It is now against FCC regulation to incorporate No Urban Dictates (NUDs) and/or No Spanish Dictates (NSDs) into a media buying campaign. Watchdog Minority Media and Telecommunications Council says that is a good thing, but it also thinks there is a need for the FCC to make enforcement the focus on one of its senior officials. “Full compliance with the rule would profoundly advance the Commission’s goal of improving minority broadcasters’ access to capital,” wrote MMTC Executive Director David Honig. MMTC estimates that up until now $200M has been lost to NUDs/NSDs annually, and that effective enforcement could result in 5%-10% revenue gains for minority broadcast groups.
“Public awareness of the rule is critical to effective compliance and enforcement,” continued Honig. “An Advertising Nondiscrimination Compliance Officer would be responsible for alerting broadcasters to their obligation to place nondiscrimination clauses in their advertising sales contracts, and their duty to observe and insist on performance of these clauses just as they would with any other material term of an advertising contract.”
