January 10, 2021 Deadline for Quarterly Television Reports: Issues-Responsive Programming Lists and Class A Eligibility Certifications

By January 10, 2021, full power and Class A television stations must file quarterly reports for the fourth quarter of 2020.

Documents That Must Be Uploaded to Each Station’s Online Public Inspection File by January 10, 2021:

• All commercial and noncommercial television stations: Issues-Responsive Programming List for programming broadcast between October 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020.

• Class A TV stations only: Documentation that the station continues to meet Class A eligibility requirements.

FCC Filing Due by January 11, 2021:

• Repacked full power and Class A stations, and transitioning stations: Progress Report.

Here is a description of the reports that stations must file:

I. Issues-Responsive Programming Lists

Commercial and noncommercial television and Class A stations must prepare and place in their public inspection files a list of programs that have provided the most significant treatment of community issues during the previous quarter. The listing should include a brief narrative statement that identifies the issues that were given significant treatment and should describe the programs in which the issues were addressed. Each program description must include the date, time, and title of the program, the duration of each responsive programming segment, and a brief explanation of how the programming addressed the issues.

II. Documentation of Continued Class A Eligibility

Class A television stations must maintain documentation in their public inspection files demonstrating compliance with both of the Class A eligibility requirements: (i) the broadcast of a minimum of 18 hours per day; and (ii) the broadcast of an average of at least three hours per week of locally produced programming each quarter.

III. Repack Progress Report Filings

All full power and Class A TV stations that are being repacked (except those stations that have fully completed the repack process), and all television stations transitioning to new channels as a result of the Broadcast Incentive Auction, must file a quarterly Progress Report. Such stations include band-changing stations and displaced Class A stations.

If you have any questions about these ongoing recordkeeping obligations, please contact any attorney in our office.