STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER JESSICA ROSENWORCEL
Re: Amendment of Section 73.1216 of the Commission’s Rules Related to Broadcast Licensee-
Conducted Contests, MB Docket No. 14-226
It was 1976 when this Nation celebrated its bicentennial.  That same year, with a little less 
fanfare, the Federal Communications Commission put in place a rule governing contests over the radio 
and television.  This rule requires radio and television stations to fully and accurately disclose on air the 
terms of any contest they offer as a promotion, advertisement, or entertainment.  
The values informing this rule are solid.  They have stood the test of time.  After all, we continue 
to care about honesty and transparency.  We have concerns about contest fraud and deception.  But when 
it comes to media and communications, in 2014 we are in a whole new world.  Social media has upended 
simple connections over the telephone, mobile payments have made inroads into our wallets, and online 
video is poised to become the new digital classroom and doctor’s office.  So I think it’s time for 
broadcasters to be able to use 21
st
century tools to carry out their public interest obligations with respect 
to on air contests.  As a result, I am pleased to support this rulemaking.  Thank you to the Media Bureau 
for bringing it before us today.  Thank you also to my colleague, Commissioner O’Rielly, who drew the 
Commission’s attention to this issue in a blog post this summer and has helped set us on a course to 
modernize our policies.