FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION August 15.2012 JULIUS GENACHOWSKI CHAIRMAN The !Ionorable David Villcr nited States Senate 516 Hart Senate Office Building Washington. D.C. 20510 Dear Senator Viller: Thank you lor your !eller concerning thc ability of noncommercial cducational broadcast stations to air mcssagcs on bchalf of lor-prolit entities. I appreciatc your intcrcst in this mallcr and ha\ c directed the Chief of the Media Bureau' s Orticc of Communications and Industr) Information to respond. ! am pleascd 10 providc thc cncloscd corrcspondcnce di"cussing this mailer. Iryou have any additional qucstions or necd further assistance. please do not hcsitatc to contact me. SinceI'dy. Julius Gcnacho\\ski Enclosurc 445 12TH STREET S,W WASHINGTON, D.C. 20554 • 202-4 I 8- I 000 Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 August 15. 2012 tN REPLY REFER TO: CN-I 20097 I The Honorable David Vitter United States Senate 516 Han Senate OFfice Building Wasltington, D.C. 20510 Dear Senator Vitter: Thank you for your letter concerning the policies and rules governing the ability of noncommercial educational (NCE) broadcast stations to air commercial messages on behalf of for-profit entities. I appreciate learning your views on this imp011ant matter. The Communications Act prohibits all public broadcast stations from airing commercial advertisements, defined as messages which are intended "to promote any service, facility, or product offered by any person who is engaged in such offering for profit." The Commission's corresponding rules also state that NCE stations may not broadcast promotional announcements on behalf of for-profit entities in exchange for the receipt of consideration to the licensee, its principals, or employees. At the same time, NCE stations, including independent and religious programmers, are permitted to engage in "enhanced underwriting" that allows CE stations to acknowledge and identify contributors on air. Such acknowledgements may include slogans and value-neutral descriptions of the contributors' products and services, but may not promote or make qualitative or comparative statements regarding contributors. On a related topic, the Comntission recently adopted a Notice ofProposed RlIlel1lokillg to solicit public comment on whether and under what circumstances to allow all NCE broadcast stations to allocate up to one perccnt of their annual broadcast time to conduct on-air fundraising activities for the benefit of charities and other third-pany nonprofit organizations. The Notice speeifieaJly invites comment regarding the classes of NCE stations that may engage in fundraising, the types of nonprofit entities that may benefit from the fundraising, and the First Amendment implications of establishing eligibility criteria for stations and fundraising recipients. The period for the submission of public comments is scheduled to close on August 21, 2012, and a copy of your letter will be included in the record of the proceeding. Page 2-The Honorable David Viner I trust this information is helpful, and please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of further assistance. Sincerely,~ll~",-,-l ~ .~~ Michael S. Perko Chief, Office of Communications and Industry Information Media Bureau