NAB remains vigilant in the halls of Washington

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The National Association of Broadcasters has had its hands full in Washington representing the views of its members in the halls of Congress and at the FCC. It can report that efforts to impose a performance royalty on radio station has stalled, but notes that there is much work to be done regarding impending incentive auctions of TV spectrum.


President/CEO Gordon Smith emphasized the importance of the television and radio sides of the association working together, and applauded membership for doing just that during the past two years.

On the plus side, in addition to stalling performance royalties, efforts to generate quick deificit-reduction cash on the backs of broadcasters via hasty spectrum repacking, and passage of SOPA, PIPA or an amalgam of the two bills has stalled indefinitely.

It is expected that some form of spectrum auction will be passed, and NAB has been working hard to assure that broadcasters are amply protected in any process that becomes policy. NAB secured a ceiling of $3B to cover moving costs for repack-displaced television broadcasters and has worked to make sure auction participation is entirely voluntary.

A major ongoing effort at the FCC is trying to keep the current free market retransmission consent negotiation process intact as is.

The NAB also announced the names of exiting board members.

On the radio side, those rotating out include Joel Oxley, senior regional VP and market manager, Hubbard Radio Washington Market; Rick Cummings, president – programming, Emmis Communications Corporation; Ronald Davis, president and general manager, KBOW-AM/KOPR-FM/KGLM-FM/KANA-AM/Butte Broadcasting and Eric Brown, general manager, KRVN-AM.

On the TV side, the exiting members are David Barrett, president and CEO, Hearst Television Inc; Lynn Beall, executive vice president, Gannett Broadcasting and Madelyn Bonnot-Griffin, managing partner, National Communications, Inc.