FCC Requires MVPDs to Submit Reports of Broadcast Station Blackouts
Tags: Broadcast, TV, MVPD, Cable, Satellite, FCC, Retransmission Consent, Medi
The FCCadopted rules on January 3that require Multichannel Video Programming Distributors,including cable or satellite providers (MVPDs" or Reporting Entities") to report certainbroadcast station blackouts. The rules will be effective 30 days after publication in theFederalRegister, but MVPDs will not be required to comply until the FCC develops a reporting portal.
Reportable Events
Under the new rules, Reporting Entities must report qualifying blackouts (Broadcast StationBlackouts"). Broadcast Station Blackouts are blackouts in which: (1) an MVPD ceasesretransmission of a commercial televisionbroadcast station's signal due to a lapse in thebroadcast station's retransmission consent; and (2) the blackout lasts longer than 24 hours. Therule applies to retransmission of full power, Class A, and LPTV stations.
Required Submissions
Under the new rules, Reporting Entities are required to submit an Initial Blackout Notificationand a Final Blackout Notification.
Reporting Entities must submit an Initial Blackout Notificationno later than two business daysafter a blackout has become reportable.In effect, the initial notification is due two businessdays after the blackout enters its 24th hour.An Initial Blackout Notification must include:
(1) the name of the reporting entity;
(2) a list of all commercial stations no longer being retransmitted (including, for everyprimary and multicast stream, the call sign, Facility ID and network affiliation);
(3) identification of the DMA in which affected subscribers reside;
(4) the time and date of the initial interruption to programming; and
(5) a good faith estimate of the number of subscribers affected.
Reporting Entities must submit a Final Blackout Notificationno later than two business daysafter the MVPD resumes carriage of the station. The Final Blackout Notification must state, foreach station identified in the initial notification, the date on which retransmission resumed. If nofinal notification is filed within three years of the initial notification, the FCC will consider thestation(s) as no longer carried by the MVPD.
Broadcasters May Submit Supplemental Notices
If a broadcaster named in an MVPD's notifications believes that anysubstantive information in the reports is incomplete or incorrect, the broadcaster may voluntarily submit a supplemental notice. Broadcasters must identify the exact fields of the MVPD report that contain errors and provide information that the broadcaster considers to be complete and correct. The MVPD will be notified of the broadcaster's submission. All reporters are required to correct information that they believe to be incorrect.
Electronic Submissions
The FCC will establish an online reporting portal modeled after the Commission's NetworkOutage Reporting System (NORS) through which reporters will file electronically. Althoughinformation in notifications submitted through the portal will become publicly available on theFCC's website, the FCC will treat estimated subscriber counts as presumptively confidential.
The FCC will release further details and instructions via Public Notice at least 30 days prior tothe effective date of the requirements.
For further information regarding the new requirements, carriage disputes, or retransmissionconsents, please contact your Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth attorney.