Bringing the FCC's Contest Rule Up to Date

[Commentary] It is an unusual occasion indeed when the Federal Communications Commission offers to revise its rules to provide regulatory relief to both television and radio stations. Yet that is precisely what the FCC proposed in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to update its station-conducted contest rule to allow broadcasters to post contest rules online rather than broadcast them.

As the proposal now stands, stations would no longer need to broadcast the contest rules if they instead announce the full website address where the rules can be found each time they discuss the contest on-air. In short, the FCC has an opportunity to ease the burden on both broadcasters and their audiences by allowing stations the flexibility to elect to make their contest rule disclosures online. The FCC shouldn't diminish the benefit to be gained by reflexively imposing unnecessary restrictions on that flexibility.