EEO, DTV, DBS, SATELLITE RADIO BIG ISSUES FOR NAB BOARDS
NAB boards begin 4 days of meetings in Palm Beach, Fla., next Sun. with no new or divisive issues up for consideration and few formal votes expected to be required. Much discussion and debate will be devoted to such well-defined issues as EEO, DTV, DBS and new competitor for radio -- satellite digital audio systems with terrestrial repeaters. Also very much on broadcasters’ minds will be aftermath of terrorist attacks. “We're going to learn and talk about how Washington works following September 11 and what impact that has on broadcast issues,” said NAB Joint Board Chmn. David Kennedy of Susquehanna Radio.
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FCC has launched its 3rd attempt to adopt EEO rules that will withstand court scrutiny (CD Dec 13 p4) -- proposal that NAB isn’t likely to support -- and Assn. is expected to come up with counter plan of its own. In its previous efforts, said NAB dir., “the FCC said to broadcasters ‘we want your help,’ and then ignored the suggestions we made.” Agency’s 2nd set of EEO rules was thrown out year ago by U.S. Appeals Court, D.C. Public interest groups (but not FCC) appealed to Supreme Court, which hasn’t announced whether it would accept case.
New Commission EEO rulemaking follows lines of its Option A under discarded rules, requiring paperwork that most broadcasters consider burdensome and unnecessary. Licensees would be required to file annual employment reports, send vacancy announcements to recruiting organizations, make use of job fairs and outreach programs.
Subject of establishing digital technical center or lab isn’t formally on agenda, but several TV dirs. told us it’s expected to be brought up on floor for discussion and be prominent subject of informal conversations. Technical center appeared to be very much in go mode last fall following MSTV board meeting (CD Nov 8 p1). But little if anything has happened since and NAB hasn’t been asked to help fund project. “I don’t think anybody is running away from it,” TV dir. said. “I think it’s going to happen… The seed money [from MSTV] is there and the NAB is on record in support.”
NAB is on record firmly against EchoStar-DirecTV merger. Major issue for broadcasters in Palm Beach is FCC rule that allows satellite carriers to require some local stations to be purchased separately at what NAB considers “a discriminatory price” (see separate story).
NAB is concerned about plans of XM Radio (which launched satellite service last fall) and Sirius Satellite Radio (which plans Feb. start) to use terrestrial repeaters. Broadcasters say there’s no need for high-powered repeaters, which “represent a disturbing and serious potential threat” to conventional radio stations. Repeaters have potential to operate independently of satellite systems and resolution is expected to be placed before NAB radio board urging that such repeaters be curtailed by FCC rules.