STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN TOM WHEELER Re: Amendment of Section 73.1216 of the Commission’s Rules Related to Broadcast Licensee- Conducted Contests, MB Docket No. 14-226. If you are listening to the radio or watching TV, chances are it won’t be long until you hear about you’re chance to win concert tickets, cash prizes, or maybe even a new car. Chances are this offer to enter-and-win a contest will also be followed by the disclosure of contest rules that are either read too quickly to understand or printed too small on the screen to read. These disclosures are required by the FCC to protect consumers, but their inaccessibility can make them likely to sow confusion. Today, the FCC is updating our Contest Rules for the Internet age, giving broadcasters the flexibility to disclose contest guidelines online and making it easier for consumers to access the information they need. Almost forty years ago, the Commission adopted the Contest Rule out of concern about the way in which broadcasters were conducting contests over the air. The Rule ensured that broadcasters would conduct contests fairly and substantially as represented to the public. When the Contest Rule was adopted, on-air announcements were the only practical way to disclose important contest information. Fast forward to today, and that is no longer the case. Broadcasters have called for the Commission to modernize the Contest Rule to reflect how Americans access information in the 21st Century. To that end, the Report and Order updates the Contest Rule to allow broadcasters to disclose material contest information either through broadcast announcements, as required under the current Rule, or by making such information available online. In addition, the Order adopts certain requirements that define the disclosure obligation in cases where a broadcaster chooses to meet that obligation using an Internet website. While today’s Order updates the Contest Rule, it preserves its core principles. Regardless of the medium of disclosure, broadcasters are still obligated to provide complete, accurate, and timely information about the contests they conduct, to ensure that such information is not false, misleading, or deceptive, and to conduct their contests substantially as announced. Modernizing the Contest Rule is uniformly supported by commenters and serves the public interest. Under the revised Rule, broadcasters will have more flexibility in how they meet their disclosure obligation and consumers will have improved access to important contest information. For example, in cases where a broadcaster chooses to disclose contest terms online, consumers will be able to access those terms “on demand” and review them at their convenience. Permitting online disclosure of contest terms meets consumer expectations about how to obtain important contest information and capitalizes on the Internet’s ability to efficiently disseminate information to the public. Contests are a time-tested way for broadcasters to engage with their local audience and build relationships. Updating our rules to allow use of the Internet to disclose contest information is a common- sense move that will benefit both broadcasters and consumers. Everybody’s a winner. Thank you to the Media Bureau for their work on this item.