FCC to Tackle Kidvid, Cable Notifications, Broadband at July Meeting
The FCC will consider proposed revisions of its kidvid rules at the July 10 commissioners’ meeting, as expected (see 1906170040), blogged Chairman Ajit Pai Tuesday. “This update of our rules is long overdue.” Though specifics on the content were scant, Commissioner Mike O’Rielly cast it as emphasizing compromise. “While there may a strong case for even further reforms, this item reflects sound and defensible policymaking,” he said. Along with items related to 5G and wireline items on multiple tenant rules, telehealth and broadband forbearance (see 1906180053), the agency will consider rules on electronic notifications by cable companies.
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Creating the draft kidvid order has been “a long and arduous process,” O’Rielly said. “To those concerned about kids losing access to existing programming, the item provides modest reforms,” but it will also “inject thoughtful and needed flexibility.”
Broadcasters and child advocates told us they expect the order to allow kid’s TV hours to start earlier, to relax reporting requirements for broadcasters, and to ease the rules on pre-empting youth programming. Broadcasters said the order wouldn’t include an expansion of the amount of credit toward kidvid requirements that could be received from programming aired on multicast channels, but that the item was in flux. The proposed changes to kidvid rules are expected to receive a lot of pushback, and the item hasn’t been seen as likely to be unanimous.
Also on the agenda are a pair of items dealing opening the door to electronic notifications instead of paper ones between MVPDs and broadcasters, Pai said.
One would be an update of the must-carry/retransmission consent election process. It would allow broadcasters to email MVPDs of any change and put their elections into their public files. NAB and NCTA crafted a joint proposal (see 1812100051) that saw some pushback from direct broadcast satellite (see 1904040002). Pai said also on the agenda is a related update allowing MVPDs to electronically notify broadcasters of changes like deleting or repositioning a station or launching new services into a market instead of paper notification.