaped our nation.”

WASHINGTON—A large group of 73 members of the U.S. House of Representatives led by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) has sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) calling for immediate action to update what the lawmakers are calling "outdated ownership regulations" that hurt local TV and radio stations.

The House members backing the letter emphasized the need for rules that reflect today’s competitive media landscape, where local broadcasters face unprecedented challenges competing with less-regulated Big Tech platforms.

The letter was signed by members of both parties but signatories were heavily skewed towards Republicans, with 69 Republican members of the House and only 4 Democratic Party members signing the letter.

The letter argued that “existing broadcast ownership regulations…[that] originated in the 1940s” are badly in need of being modernized.

“While the FCC has made incremental adjustments over the decades, the fundamental ownership restrictions have remained largely unchanged since the 1990s, imposing undue constraints on broadcasters’ ability to innovate and invest in local content,” the letter asserted. “These regulations are a relic of an era when broadcasters were the only electronic media. Today, any one of the largest Big Tech platforms dwarfs the entire broadcast industry – yet they are held to no similar limitations on their reach. This imbalance places broadcasters at a severe disadvantage in competing for advertising dollars and audience engagement.”

The letter did not propose specific changes to ownership caps, which currently prohibit broadcast station groups from owning stations covering more than 39% of the country.

It did argue that existing rules make it harder for broadcasters to offer important local news and public safety information: “At a time when newspapers are battling to survive, broadcasters’ local engagement is more important than ever. When broadcasters cannot combine or expand operations, they struggle to maintain sufficient newsroom staff and invest in journalism. This increasing lack of access to local information leaves communities vulnerable to misinformation from unverified sources on social media.”

“Reforming outdated ownership rules is essential to ensuring that broadcasters remain viable, competitive, and capable of fulfilling their essential role in American democracy,” the letter concluded. “By modernizing these regulations, the FCC can empower broadcasters to better serve their communities, promote local journalism, and compete in the modern media marketplace. Updating these rules is not just an urgent economic necessity, it is a public service imperative.”

The letter comes at a time when broadcasters are hopeful that the FCC under the new Republican administration will be more open to loosening broadcast ownership rules.

The FCC has so far opened up an aggressive deregulatory campaign to remove excess red tape called "Delete, Delete, Delete." But it has also directly intervened in hiring practices by threatening investigations of companies like Comcast and Disney for DEI initiatives and signaled a willingness to directly regulate editorial content with "news distortion" investigations involving stations owned by CBS, ABC and NBC.

NAB’s recently launched a Modernize the Rules campaign to urge the FCC to overhaul broadcast ownership regulations that the NAB said unfairly limit broadcasters’ ability to grow, invest in local journalism and compete for talent, content and advertising revenue.

The NAB also applauded the letter. “America’s local TV and radio stations are facing a radically transformed media landscape where global tech giants operate without restriction while local stations remain shackled by decades-old rules,” said NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt. “NAB is grateful to Rep. Hudson and his bipartisan colleagues for urging the FCC to bring its ownership regulations into the modern era. Quickly updating these rules is essential to preserving local journalism, strengthening public safety and ensuring that broadcasters can continue to serve the communities that rely on them every day.”

Leaders of the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio appeared before the “DOGE subcommittee” on Wednesday in a congressional hearing in which the public broadcasters were severely criticized over programming and reporting that Republicans criticized as no longer trustworthy.

Although not yet annual, congressional hearings over public broadcast funding happen periodically on Capitol Hill and give both sides of the aisle a chance to air the latest culture war attacks on the opposition. The most famous hearing on public broadcasting occurred just after its launch, when in 1969, Fred Rogers appeared before Congress and explained how his show helps children grow emotionally and intellectually. His testimony was so eloquently delivered that one of his staunchest opponents on the subcommittee reversed his position immediately after Rogers spoke.

Alas, there was no Fred Rogers—or even Big Bird—on Capitol Hill yesterday so the heads of NPR and PBS, along with the head of Alaska Public Media—were left to defend the current state of public broadcasting on their own.

'Child Abuse'
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) opened the hearing by attacking PBS for airing what she thinks is objectional content. After discussing a show about transgenderism that aired on PBS, Greene accused the network of “child abuse” and claimed that the public’s rejection of transgender issues played a major role in President Trump’s “landslide” election win in November.

“PBS is one of the founders of the trans child abuse industry, all while taking taxpayer money brainwashing,” she said. “Transient children is an issue so hated by parents across the country that it was a driving force in the landslide Republican and Trump victory in the 2024 election cycle and presidential race.”

She went on to say that “the news that these entities produced is either resented or increasingly tuned out and turned off by most of the hard working Americans who are forced to pay for it. They no longer view NPR and PBS as trusted news sources. As a matter of fact, to these people, they're a threat.”

To illustrate her point, Greene displayed several screenshots of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and several Democratic Congress members appearing to give hand gestures that could be interpreted as the Nazi “seig heil” salute, and compared them to news coverage when Elon Musk appeared to give the same salute at Trump’s inauguration.

“When Elon Musk put his hand over his heart and extended it and told the American people his heart goes out to them, PBS News posted the clip, calling it a fascist Nazi salute and described how it was similar to the Seig Heil used by Nazis at their victory rallies,” Greene said. “Not once did PBS or NPR report on the numerous accounts of Democrats making the same gesture. AOC, Kamala Harris, Barack Obama, Elizabeth Warren, somebody that lost a presidential race. Hillary Clinton, Tim Walz… why wasn't this treated exactly the same way? Well, is there not a standard in journalism today? Apparently, not.”

“I hear, respect and understand your concerns regarding bias,” responded Katherine Maher, Chief Executive Officer and President, National Public Radio, adding that “it is critical for [the] NPR newsroom to operate with the highest journalistic standards. That means that they do their jobs independently and as CEO, I have no editorial role at NPR.

“In other words, I do not decide what we cover or how we cover it,” Maher continued. “I lead NPR strategy ensuring we have resources and policies in place to serve all Americans, not just those with a specific point of view. I was brought into NPR to revive and reorient the organization and bring public media to a wider audience, a new generation and new platforms. We have a responsibility to serve Americans across the full political spectrum in a trustworthy, non partisan fashion.”

Changing Media Landscape
In addition to cultural issues, funding for public broadcasting was also brought into question in light of the rapid changes in how TV and radio are consumed by Americans today. With numerous streaming options and podcasts available on demand, questioning the value of public broadcasting in this new landscape is a legitimate concern.

Again, the arguments from both sides fell on predictable angles, with Democrats supporting the value of public television in strengthening local educational and community resources—particularly in rural areas—and Republicans questioning why taxpayer funds should be used to report what they consider “biased” news coverage and educational programming that is replicated elsewhere.

“PBS stations are focused on the needs and interests of the viewers they serve, especially in rural areas,” said PBS Paula Kerger, Chief Executive Officer and President for PBS. “PBS stations are the only outlet providing coverage of local events, for example, high school sports, local history and culture content, candidate debates at every level of the election, ballot and specialized agricultural news. Local stations also partner with other community organizations to address issues of concern, like Veterans Affairs and the opioid crisis. Finally, communities depend on the essential public safety information and emergency alerts our local stations provide. Our programming comes from our local stations.”

Maher noted that “the rise of podcasting has established a competitive free market for audio, news and information, and every day, I am honored to know that we have 43 million listeners from every state in the nation.

“Amidst this competition, local stations choose to become members of NPR for the value we provide,” Maher added. “For example, we are the only non pay walled news outlet with a dedicated reporter covering veterans issues. While NPR is only 25% of station programming on average, audiences for NPR bring the scale and revenue that subsidize essential local programming. Local public media journalism has never been more important to American families who consider it part of the fabric of their communities. It correlates with higher rates of civic engagement, greater civic cohesion and economic advantages, such as better municipal bond ratings. Recent independent polling found that more than 60% of all Americans and more than half of Republicans trust public broadcasting to deliver fact based news.”

Telling Conservatives to 'Get Lost'
Mike Gonzalez from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, excoriated public broadcasting for wasting money and being irrelevant in today’s fiscal environment. He prefaced his criticism by saying that his views were his own and didn’t represent those of his employer.

“For decades, they've asked for more money while telling conservatives to get lost,” Gonzales said. “But the nation today is in a very different place, with $36 trillion in debt. And more importantly, we're seeing not just a shift in our cultural vibe, but a shift in societal paradigms through their greatest bias; NPR and PBS have violated the public trust.”

Ed Ullman, president and CEO of Alaska Public Media defended public broadcasting’s importance, especially in rural areas.

“The people of Alaska rely on public media to provide free, universal access to essential services and public safety, education and community connections,” he told the committee. “This includes potentially life saving alerts, updates on community affairs, coverage of state and local government, proven educational content, engagement services and local and national news. In many parts of Alaska and communities throughout the country, public media is often the only locally operated, locally controlled broadcasting service. We are more than nice to have. We are essential, especially in remote and rural places where commercial broadcasting cannot succeed.”

NPR 'Not News'
Rep. Jim Comer (R-Ky.) spoke about how he used to listen to NPR decades ago when working on a farm in Kentucky, adding that now “I don't even recognize the station anymore.”

“It's not news, I feel like it's propaganda,” Comer said. “I feel like there's disinformation every time I listen to NPR. And, you know, a media entity like MSNBC or Huffington Post that, in my opinion, consistently spews disinformation; they can do that, they're a private company. But NPR gets federal funds and I have a problem with that, because if people in Alaska, if all they have is Public Radio, then all they know is what these headlines say, and they're wrong.”

In fiscal year 2025, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting was appropriated $535 million from Congress to fund both PBS and NPR. Maher defended the value of public broadcasting and outlined where the money goes.

“The vast majority of federal dollars—more than $100 million of the $121 million annual appropriation for public radio goes directly to 386 local, non commercial stations across the nation,” Maher said. “This highly efficient investment enables your local stations to raise an average of $7 for every federal dollar.

“As a grantee of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, NPR received federal funding of $11.2 million last year,” Maher added. “These funds allow us to maintain the National Public Radio satellite system helping safeguard our national security, civil defense and disaster response and enabling public radio to reach every corner of America. Additionally, these funds help protect journalists covering our troops overseas and reverse the decline of local journalism.”

