FCC Expected To Clarify Anti-collusion Rules in September
The FCC is expected to clarify incentive auction anti-collusion rules next month and respond to numerous broadcaster questions about the impact of the rules, broadcast attorneys said in interviews Friday. The anti-collusion rules bar all auction-eligible broadcasters from communicating about their bidding strategy or incentive auction plans in any way between the short form application deadline and the end of the incentive auction. FCC officials and broadcast attorneys close to the issue have told us since May that commission officials were reviewing questions about the anti-collusion rules submitted by the FCBA. A recent filing from public TV groups (see 1508140068) focusing on questions about whether the rules would impact many of the day-to-day processes of stations may have galvanized FCC officials into responding, some broadcast attorneys said. The FCC didn't comment.
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FCC auction officials “understand the importance” of broadcaster questions about the breadth of the communication prohibition, and are working on a response, Wilkinson Barker broadcast attorney Rosemary Harold told us. Harold represents the public TV groups with questions about the auction. She said the FCC response is expected after Labor Day. Other broadcast attorneys said they expect something in September. The attorneys said the FCC response could take the form of a public notice, or possibly be incorporated into the upcoming application procedures PN, which Incentive Auction Task Force (IATF) officials said would be issued in the fall (see 1508200030).
The public TV groups and the FCBA sought clarification from the FCC on different issues, broadcast attorneys noted. The FCBA's May letter (see 1505140068) stated that association's position that broadcast attorneys can represent more than one client in the auction. Public TV groups are concerned that many regular actions of public TV stations, such as pledge drives, could be seen as revealing their plans on incentive auction participation.
One reason a clarification is expected soon is the impending short form application deadline, which triggers the communication prohibitions, lawyers said. Though FCC officials had previously indicated specific deadlines for the auction would be issued this week, a “road map” to the auction blog post from the IATF Thursday was almost entirely without specific dates. The specific deadline for auction applications is expected to be part of the application procedures PN due this fall, IATF officials said in the blog post. The deadline will be before the end of 2015, they said.