PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12th St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 DA 15-325 Released: March 13, 2015 MEDIA BUREAU SEEKS COMMENT ON PETITION FOR CLASS WAIVER OF THE COMMISSION’S SPONSORSHIP IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FILED BY THE RADIO BROADCASTERS COALITION MB Docket No. 15-52 Comment Date: April 13, 2015 Reply Comment Date: May 12, 2015 On November 26, 2014, the Radio Broadcasters Coalition (“the Coalition”) filed a petition seeking a class waiver of the Commission’s requirement that broadcasters air sponsorship identification announcements at the time sponsored material is broadcast.1 Instead, the Coalition requests that radio broadcasters airing music or sports programming be permitted to provide information about sponsored material through a combination of less frequent on-air announcements together with enhanced online disclosures.2 The requested waiver would extend only to music and sports programming on radio stations with websites, and not to sponsored content appearing within news, informational, or political programming, regardless of station format.3 The Media Bureau seeks comment on the Petition. This proceeding will be treated as “permit but disclose” for purposes of the Commission’s ex parte rules. See generally 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.1200-1.1216. As a result of the permit-but-disclose status of this proceeding, ex parte presentations will be governed by the procedures set forth in Section 1.1206 of the Commission’s rules applicable to non-restricted proceedings.4 Given that all comments will be posted to the Commission’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), we hereby waive the requirement that parties be served copies of the comments and reply comments in this proceeding,5 pursuant to Section 1.3 of the Commissions rules.6 Interested parties may file comments on or before April 13, 2015 and reply comments on or before May 12, 2015. All filings must reference MB Docket No. 15-52. In order to be considered part of the official record, comments must be filed using: (1) ECFS, (2) the Federal Government’s eRulemaking Portal, or 1 Petition for Class Waiver of the Radio Broadcasters Coalition, filed November 26, 2014 (“Petition”), at 2. 2 Id. at 3, 6. 3 Id. at 2, note 3. 4 47 C.F.R. § 1.1206. 5 47 C.F.R. § 1.405. 6 47 C.F.R. § 1.3. 2(3) by filing paper copies.7 Comments sent via e-mail to the Commission that do not use the ECFS form described below will be considered informal and will not be part of the official record. · Electronic Filers: Comments may be filed electronically using the Internet by accessing the ECFS: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/ or the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Filers should follow the instructions provided on the website for submitting comments. · For ECFS filers, in completing the transmittal screen, filers should include their full name, U.S. Postal service mailing address, and the applicable docket number: MB Docket No. 15-52. Parties may also submit an electronic comment by Internet e-mail. To get filing instructions, filers should send an e-mail to ecfs@fcc.gov, and include the following words in the body of the message: “get form”. A sample form and instructions will be sent in response. · Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must file an original and four copies of each filing. Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by commercial overnight courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail (although we continue to experience delays in receiving U.S. Postal Service mail). All filings must be addressed to the Commission’s Secretary, Marlene H. Dortch, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission. · All hand-delivered or messenger-delivered paper filings for the Commission’s Secretary must be delivered to FCC Headquarters at 445 12th St., SW, Room TW-A325, Washington, DC 20554. All hand deliveries must be held together with rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes must be disposed of before entering the building. The filing hours are 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. · Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9300 East Hampton Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743. · U.S. Postal Service first-class mail, Express Mail, and Priority Mail must be addressed to 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554. Copies of all filings will be available in MB Docket No. 15-52 through ECFS and are also available for public inspection and copying during regular business hours at the FCC Reference Information Center, Portals II, 445 12th St., SW, Room CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554, telephone (202) 418-0270. . Alternate formats of this Public Notice (computer diskette, large print, audio recording, or Braille) are available to persons with disabilities by contacting the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 or (202) 418-0432 (TTY). For further information, contact Kim Matthews of the Media Bureau, (202) 418-2154. Press inquiries should be directed to Janice Wise, (202) 418-8165. -FCC- 7 See Electronic Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, GC Docket No. 97-113, Report and Order, 13 FCC Rcd 11322, 11326, ¶ 8 (1998).