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr recently announced that the commission was opening an investigation into PBS and NPR running commercials, something that is prohibited by the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. When asked about this allegation, both public broadcast officials replied that their organizations are following the law.

“We are in full compliance with the FCC inquiry and will continue to cooperate,” said Ms Kerger.

“We are underwriting announcements, and we believe we are in full compliance with the FCC, and we look forward to delivering the material required in this part of this investigation,” replied Ms. Maher.

Is Elmo a 'Commie?'
In an attempt to inject some humor into the two-plus hour hearing, several members of the subcommittee peppered Ms. Kerger and Ms. Maher with rhetorical questions designed to illustrate what they considered the absurd allegations made by their opponents. One came from a Republican on the committee.

“Ms. Kerger, the American people want to know, is Elmo now, or has he ever been a member of the Communist Party of the United States? A yes or no. Now, are you sure, because he's obviously red,” asked Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.). “He also has a very dangerous message about sharing and helping each other. He's indoctrinating our kids that sharing is caring. Now maybe he's part of a major socialist plot, and maybe that's why the chairwoman is having this hearing today."

When asked about whether Health Secretary RFK Jr.'s campaign against fast food and baked goods is silencing Cookie Monster, Kerger replied that "cookies are a sometime food."

“I agree with you, and let's also talk about the most important character on Sesame Street, Big Bird," Garcia added. "Now, since Elon Musk actually fired USDA workers who have been working on the bird flu, does it make sense to also fire Big Bird? Yes or no?”

Mr. Kerger replied that “We would like to keep Big Bird.”

Rep. Gregorio Eduardo Casar, (D-Texas) complained that the subcommittee was wasting its time and instead should be investigating the man who created “DOGE.”

“The total funding for public broadcasting is just 1/6 the amount that Elon Musk's companies make off of the government every single year. But you will not see Elon Musk being grilled by this committee,” he said. “If we want to look into waste, fraud and abuse, why not look into that?

"Elon Musk, who's running cabinet meetings, who's running the White House, was trying to funnel money to himself," Casar added. "So let's stop investigating Cookie Monster and start investigating how the Trump administration lied about this and was trying to funnel money to their biggest political supporter. Maybe you're trying to defund NPR because they expose this kind of corruption.”

The Committee to Protect Journalists issued a statement criticizing the committee's allegations. “Casting them as propaganda machines undeserving of taxpayer support is a dangerous mischaracterization that threatens to rob Americans of the vital reporting they need to make decisions about their lives,” said Jodie Ginsberg, the committee’s CEO.

Several media associations offered their congratulations to President-elect Donald Trump and members of Congress on Wednesday, following the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign.

“NAB congratulates President-elect Trump and the new and returning members of Congress,” NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt said. “Local television and radio stations are committed to working with the next administration on policies that will enable increased investment in local journalism, emergency information, sports and entertainment on which our communities rely.

“NAB will continue its bipartisan work with policymakers to strengthen this free, local service that is essential to our democracy.”

Trump was highly critical of the mainstream broadcast networks during the campaign, calling for ABC News anchor David Muir to be fired over his moderation of the Sept. 10 presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris. He also recently filed a $10 billion lawsuit against CBS, objecting to how the network edited its interview with Harris on “60 Minutes” in October.

Hollywood also tendered its best wishes to the new President-elect.

“The Motion Picture Association congratulates President-elect Donald Trump and the incoming 119th Congress on their electoral victories,” the MPA said in its statement. “We look forward to working with them on a wide range of important issues for the film, TV, and streaming industry, which supports more than 2.7 million American jobs, boosts more than 240,000 businesses in cities and small towns across the country, and delivers over $242 billion in wages to our workforce each year. We commend everyone who worked this year to ensure fair elections and preserve our nation’s legitimate democratic processes.”

WASHINGTON, D.C.—America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) has applauded the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee for proposing level funding of $535 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for fiscal year 2027 and $60 million for public media stations’ interconnection system for fiscal year 2025.

The recommendations were much better than those issued by the House Appropriations Committee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies in mid-July. For the second straight year, the House Committee proposed ending all public funding for the CPB. 

“America’s Public Television Stations are grateful for the bipartisan support of the Senate Appropriations Committee for this continued investment in the work of public television,” said Patrick Butler, president and CEO of America’s Public Television Stations. “We are pleased by this recognition of the critical role our local stations play in their communities and the essential services they provide all Americans in education, public safety and civic leadership.

Butler also said that “We are thankful for the $60 million in FY 2025 for the annual station interconnection account, which is the backbone of the public broadcasting system, connecting local stations with national programming services and with each other to provide the educational programming that benefits millions of Americans of all ages.

“We await further word on funding for Ready To Learn, a competitive grant program at the Department of Education that supports the creation and distribution of educational media content to millions of children across America,” he added. “This program has been proven to help close the achievement gap between children from low-income families and their more affluent peers. We remain hopeful that Ready To Learn’s essential work will continue to be supported through full funding.”

“We are hopeful that the bipartisan, bicameral congressional support for public television will result in the final FY 2025 appropriations bills including the Senate funding levels,” Butler concluded. 

Earlier in mid-July, the House Appropriations Committee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies proposed eliminating future funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in its FY 2025 appropriations bill. The bill reported out of the committee on July 10 provided no funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), effective in FY 2027, a cut of $535 million from the current appropriation, and no funding for public media stations’ interconnection system, a cut of $60 million for FY 2025, the APTS reported. 

The bill did include level funding of $31 million in FY 2025 for Ready To Learn, a competitive grant program at the Department of Education that supports the creation and distribution of educational media content to millions of children across America.

“America’s Public Television Stations are deeply disappointed that the House Appropriations Committee has voted to discontinue federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and public media stations’ interconnection system in the FY 2025 appropriations bill,” said Butler said in a July 10 statement on the House funding. 

In the earlier statement Butler said, however, that “notwithstanding today’s committee action, we remain hopeful that the strong bipartisan support for public media, both in Congress and among the American people, will ultimately result in full funding for CPB, interconnection and system infrastructure, and Ready To Learn as the appropriations process moves forward. At $1.60 per person, funding for public broadcasting remains the best bargain in the federal budget and the very definition of fiscal responsibility.” 

Eight co-signers representing streaming services, pay TV operators and public interest groups have sent a letter to Congressional leaders urging their Committees hold hearings on the future of competition in pay TV and the new streaming joint venture backed by Warner Bros Discovery, Disney and Fox Corp. 

In the letter, the signees wrote that "Recent developments in the pay TV market – including the programming giants’ new joint venture (“JV”), a streaming TV service that would control 80% of national live sports broadcasts – raise serious competition concerns that call for Congress’s immediate oversight."

In response the three JV partner companies (ESPN, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery) defended the service in a statement saying: “The service is a pro-consumer offering to a segment of viewers who currently aren’t served.  It will expand consumer choice by creating an incremental, nonexclusive option for this segment of viewers to watch their favorite sports.” 

The letter criticizing the JV was signed by Fubo, Dish Networks, DirecTV, Newsmax and the public interest groups Sports Fans Coalition, American Economic Liberties Project, Electronic Frontier Foundation and Open Markets Institute. 

The letter was sent to Senators Maria Cantwell, Chair, and Hon. Ted Cruz, Ranking Member Senate Commerce Committee and to Dick Durbin, Chair and Lindsey Graham, Ranking Member Senate Judiciary Committee. 

It is also addressed to Congressional leaders, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Chair and Frank Pallone, Ranking Member House Energy & Commerce Committee and Jim Jordan, Chair and Jerry Nadler, Ranking Member House Judiciary Committee. 

“We are writing to urge your Committees to hold hearings on the future of competition in pay TV,” the letter said.  “The JV between Disney, Fox, and Warner is expected to launch this fall, in time for the next NFL and college football seasons. In addition to controlling 80% of all national live sports broadcasts, the JV will control approximately 55% of all live sports (regional and national). We cannot think of any scenario in the history of the United States where consumer interests have been served when such an important industry – here, access to live sports – is effectively controlled by three programming giants which decided to combine forces instead of competing against each other.”

“Worse yet, these same programming giants enforce anticompetitive and inflationary contract restrictions on distributors that will insulate the JV’s streaming service from head-to-head competition because these contract restrictions prohibit competing distributors from offering consumers their own “skinny,” live sports bundle,” the letter continued. “However one measures it, the JV will eventually dominate the distribution market for live sports and will drive out competition, leaving consumers captive to the JV for live sports – unless Congress and regulators intervene.”

“When one vertically integrated company has the power and incentive to drive out its competitors – as this JV will – policymakers have previously stepped in to protect competition and consumers,” the letter noted. “For example, in the 1992 Cable Act, Congress enacted new program access rules that prevented vertically integrated cable operators from discriminating against new entrants in the pay TV business, namely the then-nascent satellite TV providers trying to compete with cable.”

“We are at the same inflection point now,” the letter concluded. “The JV partners demand that their competitors offer “big fat bundles” of programming (as described by Disney’s CEO3) that include many unwanted but expensive channels, while their own JV service offers a much skinnier package consisting only of `must have’ sports channels. Americans love their live sports and entertainment, and they expect Congress to ensure competition and choice in accessing these shows. We thus urge you and your colleagues to hold hearings as soon as possible on the future of pay TV.”

In February, Fubo, filed an antitrust lawsuit against The Walt Disney Company, Fox Corp., Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. and their affiliates, alleging that the vertically-integrated media companies have engaged in a years-long campaign to block Fubo’s innovative sports-first streaming business resulting in significant harm to both Fubo and consumers. The complaint alleges that the Defendants’ forthcoming launch of a sports-streaming joint venture steals Fubo’s playbook and is the latest example of this campaign.   

The JV has produced mixed reaction from analysts who have worried it could accelerate cord cutting--something top Disney, Fox and WBD executives have disputed.  As previously reported by TV Tech, broadcasters have also been split on the impact of sports streaming to their business. 

WASHINGTON—The current state of live sports on TV has never been more fluid, with professional sports leagues from the NFL to the NHL experimenting with streaming, pay-TV and even good old fashioned broadcast. 

