Regulation

Having suffered a string of legal defeats, VidAngel is hoping to have better luck in a Utah courtroom. On Thursday, VidAngel brought a lawsuit against a host of entertainment companies and is seeking declaratory relief that its streaming service that filters profanity, sex, violence and more from movies is permissible by law.

Last week, the FCC reached a consent decree with a noncommercial broadcaster, where the broadcaster paid an $8000 penalty for, among other things, running underwriting spots that were too promotional. Not all noncommercial stations realize that, while their ability to promote a commercial enterprise is limited, these same restrictions do not apply to on-air spots for other nonprofit organizations.

Jerry Springer is thinking about making a run for Ohio governor after all, one of his closest friends said Wednesday. “There have been who have asked him to run for governor, and he is considering it and will decide that pretty soon,” said Northern Kentucky’s Jene Galvin, who co-hosts a weekly podcast with Springer. “He’s about done figuring it out, but he had to give some serious thought to it first.”

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai will be in Texas on Tuesday, Sept. 5, to inspect the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey and meet with those engaged in recovery efforts. “Working in close coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, the FCC will do everything it can to help restore communications services after this terrible storm,” said Pai.  “I look forward to meeting those on the ground in Texas and seeing firsthand what needs to be done to make sure that those affected can get back on their feet as quickly as possible.”  

A federal judge in California has paused a trial in which the FTC is seeking $4 billion from AT&T and will allow the telecom to file for a partial judgment. U.S. District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. said there is a “substantial issue” in regard to the FTC’s calculations of its $4 billion “unjust gains” calculation. The judge gave AT&T attorneys two weeks to file briefings, further poking holes in that math.

The New York Times has prevailed in defense of a defamation lawsuit brought by Sarah Palin over an editorial that mistakenly linked one of her political action committee ads to a 2011 mass shooting that severely wounded then-Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. U.S. District Court Judge Jed Rakoff dismissed the complaint on Tuesday.

Grainy video, errors and buffering streams weren’t what fans paid $99 to see, according to the class-action lawsuit.

Summer is coming to an end, but the legal obligations never take a vacation, and September brings another list of regulatory deadlines for broadcasters. While the month is one of those without the usual list of EEO Public File obligations or quarterly FCC filing obligations, there still are a number of other regulatory deadlines for which broadcasters need to be prepared.

VidAngel, the self-touted family-friendly technology service that burst onto the Hollywood scene with a plan to clean up filthy language, nudity and violence from films and television shows, has suffered yet another blow. On Thursday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed an injunction in a copyright lawsuit brought by Disney, Fox and Warner Bros.

The new system laid out by Chief of Staff John Kelly, laid out in two memos circulating in the West Wing this week, is designed to ensure that the president won’t see any reports or documents that haven’t been vetted.

Facing a March 19, 2018, trial start, CBS wants a multi-million dollar lawsuit over profits and salary for Judge Judy dismissed but Judy Sheindlin herself wants the Les Moonves run company to know that she’s the boss.

The proposed $3.9 billion transaction has drawn fire from self-appointed “public interest” advocates who believe Sinclair is not committed to local broadcasting; cable and satellite operators who feel the scale will give Sinclair too much leverage in retransmission consent negotiations; and from T-Mobile, which believes Sinclair is trying to slow the repack of the TV band. Sinclair dismisses each of the charges in turn in an FCC filing.

The FCC and FEMA set Sept. 27 as the date for the next nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System. Like last year’s test, all EAS participants must file Form 1 a month before the test. The Form 1 has been modified, however, requiring information that was not requested previously. In addition, the FCC’s Emergency Test Reporting System has been revamped so that prior log in codes do not work and the system’s functionality is now unfamiliar to prior users. As a result, while the Form 1 is technically due next Monday, Aug. 28, anyone who has not yet started the filing process should begin immediately and aim to finish the process this week.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the Gizmodo Media Group, a division of Univision Communications, has sought to quickly defeat a defamation lawsuit brought over an article published on the sports website Deadspin, saying the complaint is intended to intimidate journalists. WSJ subscribers can read the full story here.

On or before Oct. 1, each full-power commercial television station must make an election between must carry and retransmission consent. In addition, although noncommercial TV stations do not have retransmission consent rights, they must send carriage notices to DBS (and other satellite operators) on or before Oct. 1 in order to obtain (or maintain) carriage on the satellite operator’s system.

Preston Padden: “I have longtime friends who believe that the public interest requires the FCC to strictly limit the ownership of multiple TV stations. I genuinely understand and respect their opinions. But, my personal experience over 40 years in the industry suggests that TV ownership limits intended to enhance diversity may, in fact, prevent the creation of meaningfully diverse competitors.”

To the dismay of their affiliates, CBS, Disney and Fox included in their “regulatory underbrush” wish list a request that the FCC do away with the 59-year-old network rep rule. Bad move. FCC Chairman Pai has presented broadcasting with a rare opportunity to get rid of some truly useless rules and to streamline others. The networks and the affiliates need to avoid mucking things up with an internecine fight.

The president has told aides that he’s removing his chief strategist. Steve Bannon has clashed for months with other senior West Wing advisers and members of the president’s family.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the government review of AT&T Inc.’s $85 billion takeover of Time Warner Inc. has reached an advanced stage, people close to the situation said, a significant milestone in a deal that was closely watched for signs of how the Trump administration would view large mergers. WSJ subscribers can read the full story here.

James Murdoch, the CEO of 21st Century Fox, has spoken out against President Donald Trump’s controversial reaction to the violence in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend. In a personal letter sent to friends and associates urging them to support the Anti-Defamation League, Murdoch called the violence, in which one woman was killed and 19 others were injured after a car plowed into counter-protesters at a white nationalist rally, and Trump’s response to it a concern to “all of us as Americans and free people.”

A judge rules that a biopic about the late singer Jenni Rivera wasn’t “routine investigative reporting,” and so, the Spanish network must face a lawsuit for interfering with a non-disclosure agreement.

WATERLOO (AP) — A judge has scheduled trial for a television reporter accused of violating an order not to take courtroom video of “The Bachelor” star Chris Soules. Prosecutors are […]

Hope Hicks will be named the new White House communications director. President Trump has offered the job to Hicks and she has accepted the position, according to a White House insider. Hicks has been close by Trump’s side since the early days of the campaign and is one of his most trusted staffers. She has been serving on the press team in more of a behind-the-scenes role as the director of strategic communications.

House Democrats are demanding answers from the FCC about its “favorable treatment” of Sinclair Broadcast Group, which has been cashing in on a series of agency moves that are easing restrictions on its control of television stations. In a 12-page letter sent to Republican FCC Chairman Ajit Pai on Monday, Reps. Frank Pallone Jr. (N.J.), Mike Doyle (Pa.) and Diana DeGette (Colo.) seized on multiple media reports detailing how the agency has been delivering on Sinclair’s deregulatory wish list.

At a recent dinner at the White House with Jared Kushner and John Kelly, before President Trump decamped for a working vacation at his private golf club in Bedminster, N.J., the president listened while one of the guests, Rupert Murdoch, a founder of Fox News, said Steve Bannon had to go. Trump offered little pushback, according to a person familiar with the conversation, and vented his frustrations about Bannon. Murdoch is close to Kushner, who has been in open warfare with Bannon since the spring.