Cable Operators Must Email All Notices to Broadcasters After July 31, 2020

Last week, the FCC adopted a Report and Order requiring all cable operator notices to broadcasters to be sent by email after July 31, 2020. The FCC had already adopted a requirement for cable operators and broadcasters to establish a contact email address and phone number for carriage-election communications by July 31, and has now extended mandatory e-delivery to all written notices to broadcasters required under current rules. These include:

• Service commencement and service activation notices;
• Initial designation or change in principal headend;
• Deletion or reposition of broadcast signals;
• Cable system integration requiring uniform carriage elections; and
• Notice of 1,000 subscribers – non-duplication/syndicated exclusivity rights.

Cable operators will enter the point of contact in the Cable Operations and Licensing System (COALS), and the broadcaster email to which all required notices must be sent will be found in the station’s Online Public Inspection File.

JSI will alert clients when the FCC Media Bureau announces that COALS is ready for your entry of point of contact email and phone. Note that this will require you to login with a COALS ID and password, as well as FCC Registration Number and password, so JSI recommends cable operators verify now that they have valid COALS login IDs and passwords.

If you have any questions, contact Marty Kluh at 301-459-7590.