The evidence of how such fragmentation has led to consumer frustration reached its peak several weeks ago with the uproar over NBC’s exclusive airing of the NFL AFC Wild Card game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins on its Peacock streaming service (the game was carried live on NBC affiliates in Kansas City and Miami, however).

That incident, along with discussions over how cord cutting has impacted sports TV, as well as the continuing need for rural broadband access and even new opportunities for women’s sports were all on the agenda for the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee hearing yesterday, “TV Timeout: Understanding Sports Media Rights.”

The subcommittee invited a cross section of TV and sports media executives and experts from pay-TV, broadcast and public interest to expound on the current state of sports TV.

More Choices, More Frustration
Chairman Bob Latta (R-Ohio) opened the hearing by identifying the positive aspects of the new age of streaming but warned about the pitfalls of consumer frustration when trying to find their favorite team. 

“Consumers have more choices than ever when it comes to the way they watch their favorite sports. Streaming helps increase competition drive down costs and allow consumers to cut the cord if they want to,” Latta said. “The services are also providing new avenues for diverse content to reach a wider audience for rapidly growing leagues like the WNBA, women's NCAA volleyball to more targeted content like Major League Soccer and Formula One.

“But while the proliferation of streaming has benefited consumers, in many ways, it's also created new challenges,” Latta continued. “The massive fragmentation of the sports media market means consumers must now sign up for multiple streaming services to get the content that they want. And in extreme cases, the only way to watch big games is to sign up for the streamer who holds exclusive rights to enter the game. While this phenomenon isn't new, consumers are worried about what it can mean for big games in the future. Being forced to sign up for a new subscription service for every playoff game is not what consumers want, and not where we should be headed.”

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) warned about how the rise in sports rights fees are threatening legacy media, characterizing sports programs as “the lifeblood of our media ecosystem,” and how the move to streaming could impact broadcast.

“Legacy broadcast media are our most trusted providers of local news, and our most widely available source of critical emergency information,” Pallone said, adding that “we should examine the implications of a significant revenue generator like sports programming, moving off the free airwaves and what this will mean for the future of local news, and the evolving video market.”

Pallone also emphasized the continued need for a variety of federal programs that help low-income and rural households access broadband, helping the federal government combat the “digital divide.” 

“The digital divide persists and whether due to affordability or availability of broadband subscriptions sufficient to stream, live sports often remains out of reach,” he said. “It's just another reason that bipartisan programs like the Affordable Connectivity Program and the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program are necessary to allow all of us to participate in modern society and communal events like sports events.”

More Opportunities for Broadcasters
Brian Lawler, presIdent of Scripps Sports, a division of Scripps Broadcast targeting live local sports, explained how the changes of the past decade, with cord-cutting, rising sports media rights costs and, in particular, the recent turmoil hitting regional sports networks has actually helped improve broadcasters’ profile when it comes to competing with streaming services for live sports.  

“Regional sports networks 10 years ago was a terrific business—it would reach 80% of all the households in the markets,” Lawler said. “Today when we're meeting with teams, they talk about reaching 35-40% of all the households in the market. And so to be an owner of a NHL or an NBA team and to not be able to put your games in front of two thirds of your fans in your home market is a dramatic change. And I think that's the benefit of over the air broadcast—between cable, satellite and our over the air platform, we're able to reach every household in a DMA and of course it's free over the air.”

Lawler told lawmakers that like many broadcasters, Scripps depends on live sports to generate the revenues to support local live journalism.

“For a long time, I thought the strongest part of the network affiliate model was live sports,” Lawler said. “Over the last number of years, much of the entertainment programming has now navigated and shifted over to the direct-to-consumer platforms but live sports has really been the foundation and it's a great economic benefit for our local TV stations. We're very much concerned that the economics and the revenue we bring in from sports also helps fund our local news operation. And most local news operations are not profitable by themselves. We need sports and other assets to be able to generate the revenue that allows us to fund that.”

John Bergmayer, Legal Director for Public Knowledge, noted that differences between pay-TV and streaming are too significant to be addressed through current regulations and proposed several measures to help consumers. 

“The differences between cable and streaming mean that certain regulatory approaches are not applicable, but the goals of competition, diversity, localism and affordability and the need for accessible programming remain the same, even if the way these can be brought about has changed,” he said. “There are some obvious hooks for policymakers to improve things for viewers in the short term: Taxpayer-funded teams should commit to making games available in their local markets on a free ad-supported basis, either through broadcast or streaming. Further, policymakers should review special legal protection some sports get such as antitrust exemptions and ensure they are conditioned on teams putting fans first.”

An Unmistakable Trend
John Ourand, sports journalist for Puck Media, corrected committee members who diplomatically were describing the current state of sports TV as an “evolving landscape.” 

“What’s been described here as a rapidly evolving landscape I view as really ‘chaos’” Ourand said. “There's an unmistakable trend right now, going from traditional linear television, to streaming platforms. Because of that trend, it's taking a lot of money out of the sports marketplace, because the streaming services aren't paying as much as the pay TV services which were actually built for that.”

Despite some of the pessimism over the impact of live sports moving away from broadcast and pay-TV to streaming— particularly to network-owned streaming services that could, in effect, make subscribers pay twice for the privilege of viewing one game—Ourand was optimistic that media companies would temper their enthusiasm for moving marquee sports leagues to a pay-per-view model. 

“All NFL games are going to be on over--the-air broadcast television into the 2030s,” Ourand said, adding that the NBA is renegotiating their sports rights—”those are certainly going to be on broadcast television.”

“The World Series is going to be on broadcast television and I think you can also look at just traditional linear television... the NHL, every single Stanley Cup final game until the end of its contract is going to be on linear television.”

Ourand also noted the increasing competition traditional media companies are facing with Silicon Valley companies like Amazon, Netflix and Apple TV+ getting into the live sports arena. “I think that you're clearly seeing trend lines heading there, but it's not quite a tidal wave yet,” he said. “Broadcast still is a priority to these leagues.”

Despite lawmakers' handwringing, there was little consensus to a solution with Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) optimistic that a "marketplace" solution will resolve future issues.

"It seems to me like we're in this kind of confusing area where the industry is trying to sort out how to pay for this content," he said. "And I have faith that we're going to get there because free markets seem to find a way and consumer demand is going to drive consumer behavior and consumer behavior is going to influence the way that we provide that content to them."

Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) was less sanguine.

"I think our job here is to protect the American consumer to ensure that they're able to easily access the content that they pay for," she said. "I mean, I just think it's a racket. It's a racket." 

In testimony in front of Congress this week, NAB President Curtis LeGeyt warned lawmakers that while the increasing use of artificial intelligence could help broadcasters better inform consumers, they need to keep a “close eye” on its risks, particularly in terms of copyright and misinformation. 

Speaking to the  U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law hearing, Oversight of A.I.: The Future of Journalism, on Wednesday, LeGeyt echoed many of the concerns that had been raised in a blog posted to nab.org last spring by Anna Chauvet, vice president of public policy for the association.

After citing numerous studies showing local TV and radio broadcasters the most trusted source of news and information in local communities, LeGeyt noted that AI has great potential in helping broadcasters make news more accurate and accessible. 

“One broadcaster is piloting a tool that will use AI to quickly cull through inbound tips from email and social media to produce recommendations that they can verify and turn into impactful stories,” LeGeyt told the committee. “Other broadcasters are using AI to translate their stories into other languages to better serve diverse audiences. When AI can help these local journalists—real people—perform their jobs in their communities, we welcome it.”

Nevertheless concerns over the use of AI to violate copyright laws and promote misinformation are well known and make broadcasters more vulnerable when AI is used illegally.  

“The use of broadcasters’ news content in AI models, without authorization, diminishes our audience trust and our reinvestment in local news,” LeGeyt said, citing a recent example of a West Virginia TV station having its news content lifted word for word by an unidentified “well-known” AI without its knowledge or consent. 

“Not only are broadcasters losing out on compensation, but this unauthorized usage risks undermining trust as stations lose control over how their content is used and whether it is integrated with other unverified information,” LeGeyt added. 

LeGeyt also warned about the use of AI to mimic the likenesses of TV or radio personalities to make it appear that they are spreading misinformation, hatred, perpetuating fraud, and even altering the image of a well-known anchor to advertise or promote something without their knowledge or consent. 

Such “deep fakes” also spread to actual news reporting, LeGeyt noted, citing the use of AI-manipulated video in reporting on the violence in the Middle East. 

"Following the October 7 terrorist attacks on Israel, fake photos and videos reached an unprecedented level on social media in a matter of minutes,” LeGeyt said. “Of the thousands of videos that one broadcast network sifted through to report on the attacks, only 10% of them were authentic and usable.”

While LeGeyt did not ask Congress to consider new legislation to combat these issues, the NAB has come out in favor of the “Journalism Competition and Preservation Act,” which was passed by the Senate last summer and would create a limited safe harbor to allow broadcasters to negotiate the fair market value of their content.

With increasing competition from AI-obsessed Silicon Valley, LeGeyt asked the subcommittee to remain vigilant.

“America’s broadcasters are extremely proud of the role we play in serving your constituents, and we are eager to embrace AI when it can be harnessed to enhance that critical role,” he said. “However, as we have seen in the cautionary tale of Big Tech, exploitation of new technologies can undermine local news. This subcommittee is wise to keep a close eye on AI, as well as the way our current laws are applied to it.”

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Federal Communications Commission chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel marked the 30th anniversary of the FCC first being given Congressional authority to run spectrum auctions by once again appealing to Congress to renew the authority. 

Five months ago, a deadlocked Congress allowed the spectrum authority to expire for the first time in the agency’s history

The House approved reauthorization in February but the Senate failed to pass the resolution amid disagreement on military spectrum needs.

“FCC spectrum auctions have fueled American growth for three decades,” Rosenworcel said. “The agency has held 100 auctions and in the process raised more than $233 billion for the United States Treasury. It’s not just that these auctions are a good deal; they are a big reason why the United States leads the world in wireless innovation. They are also an essential part of our economic and national security. The current lapse in spectrum auction authority is unprecedented and it puts this leadership at risk. With the World Radio Conference now only months away, it is vital that this authority is reauthorized as soon as possible.”

