FCC Sets Comment Dates on MVPD TV Station Notices

The FCC has set the comment dates for its proposal to allow electronic delivery of some MVPD notices to broadcast TV stations. 

Comments are due Sept. 4 and reply comments Sept. 19. 

The FCC voted unanimously July 10 to allow cable operators to transition some of their paper notifications to broadcasters to electronic delivery. 

Currently, when cable operators begin service in a market or delete or reposition a broadcast station, they must inform the broadcaster by mail, certified mail or hand delivery. 

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)--the FCC will vote on a final order after vetting the comments--proposes to allow those notifications to be delivered via email to the station's designated inbox in its FCC online inspection file. It asks whether that should be extended to satellite MVPD notices to stations as well. 

The item also seeks comment on whether and how to extend e-notification to notices to low power and translator stations, which aren't required to have an FCC public file.  

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.