FCC Takes Steps to Limit Broadcasters' Compliance Burdens During the Coronavirus Pandemic

In an effort to ease broadcasters’ regulatory compliance burdens during the coronavirus pandemic, the FCC has taken three steps in addition to those we reported on earlier.

First, broadcasters that have license renewal applications due June 1 will not have to broadcast renewal pre-filing announcements. Under normal circumstances, these stations would need to air pre-filing announcements once more in April and twice in May. Now they do not have to broadcast any additional pre-filing announcements. The FCC said that “good cause exists to relieve stations of the burden of scheduling and airing pre-filing announcements of their renewal applications, so they may focus on keeping the public informed of developments concerning the COVID-19 outbreak.”

Second, full power and Class A television stations may preempt their regularly scheduled children’s television programming without the usual requirement to reschedule that programming “if the purpose of the preemption is to encourage compliance with the CDC’s COVID-19 guidance and government efforts to limit gatherings and promote social distancing by broadcasting live or same-day tape delayed locally produced community events, including religious services.” This limited exemption applies only through April 30, 2020.

Third, the FCC has waived the sponsorship identification requirement where advertisers have purchased spots but now wish to donate their time to public health agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control, for airing public service announcements. The donation of advertising time from one entity to another would ordinarily require announcements identifying the entity that originally purchased the time. But under the current circumstances, the FCC will not require stations to identify the purchasing entity when the time is donated for COVID-19 related public service announcements.

If you would like information about the FCC’s coronavirus-related waivers and policy changes, please contact any attorney in our office.