WASHINGTON—Two Republican members of Congress are asking the acting Inspector General to open an investigation into what they term FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel’s “unprecedented” actions against the proposed merger of Standard General and Tegna, specifically, Rosenworcel’s decision to have the deal reviewed by an Administrative Law Judge. 

With just one week left before the deal expires on May 22, after which financing will run out, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, and Committee Ranking Member Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) wrote to Sharon Diskin, Acting Inspector General for the FCC to look into the factors that led to Rosenworcel’s decision. This comes after the two Congresspersons sent a letter to the FCC Chair in April asking that she respond to their concerns about whether the FCC was acting in good faith after referring the case to the judge.

"No less than five aspects of that decision and the circumstances surrounding it suggest that it was motivated by a biased desire to defeat the Standard General-Tegna transaction. If that is true, then the FCC is serving as a partisan cudgel, rather than fulfilling its mission to ensure a robust and competitive market,” they told Diskin.

The proposed $8.6 billion merger of Standard General and Tegna has been in regulatory limbo since it was announced more than a year ago. While advocates claim that the merger would result in a more diverse ownership structure and help support local journalism, critics claim the opposite would in fact happen, with consolidation reducing competition and automation threatening jobs. 

Cruz and McMorris Rodgers accused the FCC of dereliction of duty during the approval process, favoring input from opponents over advocates. 

“We understand that during the Department of Justice’s months-long review of the Standard General-Tegna transaction, FCC staff repeatedly informed Standard General that if and when the DOJ’s review concluded, they would present the applicants with any concerns, allowing the applicants time to address them,” they wrote. “Yet after the DOJ completed its review without mounting any challenges, the FCC went radio silent: reportedly, in the three months prior to issuing the HDO (hearing designation orde), the Media Bureau either declined or ignored Standard General’s sixteen attempts to engage with it. During this same period, the FCC, including the Media Bureau, had at least eight meetings with individuals and entities who opposed the Standard General-Tegna transaction.”

They also noted what they considered the commission’s unprecedented decision to have the merger reviewed by the commission judge.  

“The decision to refer such a large transaction to an ALJ without a Commission-level vote is itself extraordinary. This is the first time the FCC has designated for an ALJ hearing a transaction of this size that no antitrust regulator has challenged,” they wrote. “Neither of the FCC’s two justifications for doing so—the potential effect on station jobs and retransmission consent rates—has ever before been asserted as a basis for blocking a broadcast license transfer. Moreover, the Commission’s own internal standards limit the Media Bureau from taking such novel action on delegated authority.”

They also criticized the commission’s delay tactics, as well as receiving erroneous and incomplete information from commission staff and Rosenworcel’s refusal to provide an adequate response to their previous letter.

Cruz and McMorris Rodgers asked Diskin to review all communications between FCC commissioners and their staffs regarding the merger as well as those from the applicants and opponents, which could have resulted in what they termed “obstruction of congressional oversight.”

They also want to know whether there were any other similar media transactions that have taken place since the deal was announced that might have impacted retransmission consent or industry consolidation. Finally, they want to know why Rosenworcel did not respond to their concerns raised in the April 5 letter. 

WASHINGTON—Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), has introduced a bill that, if passed, would repeal all broadcast ownership limits. The draft bill, titled the “Local News and Broadcast Media Preservation Act,” moves to abolish local radio and television ownership rules; all in the name of helping broadcasters better compete with Big Tech.

According to a press release introducing Paul’s bill, this proposed legislation “would give local broadcasters and newspapers much-needed relief from outdated government restrictions that are currently threatening their ability to succeed in an evolving media environment.”

In the release, Paul said his bill would exempt print, broadcast and digital news organizations from federal antitrust laws and authorities, such as the Department of Justice, to allow them to compete and negotiate with national tech companies. Further, he said the legislation would allow local broadcast companies to merge without government interference, which would “allow those broadcasters to better compete against these tech giants.”

Of course, being introduced so late in the congressional session with no other declared political support, the bill has little chance of becoming law in this session of Congress, notes the Broadcast Law Blog and Broadcasting & Cable. It’s also worth remembering that movement in the legislative branch continues to be stifled due to an ongoing political gridlock as the FCC continues its work with a 2-2 partisan split and the Gigi Sohn nomination remains stalled.

This battle for deregulation, however, is not a new one. Paul’s bill includes a component that is similar to the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) draft — which was passed by the Senate’s Judiciary Committee Sept. 22 — though the latter doesn’t have the sweeping deregulatory scope.

First introduced in 2021, if adopted, JCPA would create a “four-year safe harbor” from antitrust laws for print, broadcast or digital news companies to collectively negotiate with online content distributors (e.g., social media companies) regarding the terms on which the news companies’ content may be distributed by online content distributors.

As JCPA is set to advance to the Senate floor, NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt released the following statement: “In today’s media landscape, local news outlets are at the mercy of a handful of Big Tech gatekeepers that dictate the terms by which their content appears online. This legislation would level the playing field by enabling fair negotiations between news publishers and dominant digital platforms for the market value of their local content.”

This article originally appeared on TV Tech sister brand Radio World. 

WASHINGTON—The House of Representatives on Monday unanimously passed the PRESS Act, which would establish federal protection to prevent journalists from being compelled to reveal confidential sources and prevent federal law enforcement from abusing subpoena power. The bill, also known as —H.R.4330 - Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act (PRESS Act) now goes to the Senate, which is also expected to approve it.

Bill sponsor Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) applauded its passage.

“Today is a triumphant day for press freedom,” said Rep. Raskin. “With the PRESS Act closer than ever to becoming law, a federal press shield law is within reach that affords journalists protection from government overreach and abuse of the subpoena power. I’m grateful to Representatives Yarmuth and Lieu for their partnership in this effort to make good on this foundational constitutional promise, and I urge our colleagues in the Senate to advance the central, bipartisan mission of protecting a truly free and unmuzzled press—by sending this legislation to the president’s desk.”

The PRESS Act has the endorsement of Demand Progress, News Media Alliance (NMA), News Leaders Association, MPA – The Association of Magazine Media, Protect the 1st, Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) and the National Association of Broadcasters, which also commended the vote.

"NAB commends the House of Representatives for passing the PRESS Act with overwhelming bipartisan support,” said NAB President Curtis LeGeyt. “A free press is a necessary and vital hallmark of American democracy, enabling the unencumbered reporting of news and information that affects our communities, our nation and the world. This legislation honors the sanctity of journalists’ relationship with their sources and ensures members of the press may continue their important work without fear or favor. We appreciate the leadership of Reps. Raskin, Lieu and Yarmuth on this legislation and look forward to working with their counterparts in the Senate to pass this important bill into law."

WASHINGTON—The NAB is welcoming words of support from congressional allies of both parties in its fight against higher FCC regulatory fees.

Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota is co-founder and chair of the Congressional Broadcasters Caucus. He sent a letter to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel with the signatures of 93 fellow legislators.

He told Rosenworcel that the pending fee increase “is appalling and out-of-step with regulatory costs for any other industry under the FCC’s jurisdiction.” The letter asks Rosenworcel to explain the benefits and to justify why broadcasters will see a higher rate of increase than other sectors.

It said the hikes will erode strained station budgets and that “the American people will be forced to pay the price with decreased access to trusted local news and information services.” 

Emmer’s letter echoed NAB’s arguments that the commission is forcing broadcasters to bear heavy costs to subsidize large tech companies that benefit from the FCC’s work. (Read the letter.)

NAB President/CEO Curtis LeGeyt thanked Emmer and his colleagues “for their bipartisan leadership in working to right-size the FCC’s fees so that broadcasters are not paying more than our share at the expense of the unparalleled free and local service we provide.”

The FCC plan would increase broadcasters’ fees by 13%, which the NAB says works out to about $7.3 million. “The planned rate increase on broadcasters amounts to nearly the entire $7.95 million expansion of the FCC’s budget.”

This article originally appeared on TV Tech sister brand Radio World. 

WASHINGTON—For several years now cable operators have been arguing that the FCC needs to recognize the shift in children's video consumption from "'traditional linear television' to unregulated online programming," and deregulate accordingly.

The 1990 Children's Television Act set limits on ads in children's programming and the FCC in 2004 limited the display of website addresses during children's programming.

NCTA told the FCC this week, as it did back in 2018, that it was time to eliminate those restrictions.

Also: FCC's O'Rielly Says Kids TV Rules Have Not Produced Great TV

In a July 1 filing, in response to a request for comment on the FCC's upcoming report on the state of competition in the communications marketplace, NCTA said that video competition among MVPDs is "vibrant," and video regulation should reflect that.

It said that means that Congress' concerns--some 30 years ago--about a lack of competition to cable and potential anticompetitive conduct by cable--have been obviated by that robust competition, including from over-the-top video providers like Netflix.

NCTA suggested that children's regulations imposed on cable (and broadcast) but not over-the-top "artificially distort and suppress the proconsumer benefits of competition."

"[E]ntities that compete in the provision of like services should not face different public interest or customer service obligations, which is both arbitrary and capricious and skews the marketplace," NCTA said. "For example, the Commission should take a fresh look at its children’s television advertising rules, which should at the least be revised consistent with NCTA’s prior recommendations. None of the new online video providers that target children—such as YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon—are
burdened by FCC restrictions on advertising. This disparity negatively impacts competition in children’s television programming. This is particularly detrimental given that cable networks have invested countless hours and billions of dollars in developing trusted brands that serve the programming needs of parents and children."

And while not calling out program access and carriage regs by name as some others in need of jettisoning, NCTA might as well have. "[T]t is time for regulations premised on a lack of competition in the video marketplace to be repealed," NCTA also told the Commission in its advice on the upcoming competition report. 

This article originally appeared on TV Tech sister brand B+C.

WASHINGTON—A House subcommittee this week approved President Biden’s $40 million increase in funding for public broadcasting for FY2023. The vote from the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies on the $565 million in advance funding drew praise from .America’s Public Television Stations.

