FCC Proposes to Reduce Broadcaster Reporting Requirements

The Federal Communications Commission issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that proposes to update two FCC rules to reduce regulatory burdens for broadcasters. Under the proposal, certain TV broadcasters no longer would need to file annual reports about socalled ancillary or supplementary services. These are services that some broadcasters provide using their spectrum in addition to their free, over-the-air television programming. Examples of ancillary or supplementary services include subscription video and data transmission services.

The FCC proposes that only broadcasters that earn revenue from the provision of ancillary or supplementary services, and that therefore must pay a fee to the FCC, would need to file annual reports going forward. This obligation is consistent with the FCC’s responsibility to report to Congress annually on the amount of fees collected from those broadcasters. The FCC also seeks comment on whether to allow broadcasters to notify the public of broadcast license applications through the Internet, rather than through newspapers and over-the-air announcements as required under the FCC’s existing rules. The FCC alternatively seeks comment on whether its broadcast application public notice rule should be eliminated. This is the second rulemaking that the FCC has begun as part of its Modernization of Media Regulation Initiative launched in May 2017.