FCC Reminds MVPDs of EEO Form 396-C Filing Deadline
August 12, 2016 On August 3, 2016, the Media Bureau released a Public Notice reminding multichannel video programming distributors (“MVPDs”), including cable operators, that Form 396-C, the FCC’s MVPD Equal Employment Opportunity (“EEO”) Program Annual Report, must be submitted electronically by midnight on September 30, 2016. To file Form 396-C, login to the Media Bureau’s CDBS Electronic Filing System.
FCC and Sinclair Enter Into Consent Decree Resolving Investigation Into Retransmission Consent Good Faith Negotiation Violations
August 1, 2016 On July 29, 2016, the FCC’s Media Bureau released an Order announcing that it had entered into a Consent Decree with Sinclair Broadcast Group (“Sinclair”), closing the Bureau’s investigation into whether Sinclair had violated its obligation to negotiate retransmission consent in good faith. The Consent Decree also resolved complaints concerning Sinclair’s alleged acquisition of control of same-market television stations without the FCC’s consent and other rule violations. This was a first-ever enforcement action under the good faith rules initiated by the FCC’s Media Bureau undertaken on its own accord. It is consistent with Chairman Wheeler’s recent blog indicating that the FCC would act on its own accord to investigate potential good faith abuses and take enforcement action when a party fails to fulfill its statutory obligations.
EAS Test Reporting System: EAS Participants Must Complete Form One by August 26, 2016
July 15, 2016 On June 27, 2016, the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (“PSHSB”) released a Public Notice announcing that the Emergency Alert System (“EAS”) Test Reporting System (“ETRS”) is operational and is ready to accept filings. EAS Participants, which include cable operators, must complete Form One on or before August 26, 2016.
D.C. Circuit Upholds FCC Broadband Reclassification and Open Internet Rules
June 20, 2016 On Tuesday, June 14, 2016, a panel of the D.C. Circuit upheld, on a 2-1 vote, the FCC’s 2015 Open Internet Order that reclassified mass market broadband Internet access service from a lightly regulated Title I “information service” to a more heavily regulated “telecommunications service” subject to Title II of the Communications Act.
FCC to Demonstrate Expanded Online Public Inspection File Interface on Monday, June 13, 2016 at 1 p.m. EDT
June 6, 2016 Last week, the FCC announced that it will conduct a public demonstration of the expanded Online Public Inspection File system. The demonstration will take place on Monday, June 13 at 1 p.m. EDT in the FCC Meeting Room at FCC Headquarters, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554. The demonstration will inform users of the design, layout, and content of the new public inspection file site, discuss how to upload information and files, and present new functionalities of the site.
FCC Notifies Cable Operators that Online Public Inspection File Requirements to Begin June 24, 2016
May 23, 2016 On May 12, 2016, the FCC released a Public Notice announcing the effective dates of its online public file requirements on cable systems and the availability of a test version of the online database.