“America’s Public Television Stations are most grateful that the subcommittee has recommended $565 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, an increase of $40 million,” said Patrick Butler, president and CEO of America’s Public Television Stations. “After a decade of level funding, resulting in $100 million in lost purchasing power, this legislation would go a very long way toward restoring that purchasing power — and with it our ability to provide the educational services, the public safety communications, the civic literacy and the beloved programming which millions of Americans need and value.

“While this is the first step in this year’s appropriations process, it is a big step in the right direction, and we are most grateful to subcommittee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro and Ranking Member Tom Cole for being such strong champions of public broadcasting.

APTS also applauded the subcommittee’s decision to add $60 million in funding for upgrading and maintaining network facilities.

“We are also appreciative that the subcommittee has recommended increased funding of $60 million in FY 2023 for station interconnection, the backbone of the public broadcasting system, supporting nationwide emergency alerting, providing local stations with national programming, connecting stations with each other, and creating operational efficiencies," Butler said. This account also supports important system-wide digital infrastructure and is essential to addressing cybersecurity, content delivery networks, and data management, among other needs.

Butler also reiterated public broadcasting's important role in providing public safety communications and educational initiatives particularly in rural communities.

“The federal investment in public broadcasting is critical to local public television stations’ public service mission, and to ensuring that everyone, everywhere, every day has access to these essential services for free," he said.

“This mission includes remote learning services in all 50 States, providing a datacasting communications bridge for students without adequate access to broadband, working with federal, State and local governments on public safety communications ranging from early earthquake warning to National Guard readiness, connecting government officials directly with their constituents on health information and other issues, and chronicling the history, culture and public affairs of hometown America.

“America’s public television stations are ready to do more, to help revolutionize education in a post-pandemic America, to train more of America’s adults for the employment opportunities available in their communities,  to expand our work in civil defense, to create a more well-informed citizenry that considers issues in a civil and constructive manner, and to use a portion of our licensed spectrum to enhance telehealth, national security, Smart Cities connections, transportation efficiency, precision agriculture and more.

“The broad support for public media funding among both Republicans and Democrats in Congress reflects the overwhelming support of the American people for our service in communities throughout America, and we couldn’t be more proud of the subcommittee’s confidence in our work.

“We await further word on funding for Ready To Learn, a competitive grant program at the Department of Education that supports the creation and distribution of educational media content to millions of children across America. This program has been proven to help close the achievement gap between children from low-income families and their more affluent peers. We remain hopeful that Ready To Learn’s essential work will continue to be supported through full funding.

“In the meantime, we are most grateful to the full membership of the subcommittee for the critical support they have demonstrated today for the work of America’s public television station,” Butler said.

WASHINGTON—The NAB voiced its support this week for the passage of H.R.4330 - Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act (PRESS Act) by the House Judiciary Committee. The legislation would establish protections for journalists at the federal level regarding the revelation of their confidential sources except in defined circumstances such as threats to national security.

“NAB applauds the House Judiciary Committee for its bipartisan passage of the PRESS Act, legislation that will protect journalists’ right to legally, openly and fearlessly report the news,” said NAB President Curtis LeGeyt. “Embracing the right of a free press to report the news without fear or favor, journalists rely on confidential sources to shine a light on wrongdoing in government, expose waste of taxpayers’ dollars and hold our elected officials accountable. 

“Broadcasters appreciate the leadership of Reps. Raskin, Lieu and Yarmuth on this important issue, and Sen. Wyden's sponsorship of companion legislation in the Senate. We look forward to working with all members of Congress to pass this important legislation that upholds a guiding principle of American democracy."

WASHINGTON—A bipartisan group of House and Senate members introduced the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act on March 10, which would enable small news outlets to collectively negotiate with online platforms, like Google and Facebook, for use of their stories.

The bill was brought forth by House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David N. Cicilline (D-R.I.), House Antitrust Subcommittee Ranking Member Ken Buck (R-Colo.), Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.) and Chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust and Consumer Rights Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).

The legislation follows a bipartisan investigation into the online marketplace, which found that big tech companies use practices that ultimately harm local news providers, including broadcasters.

According to Pew Research Center, 90% of Americans get news while using a smartphone, computer or tablet, with Facebook and Google accounting for a majority of online referrals for news sources and a majority of the online advertising market. This “digital ad duoply” has contributed to layoffs and consolidation in the news industry, especially for local new outlets, the announcement noted. 

The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act will establish a temporary, 48-month safe harbor that allows small news publishers to negotiate collectively with online platforms to protect Americans’ access to sources of online news. Coordination is only allowed if 1) it directly relates to the quality, accuracy, attribution or branding, or interoperability of news; 2) benefits the entire industry, rather than just a few publishers, and is non-discriminatory to other news publishers; and 3) is directly related to and reasonably necessary for these negotiations, instead of being used for other purposes.

“A strong, diverse, free press is critical for any successful democracy. Access to trustworthy local journalism helps inform the public, hold powerful people accountable, and root out corruption,” said Cicilline, who has introduced the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act in each of the last two Congresses. “This bill will give hardworking local reporters and publishers the helping hand they need right now, so they can continue to do their important work.”

NAB, who has argued that large online companies are putting broadcasters at a disadvantage for ads, welcomed the proposed legislation.

“NAB commends Reps. David Cicilline and Ken Buck, Sens. Amy Klobuchar and John Kennedy and their bipartisan cosponsors for reintroducing legislation allowing news publishers such as local broadcasters to collectively negotiate the terms on which their content may be distributed online,” said NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith in a statement. “For too long, a handful of dominant tech platforms have unilaterally set policies impeding media outlets’ ability to reach audiences, attract advertisers and monetize their news content. The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act would afford news producers the ability to negotiate a fair return for their local journalism that serves America's communities. We look forward to working with stakeholders and members of Congress on passing this legislation into law.”

The House Antitrust Subcommittee will hold a hearing, “Reviving Competition, Part 2: Saving the Free and Diverse Press,” on Friday, March 12. Emily Barr, president and CEO of Graham Media Group, is scheduled to testify on behalf of local TV and radio broadcasters.

WASHINGTON—A bipartisan bill is expected to be introduced to Congress in the next few weeks that is designed to make it easier for smaller news organizations to negotiate with Big Tech platforms, i.e. Facebook and Google, according to a report from Reuters.

Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel, said that this is the first in a series of antitrust bills expected to be introduced to Congress.

NAB and other news organizations have been calling for help to deal with big tech companies, who often use news content to draw users but, according to the news organizations, are not sharing enough of the revenue from advertising.

Google announced earlier this week that it had struck a deal with News Corp. to pay to use its content. Meanwhile, Facebook went the other way, pulling the ability to share news content on its platforms in Australia after a proposed law that would require it to pay news outlets whose content drives traffic to their site.

This bill, according to Reuters, would only cover “small publishers.”

For more information, read Reuters’ report. 

HACKENSACK, N.J.—With all of the recent goings on at the U.S. Capitol, FedNet has had no shortage of live video coverage of proceedings and events that are shared with broadcasters across the country. To help manage all of this content, FedNet has been relying on LiveU technology.

FedNet is a credentialed news organization that provides multimedia content of Congress, pushing out more than 30 hours of live video of Senate and House debates, hearings, press conferences and special events; they also were critical in capturing footage of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.

FedNet says that it has been using LiveU technology since the 2016 Presidential Conventions and eventually invested in LiveU dedicated transmission appliances to build out its infrastructure on the Hill. This was part of a move from traditional satellite technology.

Part of this infrastructure now includes the LiveU Matrix for IP content management and distribution. The IP feed option has made it easier to provide the live content FedNet captures to global broadcasters, FedNet says.

“Managing the content and its distribution is a no brainer when we are covering major news events,” said Keith Carney, FedNet president. “Broadcasters used to pay upward of six figures to access feeds. Now clients can access live feeds at a fraction of the cost and use the content they want. Many are already LiveU users, so it is a seamless process to deliver the live feeds to their receivers.”

The impact of the pandemic has caused less news organizations to send crews to the Capitol, which makes FedNet’s coverage a potential resource for many. FedNet says that Trinity Broadcasting Network and the Los Angeles Times recently picked up the Inauguration Day feeds.

For the Capitol riots, Carney said: “It was a scary moment, but it was our duty to make the live feed available to clients using LiveU to show how things unfolded that day. These major events demonstrate the importance of giving our clients a steady supply of content that they can use at a price they can afford.”

WASHINGTON—NAB is ready to get to work with the 117th Congress as the organization representing TV and radio broadcasters has unveiled its main policy agenda. Headlining NAB’s Broadcasters’ Policy Agenda are issues surrounding broadcast ownership, spectrum issues, promoting diversity and the preservation of local journalism in the age of big tech.

NAB stressed the importance of broadcasters to the new Congress, detailing its reach, impact on jobs and the overall role of broadcasters as first informers, news reporters and investigators, public servants, innovators (presently with NextGen TV) and, at this particular point in time, a vital lifeline to keep the public informed about COVID-19.

To better meet these roles, NAB highlighted a number of policies it would like to see this new Congress address.

Among them is the issue of broadcast ownership. The FCC is currently in the Supreme Court arguing for new broadcast ownership rules that have been held up because of a decision by the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals. NAB is urging policymakers to support the FCC’s modernization of radio and TV ownership rules, which it says the 1996 Telecommunications Act mandated the FCC do every four years, to reflect the current marketplace and account for the rise and increasing influence of digital media.

The issue of retransmission consent is also part of NAB’s agenda. Negotiations between local TV station providers and pay-TV operators have become increasingly contentious and have led to numerous blackouts of stations each year. NAB believes Congress should ensure broadcasters and pay-TV operators can continue conducting private, market-driven negotiations and avoid tilting the scales in favor of either party.

With the C-band transition progressing, NAB wishes for Congress to ensure that any changes to C-band and 6 GHz spectrum does not impede broadcasters’ ability to deliver critical programming and services to their communities. They also urge policymakers to reject unlicensed spectrum giveaways.

NAB also stresses the importance of increasing broadcast diversity, specifically to creating opportunities for women, people of color and other underrepresented communities. A specific action NAB asks Congress to take in this area is to reinstate the diversity tax certificate.

