Federal Communications Commission DA 20-398 Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of Pre-Filing Announcement Requirements June 1, 2020 Renewal Applications ) ) ) ) ORDER Adopted: April 9, 2020 Released: April 9, 2020 By the Chief, Media Bureau: 1. In this Order, the Media Bureau waives the requirement that broadcast stations scheduled to file an application for renewal of license on June 1, 2020, comply with pre-filing announcements, pursuant to sections 73.3580(d)(4)(i) and 73.3580(d)(5)(i)(A) of the Commission’s rules. 47 CFR §§ 73.3580(d)(4)(i), (d)(5)(i)(A). This Order will alleviate administrative and compliance burdens on broadcast stations, enabling an increase in the broadcast of public service announcements and other coverage relating to the novel coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic. 2. In the Commission’s recent Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to revise the broadcast local public notice rule, 47 CFR § 73.3580. the Commission proposed, among other things, to eliminate pre-filing on-air announcements currently broadcast by license renewal applicants. See Amendment of Section 73.3580 of the Commission’s Rules Regarding Public Notice of the Filing of Applications, Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 34 FCC Rcd 9251, 9264-65, paras. 25-27 (2019); 47 CFR § 73.3580(d)(4)(i) and (d)(5)(i). While the Commission has not yet acted on this proposal, no commenter opposed eliminating this requirement. Given the disruptions caused by COVID-19, including the significant loss of advertising revenue due to economic disruptions and the need to cover breaking news and air public service announcements relating to the pandemic, the Media Bureau has determined that good cause exists to relieve stations of the burden of scheduling and airing pre-filing announcements of their renewal applications, so they may focus on keeping the public informed of developments concerning the COVID-19 outbreak. 3. This Order applies only to those broadcast licensees whose licenses expire on October 1, 2020, with renewal applications to be filed by June 1, 2020. The Media Bureau will monitor the status of the COVID-19 outbreak to determine whether further relief is warranted. Broadcasters should note that this Order does not apply to required post-filing announcements under sections 73.3580(d)(4) and (d)(5)(i)(B) of the rules. 47 CFR § 73.3580(d)(4)(i), (d)(5)(i)(B). See 47 U.S.C. § 311(a). 4. For more information, contact Nazifa Sawez (Nazifa.Sawez@fcc.gov) at (202) 418-7059 or Chris Clark (Christopher.Clark@fcc.gov) at (202) 418-2609 (Audio Division), or David Roberts (David.Roberts@fcc.gov) at (202) 418-1618 (Video Division). 5. ACCORDINGLY, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to the authority found in sections 4(i) and 4(j) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 USC §§ 154(i) and 154(j), and sections 0.61, 0.283, and 1.3 of the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR §§ 0.61, 0.283, and 1.3, this Order IS ADOPTED. 6. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, that pursuant to section 1.102(b)(1) of the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR § 1.102(b)(1), this Order SHALL BE EFFECTIVE upon release. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Michelle M. Carey Chief, Media Bureau 2