Online Contest Rules Draft Order Addresses Broadcaster Concerns
A draft order that would allow broadcasters to communicate contest rule information online rather than over the air doesn't face any opposition on the eighth floor and addresses many concerns raised by broadcasters earlier in the proceeding, FCC officials and industry attorneys told us. The current rule for such contests causes radio stations to broadcast the legal language governing their contests in a difficult-to-follow stream of words usually read by a speed talker, attorneys said. The draft order would allow broadcasters to refer listeners to a simple website address where that legal language is listed, and the draft order leaves the decision of how often to mention the site up to broadcasters, said agency officials. The draft order is on the tentative agenda for the FCC Sept. 17 commissioner meeting.
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There isn't anything controversial about the draft order, agency officials said. In a speech last month, an aide to Commissioner Ajit Pai described the rule change as having broad support, and Commissioner Mike O'Rielly blogged about the rules and is seen as being a force behind their being updated, broadcasters noted. With inclusion on the agenda suggesting the chairman's support and the other commissioners seen as supporting them, the rules are widely expected to be approved, officials said.
Broadcasters said they were concerned the rule might require them to read out the cumbersome exact URL of the individual webpages where contest rules are listed -- such Web addresses can run over 150 characters. The initial NPRM sought comment on requiring broadcasters to list the complete and direct webpage. Instead, the draft order allows listeners to be referred to the rules using home pages or simple Web addresses that are easier to read on the radio, said agency and industry officials.
The draft order also would allow broadcasters to decide what constitutes a reasonable frequency of mentions of the website where the contest rules are located, the FCC officials said. The original NPRM proposed requiring the website to be listed every time the contest is mentioned, but that “could clutter the airwaves even more than the current rule’s requirement,” Pillsbury broadcast attorney Jessica Nyman said in a blog post. The draft order models the frequency after the current rule, which allows broadcasters to decide when a mention is reasonable, an FCC official said.
Though broadcast lawyers said they are pleased with the draft order, one said the FCC shouldn't be regulating contest rules at all. The FTC already polices contests, and the FCC rules don't apply to any industry outside broadcasting, the attorney said.