The preservation of local journalism is also high on NAB’s priority list, especially in this age of big tech. NAB would like Congress to consider the competitive challenges and antitrust concerns raised by digital platforms and their impact on local news and information, specifically by supporting laws and policies that recognize and uphold broadcasters “unique and essential roles” in our democracy as part of the free press.

Other issues on the agenda include opposing legislation that modifies advertising tax laws, as well as music licensing issues.

“America's local radio and television broadcasters stand ready to help our nation overcome the challenges that lie ahead,” said NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith. “ NAB looks forward to working with the new administration and Congress on bipartisan policies to address the crises facing our nation, while helping keep our millions of listeners and viewers informed, safe and connected."

NAB’s Broadcasters’ Policy Agenda can be viewed online. 

WASHINGTON—Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.), along with 42 other House members, have introduced a resolution that honors the journalists and news staff who, while covering the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, risked injury and threats of violence to continue covering the events of the attempted insurrection.

On Jan. 6, rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol while a joint session of the House of Representatives and Senate were confirming the electoral college victory of Joe Biden as the 46th president, which had been falsely claimed as fraudulent by President Donald Trump and others. In addition, rioters intimidated and attacked members of the media and their equipment. The words “Murder the Media” were also carved on a door of the Capitol.

“It was our nation’s forefathers who first recognized that the foundation of a successful democracy must include a free press. On January 6th, journalists and members of the media faced imminent danger from rioters as our nation’s Capitol was attacked. Despite threats to their own lives, they continued to document history,” said Congresswoman Bustos. “Their work helped ensure the safety of others and continues to help federal agencies seek justice. Their actions were nothing short of heroic. As a former journalist, I want to thank them. And as a member of a grateful nation, it is my honor to recognize the significance of their contributions on that fateful day.”

In addition to officially sharing the gratitude, the resolution encourages congressional support “for the mental and physical well-being of journalists and news staff affected by the insurrection,” the condemnation of the harassment and violent attacks against the media and to honor the contributions of journalists on Jan. 6 as an act of protecting free speech under the First Amendment.

NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith issued this statement in response to the resolution: “On January 6, America’s journalists—at great personal risk—provided vital reporting from inside and outside the Capitol to deliver a chilling picture of the unprecedented assault on our democratic process. Enduring harassment, intimidation and acts of violence from the crowd, the news media showed remarkable courage in upholding the principles of the First Amendment’s guarantee of a free press. We thank Rep. Bustos for her leadership on this resolution recognizing the bravery and duty they exhibited, and we appreciate the support of members of Congress in imploring every American to respect the right of journalists to safely conduct their important work.”

The co-sponsors of the resolution include Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman, Earl Blumenauer, Alan Lowenthal, Grace Meng, Jackie Speier, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Sheila Jackson Lee, Donald M. Payne, Jr., Ed Perlmutter, Marcy Kaptur, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Mary Gay Scanlon, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Jan Schakowsky, Bobby Rush, Susan Wild, Marie Newman, Grace F. Napolitano, Peter Welch, Mark Takano, André Carson, Frank Pallone, Jr., James P. McGovern, Bill Foster, Nanette Diaz Barragán, Rosa DeLauro, Bradley S. Schneider, Ted Lieu, Albio Sires, Jerrold Nadler, Stephen F. Lynch, John B. Larson, Alcee L. Hastings, Debbie Dingell, Jerry McNerney, Ritchie Torres, Derek Kilmer, Alma Adams, Mark Pocan, Lauren Underwood, Robin L. Kelly and Julia Brownley.

The full resolution can be viewed online. 

WASHINGTON—A new bill that would reform digital copyright laws to better reflect the advancements in technology and changing business practices has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) as a first draft discussion legislation.

Dubbed the Digital Copyright Act of 2021 (DCA), the new bill would amend key provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to combat online copyright privacy, improve exemptions available to users for circumventing technological protection measures (TPMs), increase attribution protections to properly credit authors, make the Register of Copyrights a presidential appointee and place the Copyright Office under the Department of Commerce.

DMCA was enacted in 1998. Tillis argues that in its current form, copyright legislation is not able to meet the needs of most copyright owners and individual users. He believes that the DCA will reform the framework of the DMCA and encourage the creation of copyrightable works to protect users and consumers making lawful uses of copyrighted goods and software-enabled products.

“The Digital Millennium Copyright Act was passed in 1998, and while it was revolutionary at the time, the law simply hasn’t kept pace with changes in technology,” said Tillis. “The DMCA is antiquated and is past-due for modernization.”

Tillis invites interested stakeholders to submit redline edits and comments to the DCA discussion draft by March 5. A second discussion draft is expected to be ready in April, which will be used as a basis for further discussion to finalize a piece of legislation that Tillis hopes Congress will vote on.

The full first discussion draft DCA is available to read online. For information on how to comment on it, visit Sen. Tillis’ website.

Tillis was behind another piece of legislation earlier this week, as the Protecting Lawful Streaming Act, which would make the pirating of streamed content a felony, was included in the omnibus spending bill passed by Congress. 

WASHINGTON—Congress has passed a new stimulus package, which as part of the $900 billion spending package to support individuals and businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic includes expanding support for broadcasters and other media outlets.

Local television and radio stations, as well as local newspapers, are receiving expanded eligibility for U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loans through the Paycheck Protection Program. 

As part of the new legislation, individual TV and radio stations can apply for PPP loans as long as the individual station employs no more than 500 employees per physical location; this includes individual stations that are owned by station groups, something that had been a sticking point previously when determining small business loan access. SBA has the ability to make loans up to $10 million total across TV and radio stations owned by one of these larger station groups. Also, Congress has waived any prohibition on loans to broadcast stations owned by publicly traded entities.

One condition included in these new provisions is that newly eligible individual stations are required to make a good faith certification that proceeds of the loan will be used to support expenses for the production or distribution of locally-focused or emergency information.

A second round of PPP eligibility has also been created for small businesses that demonstrate significant need, which can include broadcasters. This second round applies to businesses with 300 or fewer employees that have sustained a 25% revenue loss in any quarter of 2020. Any loan in this round is capped at $2 million. Broadcasters who received PPP loans earlier this year can still qualify for this new round, as well as any broadcaster who is newly eligible for first round PPP loans.

“NAB applauds the inclusion of provisions in COVID-19 relief legislation that would expand eligibility to Paycheck Protection Program loans for local media outlets, including those radio and television stations which were previously excluded,” said Gordon Smith, NAB president and CEO. “These provisions, in addition to the bill’s second round of PPP funding for which many stations will also be eligible, help local broadcasters maintain their operations during this difficult time and continue to provide news and information critical to local communities as vaccine distribution commences across the country.”

The bill is also slated to provide $7 billion for expanded broadband access for students, families and unemployed workers. In addition, the omnibus spending bill includes a bill that makes the pirating of streamed content a felony.

UPDATE 12/21, 8:50 a.m.: The spending bill looks like it will be passed by Congress, though it is unclear at this time if the Protecting Lawful Streaming Act is officially included in the bill. 

WASHINGTON—The punishment for illegally streaming content could soon be more severe, as a new bill currently before Congress would increase the penalty of streaming pirated content from a misdemeanor to a felony.

The Protecting Lawful Streaming Act of 2020, which was introduced by Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and has bipartisan support, says that any persons who “willfully and for purposes of commercial advantage or financial gain” provide public digital transmission services of copyrighted works will have committed a felony act. The bill is currently attached to the omnibus spending bill under consideration by Congress.

According to a blog post from Seth Cooper of The Free State Foundation, under the existing law piracy of online content is classified only as a misdemeanor, while other forms of piracy, like downloading content, are considered felonies. Cooper says that streaming, which is becoming the most popular way for consumers to view content, is also becoming the predominant form of online piracy through “stream-ripping” websites and apps as well as illegal Internet Protocol Television services.

PLUS: Nearly 40% of Consumers Commit Video Piracy, Per Hub Survey

Citing an August 2020 Digital Citizens Alliance report, Cooper says that an estimated $1 billion in U.S. subscription revenues were generated by illegal IPTV services, with about 9 million subscribers to these services.

The COVID-19 pandemic may have increased the popularity of illegal streaming piracy, Cooper adds. Tracking firm Muso found a 43% surge in American visits to movie pirating sites during the last week of March 2020 compared to a month earlier, Cooper writes.

“Under existing law, criminals who operate illegal IPTV streaming services can only be charged with misdemeanor infringement, not felony infringement,” Cooper says. “As a result, operators of these illegal streaming services face less severe penalties than operators of online piracy sites for downloading copyrighted movies and music. There obviously is no reason for this disparity in the law.”

Read Cooper’s full blog on The Free State Foundation website. 

WASHINGTON—The House of Representatives has passed a bill that reaffirms Congress’ commitment to media diversity and strategy of working with media organizations to better represent the American people.

The bill, H. Res 549, was introduced in 2019 by Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.). It’s official wording is: “[A] resolution reaffirming the commitment of the House of Representatives to media diversity … and pledges to work with media entities and diverse stakeholders to develop common ground solutions to eliminate barriers to media diversity.”

The resolution passed the House with a voice vote.

“Over the past year we have heard the growing calls for diversity in positions of power and listened to the millions of Americans who know, as we do, that representation matters,” said Energy & Commerce Chairman Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) and Communications & Technology Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) in a joint statement. “We must eliminate barriers to media diversity and provide all Americans the opportunity to engage with more independent and local media outlets that reflect the people of our diverse nation. Today’s resolution reaffirms our commitment to seeing that done, and we thank our colleagues for their strong, bipartisan support.”

NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith provided the following statement in response to the bill’s passage:

“NAB applauds today’s passage by the House of Representatives of a resolution pledging lawmakers’ support for working with media organizations to increase diversity within the media industry …. America’s broadcasters thank Rep. Val Demings and Jenniffer González-Colón (R-PR) and Sens. (R-Fla.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) for their leadership on this issue, and reaffirm our commitment to creating a more diverse media landscape.”

Smith’s statement also touched upon legislation sponsored by Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) that would reinstate the Minority Tax Certificate Program, which NAB believes would create more opportunities for diverse radio and TV station ownership, including among women and people of color. 

When the tax certificate program was in place between 1978 and 1995, NAB says that minority ownership in broadcast stations increased by more than 550%.

WASHINGTON—A wide swath of television, film and sports production organizations—including NAB and NCTA - The Internet & Television Association—are working together to push for pandemic risk insurance that will help get the production industry back to normal. A joint letter from the coalition was sent to the House Financial Services Committee ahead of a hearing taking place Nov. 19 on pandemic insurance.

The “Insuring Against a Pandemic: Challenges and Solutions for Policyholders and Insurers” hearing is expected to examine the issues related to business insurance that has impacted production across the TV, film and sports industries.

When the pandemic hit in March, a significant amount of productions were halted and insurance needed to resume production ceased to be available, according to the coalition. The group says that production cannot restart on a widespread basis in the U.S. without protection from the ongoing pandemic risks.

“The ability of American businesses to secure pandemic risk insurance will be a key factor to America’s economic recovery and getting our workers back on the job,” the coalition wrote.

In its letter, the coalition supports legislation that was introduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and ask that Congress move quickly to pass bipartisan legislation that would create a public private insurance solution where the government would share the financial risk of losses related to pandemics so production can resume. The coalition believes this would protect jobs and reduce economic damages from pandemics.

“Working with you in a bipartisan fashion to enact pandemic risk insurance legislation is a top priority,” the coalition wrote.

In addition to NAB and NCTA, the coalition includes the Motion Picture Association, the Independent Film & Television Alliance, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, NASCAR, the NFL, the Directors Guild of America, the Producers Guild of America, NPACT and SAG-AFTRA. They say they represent more than 2.5 million jobs across the country and $200 billion in annual wages.

WASHINGTON—Citing a need for a properly trained and highly skilled workforce, a coalition of communications industry organizations have sent a joint letter to both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives requesting support for industry-specific workforce development programs.

The organizations that signed the letter include the NAB, NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association (NATE), the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA), CTIA, the Government Wireless Technology & Communications Association (GWTCA), the National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA), Rural Wireless Association (RWA) and the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA).

In the letter, the groups are seeking stand-alone legislation for these workforce development programs, or for them to be included in a larger telecom/broadband infrastructure package.

According to the letters, bipartisan legislation has been introduced in both the Senate and the House that would meet these demands, including the Communications Jobs Training Act, the Telecommunications Skilled Workforce Act and the TOWER Infrastructure Deployment Act.

The letter was sent to the chairman and ranking member of the House and Senate Commerce Committees and their Communications Subcommittee, as well as the chairman and ranking member of the House and Senate Labor Committees and their subcommittees with jurisdiction over workforce issues.

“NATE is pleased to join our communications industry colleagues in reaffirming the critical importance of ensuring that we have enough properly trained and qualified workers to handle the enormous amount of work that the telecom industry will be undertaking,” said Jim Goldwater, NATE director of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, in the organization's announcement.

The letter to the Senate Commerce Committee is available to read in full here, and the letter to the House Energy & Commerce Committee is available here. 

WASHINGTON—In a wholly unified effort, broadcaster associations from all 50 states, as well as Washington, D.C., and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, have sent a letter to House and Senate Leaders that urge them to provide relief for local media in any upcoming bills or legislative measures addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Specifically sending the letter to House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), the letter echoes the efforts and needs local broadcasters have been dealing with since the start of the pandemic.

“[L]ocal media outlets have been providing critical and essential service to their communities—working around the clock to ensure that their viewers, readers and listeners remain informed, connected and safe,” the letter reads. “Unlike other businesses, who have had the option of temporarily closing their doors, local broadcasters and news publishers have maintained their operations, which have become more important than ever to their communities.”

The continued operation comes even as the stations have been hit hard in revenue because of the loss of advertising. The letter details that some local broadcasters have seen advertising decline more than 50% compared to 2019, while others are reporting as much as 90% of their advertising buys have been cancelled. This could lead to revenue losses of more than $14 billion, the associations claims.

As a result, the state associations are calling for two measures to be enacted by Congress:

The first is to ensure that local media can seek relief under the Paycheck Protection Program. Many media outlets have already been helped by PPP, but the associations hope that Congress will allow them to apply for additional funds under their existing PPP loans. Some, however, have not been able to apply for PPP loans because of their place as part of a larger business or ownership group—a point of contention among different groups. These associations are asking that Congress adopt the provisions contained in the Local News and Emergency Act in the House-passed HEROES Act, which would ensure PPP eligibility is determined on a local, per station or newsroom basis.

Second, they want federal funds to support advertising. They ask that Congress include provisions in upcoming appropriations measures and COVID relief legislation that would direct U.S. government advertising campaigns to fund and prioritize local media for the promotion of important federal priorities; an action that had large bipartisan support earlier this year. In addition, the associations want any relief legislation for local communities should include provisions that would prioritize and incentivize stimulus recipients to spend a portion of those funds on promotion through advertising on local media.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced earlier this week that it was planning to spend advertising dollars on local media.

“We urge Congress to act swiftly to ensure that local radio and television broadcasters and local newspapers can continue to serve their vital roles in informing Americans and keeping them safe,” the letter concludes.

The full letter is available online. 

WASHINGTON—A group of media trade groups, unions and a couple of sports leagues are seeking Congressional legislation that would provide insurance against COVID-19 related issues that would potentially interrupt their operations.

The group—made up of the NAB, NCTA—Internet & Television Association, Motion Picture Association, Independent Film & Television Alliance, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, NASCAR, NFL, the Directors Guild of America, the Producers Guild of America, SAG-AFTRA, NPACT and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers—sent a letter to House and Senate leaders in both parties on July 1, making their case for such an insurance plan.

“Whether it be professional and collegiate sporting events, the next must-see film, a bingeworthy TV series or a marquee Broadway production, we cannot envision any long-term recovery of these American experiences without some form of business interruption insurance that mitigates the risks associated with producing these popular events and programs in the COVID era now facing the country,” the letter reads.

The letter states that the combined industries employ millions of Americans in the news, sports and entertainment fields, generating more than $200 billion in wages annually. They say that the ability to secure pandemic insurance will be key in America’s economic recovery.

The idea behind this letter is that as it stands, if a production or sporting event were to make preparations or begin an event that was then forced to shut down because of government posed restrictions, without insurance the companies involved would have to eat those costs.

According to TVT’s sister publication B+C, insurance companies currently aren’t offering pandemic riders and aren’t likely to do so without action from D.C.

“We recognize that there are a variety of effective bipartisan approaches that could be undertaken to reach a legislative solution addressing the outsized economic risk posed by COVID-19 and future pandemics,” the letter reads, referencing some current proposals being worked on in Congress. “We stand ready to work with all parties on both sides of the Capitol to ensure the U.S. economy can re-start effectively and is prepared for future pandemic-related disruptions.”

The full letter is available online. 

DALLAS—The Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act Reauthorization—better known as STELAR—is poised to expire at the end of the year and Congress is readying its final approval of the bill that will permanently let it expire, save in a few instances. AT&T’s Senior Executive Vice President of External & Legal Affairs Jim Cicconi expressed why he felt this was a mistake on AT&T’s blog.

Cicconi writes that the removal of STELAR will also remove access to broadcast channels for hundreds of thousands of consumers. “Make no mistake, when the screens of those consumers go dark, the sole reason will be that Congress did not act to protect them,” he wrote.

STELAR is the primary compulsory license that allows satellite operators to import distant network TV station signals to markets. Broadcasters have argued that the license is no longer relevant and have been pushing for it to expire at the end of its most recent five-year renewal cycle this year. Congress seems to have agreed. The House officially passed the appropriations bill that includes the sunsetting of STELAR, and the Senate is expected to do the same by Friday, Dec. 20.

In addition to the sunset of STELAR, the appropriations bill also makes permanent the requirement that retransmission disputes are conducted in “good faith” and it will maintain compulsory licenses for RVs, truckers and “short” markets, which are markets without one or more local network affiliates available.

However, Cicconi does not think these measures will prevent the loss of access to some channels for consumers, but instead there is a need for reform regarding the issue of retransmission fees.

Cicconi presents that retransmission fees for local broadcast stations have grown from $200 million in 2006 to $11.7 billion in 2019—an increase of 5,000%. He says that these increase in fees have trickled down to higher bills for consumers. Rather than address this, Cicconi writes that Congress has “bowed to further demands from broadcasters.”

“If the broadcasters truly want to debate, and to justify such predation based on the principle of free market economics, we are prepared,” writes Cicconi. “But all issues should be on the table. That includes the grant of free spectrum from the public given to local broadcasters for one purpose and now used for another. It should also include the grant of monopoly rights for local broadcasters in specific geographic areas—hardly consistent with any concept of a free market.”

Read the full version of Cicconi’s blog on AT&T’s website.

UPDATE: The NAB responded to Cicconi's blog post with a statement from Dennis Wharton, NAB executive vice president of communications:

“AT&T is being remarkably disingenuous in suggesting that broadcasters are responsible for rising pay-TV prices. Pay-TV prices have increased independent of programming costs for decades. Further, as the attached chart from S&P Global notes, cable network fees are the primary driver of high programming costs. AT&T's own CNN, TBS and TNT networks are among the cable networks charging the highest fees, despite rating that are paltry in comparison to eyeballs delivered by local TV stations.

“There is no reason for 'screens to g dark' as a result of the STELAR bill, as claimed by AT&T. Instead, AT&T's DirecTV has the opportunity as a result of STELAR to fulfill its decade-long pledge to deliver local TV to tens of thousands of viewers in 12 'unserved rural markets. We are hopeful that AT&T delivers on that promise and supports the wishes of Congress in delivering local television signals to rural viewers.”

WASHINGTON—Perhaps not surprising following the announcement of a bipartisan bill last week that would mandate a public auction led by the FCC of the C-band spectrum to make way for 5G services, but the key takeaway from the C-band hearing in Congress on Tuesday, Oct. 29, was the support for that plan of action.

The hearing, hosted by the House Communications Subcommittee, took a close look at the Clearing Broad Airwaves for New Deployment (C-BAND) Act introduced by Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) and others. It also examined the proposal from the C-Band Alliance that was released on Monday, which would see spectrum cleared through a private auction.

Doyle, who presided over the hearing, called CBA’s proposal “deeply disturbing,” explaining that in a private auction the funds from selling the spectrum would go to CBA’s member companies rather than the U.S. Treasury, which is preferred by most legislators to help pay for broadband deployment and next-gen 911. He also called the C-band spectrum a “precious national resource.”

Other witnesses at the hearing supported Doyle and the preference for a public auction. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) said that he did not believe that a CBA-led auction would deploy 5G any faster, and that an FCC-led auction would be fairer and more transparent. Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), who also helped write the C-BAND Act, reaffirmed his support of a public auction.

Witnesses from outside of Congress also voiced their support for a public auction, including representatives from ACA Connects, Citizens Against Government Waste and Public Knowledge.

James Frownfelter, chairman of ABS, was one of the only witnesses to support a CBA-led auction, saying the FCC reclaiming and auctioning satellite spectrum in a public auction would be like satellite operators having their spectrum “largely confiscated without compensation.” He also said that about 25% of any proceeds from a CBA-led auction would be directed to the Treasury.

A witness for Cisco did not definitively take a side, but did point out that government-led spectrum transitions have been slow and difficult in the past, and that a private-led auction would be a carrot rather than a stick for band operators.

Claude Aiken, president of WISPA, which represents fixed wireless service providers, used his testimony to remind people that there were additional options beyond an auction, specifically a proposal by the Broadband Access Coalition that uses an auction and sharing spectrum to open up C-band.

The FCC is tasked with determining its plan for the C-band spectrum by the end of this year.

For a full roundup of Tuesday’s testimony, read Multichannel News’story.

Viewers who are fed up with ongoing TV blackouts caused by battles between broadcasters and pay-TV operators could confront a “permanent” blackout of their local TV channels if Congress doesn’t reauthorize the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (STELAR) before it expires at the end of 2019, according to advocates for the elderly.

Passed in 1992, STELA ensures that satellite TV subscribers in rural areas are able to receive their local TV channels. Without such legislation, they could instead end up receiving TV stations from locales outside their viewing area.

In an op-ed published in The Hill today, Debra Berlyn, president of Consumer Policy Solutions and the executive director of Project GOAL, a project to raise awareness of both the benefits and challenges of innovative new technologies for the aging community, called recent sporadic blackouts “unjust” and called on legislators to include provisions that would curtail rising retransmission costs that are the source of most local TV station blackouts.

“While these unjust and sporadic blackouts are a concern for all of us nationwide, 870,000 consumers [sic] will confront a permanent blackout of their TV service in just a few short months,” Berlyn wrote. “This can be avoided if members of Congress act quickly and reauthorize the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (STELAR) before it expires at the end of the year.

“The current situation has created space for retransmission fees to continue to skyrocket and, unfortunately, those growing fees are passed down to consumers,” Berlyn added. “A stronger good faith measure is needed as part of STELAR so that broadcasters cannot threaten station blackouts unless their request for increased fees is met. Consumers have a stake in this as they are the ones bearing the costs. This provision would limit this unfair negotiating tactic and prevent the TV blackouts that consumers do not deserve and don’t understand. They just want their TV service.”

Berlyn added that the elderly in particular are among the most vulnerable if STELAR isn’t reauthorized.

“While all consumers should be concerned, older adults have a special interest too because they watch a significant amount of TV and depend on access to local programming,” Berlyn wrote. “The TV is often their go-to source for important content including local news, weather, traffic and community information that is, at times, critically important.”

WASHINGTON--Democratic leaders on the principal FCC oversight committee want the Republican chair to schedule an FCC oversight hearing ASAP, saying the commission has been willfully evasive.

In a letter to Greg Walden (R-Ore.), House Energy & Commerce Committee chair, ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Communications Subcommittee chair Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) said that while the Republicans had committed to quarterly oversight hearings with FCC commissioners, only two hearings have been held in the last six quarters.

An FCC oversight hearing scheduled for Feb. 16 was ultimately postponed, and the Democrats want it rescheduled immediately.

[Read: FCC Commissioners To Testify In House Feb. 16]

They also cited what they said has been FCC chair Ajit Pai's failure answer some questions in letters from committee Democrats, saying that has happened 26 times.

A half dozen other Democratic Communications Subcommittee members also signed the letter, including Reps. Bobby Rush (Ill.), Debbie Dingell (Mich.) and Yvette Clarke (N.Y.).

House Democrats, who have a bone to pick with Pai over numerous issues, from broadcast and net-neutrality deregulation to merger reviews and broadband subsidies, also have a bone to pick with what they say has been a lack of responsiveness to their queries about those and other issues.

Pai's office countered at the time that he has provided answers and will be giving them more. “We have already responded to 21 of the letters in question and look forward to responding to the remaining few in the near future,” said an FCC spokesperson two weeks ago after the then-latest letter accusing Pai of being unresponsive.

WASHINGTON—Broadcasters’ compensation for being a part of the spectrum repack is still a topic of debate on Capitol Hill. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation chairman, and Sen. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), House Energy and Commerce chairman, are exploring if it is better to spread the $1 billion in compensation for broadcasters over two years instead of one to make it more palatable in spending bills.

[House Votes Unanimously to Pass RAY BAUM ACT]

Read the full story on Roll Call.

For more information on the repack, visit TV Technology's repack silo.   

WASHINGTON—Congress wants the repack schedule to remain unchanged as made evident by a letter from nearly five dozen members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats, which was sent to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. The letter urges Pai to not move off the July 3, 2020 date for the 600 MHz spectrum to be cleared, citing the need to clear the spectrum for the deployment of high-speed broadband.

Read the full story on TVT’s sister publication B&C.

For more information on the repack, visit TV Technology's repack silo.

WASHINGTON—Congress does not want Tom Wheeler making any last minute push that it might not agree with. After urging Wheeler to put a halt on “controversial” regulatory efforts, the House of Representatives have approved a bill that would allow them to easily invalidate any last-minute regulations from the FCC or other agencies. The bill will move to a vote in the Senate when it returns after the Thanksgiving holiday.

For the full story, check out TVT’s sister publication B&C.

WASHINGTON—Lawmakers have agreed on rules that would open the door to package delivery and the potential use of unlicensed spectrum by drones. The Senate Commerce Committee this week passed its version of a bill to fund the Federal Aviation Administration through 2017.

The bill, S.2658, was passed out of the committee with 53 amendments. One from Chairman Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Ranking Member Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) calls for the creation of a drone traffic management system, and directs several federal agencies to determine what spectrum drones should be allowed to use. The amendment instructs the agencies to establish if drones should be allowed to use frequencies on an “unlicensed, shared or exclusive basis” within the aviation band or elsewhere on the spectrum.

Another, submitted by Sens. Dean Heller, (R-Nev.) and Maria Cantwell, (D-Wash.), would authorize drone-based package delivery. The amendment gives the Secretary of Transportation two years to “issue a final rule authorizing the carriage of property by operators of small, unmanned aircraft systems for compensation or hire within the United States.”

The portion of the full bill that addresses unmanned aerial systems begins with a “sense of Congress” regarding privacy. A sense of Congress is otherwise considered a firm recommendation. In this case, the bill recommends that businesses using drones for commercial operations have “a written privacy policy” for any “collection, use, retention and dissemination of any data collected” during a drone operation, and that these policies be publicly available.

Any violation of this policy would fall under the purview of the Federal Trade Commission’s deceptive practices laws.

The bill directs the National Telecommunications and Information Administration—an agency within the Commerce Department—to develop a report on best practices “developed through multi-stakeholder engagement” on “unmanned aircraft systems transparency and accountability” for commercial drone use. The NTIA report is to include recommendations for encouraging commercial drone users to adopt privacy policies. It would be due by the end of July.

The legislation also directs a multi-agency contingent led by the director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop a system for identifying drones within a year of the bill’s passage.

The FAA now has a system in place requiring the registration of all drones weighing more than 0.55 pounds and less than 55 pounds, whereby each is assigned a number that must be displayed on the aircraft.

In addition, S.2658 calls for a classification system for both public and civil drones, and a searchable database “to further enable the immediate remote identification” of a drone by the general public. Commercial and government users also would be required to maintain records identifying “each person on whose behalf” the drone has been operated, for at least a year.

NIST also is directed to create airworthiness standards for drones within 60 days of the bill’s enactment. These are to include “means to prevent tampering” with mandated safety and identification systems, and ways to bring legacy drones into compliance. Shipment of drones that don’t meet national airworthiness standards will be prohibited.

The legislation also addresses testing, and recommends that the FAA develop a program using its current six drone test sites to ensure the “safe integration” of drones into national airspace. Parameters include development and enforcement of altitude limitations, classification of restricted airspace and related manufacturer warning systems. It also mentions developing technologies for sense-and-avoid, beyond line-of-sight and nighttime operations.

The FAA is directed to submit a progress report on the program every six months through a sunset date of Sept. 30, 2017.

The bill would create special geographic dispensation for permanent, 24/7, beyond line-of-sight drone operation in areas of the Artic, for “research and commercial purposes.”

It is left to the Secretary of Transportation to determine if drone operators will have to have an airman certificate, a medical certificate or a minimum number of hours piloting an aircraft. The FAA does not yet require this, but it also does not yet differentiate commercial and private use. Commercials users now obtain waivers for operating drones. The bill also would allow the FAA to create exemptions for the pilot requirements put in place by the Transportation Secretary.

The bill will next go to a full Senate vote and be resolved with the House version.


February 8, 2016
Drone Rules Wend Through Congress
The bill would create interim guidelines for the commercial drone use and testing, and it would create a deputy administrator responsible for integrating drones into National Air Space.

December 14, 2015
FAA Announces Small UAS Registration Rule
Registration will be a statutory requirement for all aircraft. Under this rule, any owner of a small UAS who previously operated an unmanned aircraft exclusively as a model aircraft prior to Dec. 21, 2015, must register no later than Feb. 19, 2016.