PAB Newsletter - The Frequency August 2022

30 Second Spot with Joe

Inch by Inch, Step by Step: Broadcast Marijuana Advertising, Maybe

The U.S. House of Representatives, through the Fiscal Year 2023 Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill, included language that would prohibit the FCC from taking action against broadcasters that accepted cannabis advertisements consistent with the law of the state in which the station is licensed. The bill now awaits legislative action by the U.S. Senate.

Plain English translation: since medical marijuana is legal in Pennsylvania, should Congress adopt this budget bill, Pennsylvania broadcasters would be able to accept medical cannabis advertisements. However, the provision would only be in effect for the next federal fiscal year and it would have to be re-adopted every year going forward. Not the best regulation but at least it's a start.

Additional efforts to legalize marijuana more broadly in federal law are also being introduced. PAB is on the forefront as part of a coalition working on this issue in Congress.

So don’t unleash your sales representatives in this new venue yet. But, stay tuned.

Member Benefits and Services

PAB MEMBER BENEFIT

From Influence to Impact: Putting More Political Ad Dollars on Your Books

August 18, 2022 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Part 1: AdCellerant will discuss digital marketing revenue opportunities, tactics and best practices that can enable local broadcasters to capture and maximize political revenue.

Part 2: Revenue Development Resources "From Influence to Impact: Putting More Political Ad Dollars on Your Books” webinar focused on writing more political ad dollars now.

Passcode for free registration - NASBA2022

News

White House Said To Begin Search For Potential Replacement For FCC Nominee Gigi Sohn

The White House has reportedly begun approaching potential candidates to fill the open seat on the Federal Communications Commission as it comes to grips with the shrinking prospects for Gigi Sohn to fill that role. Fox Business quotes unnamed sources saying “early-stage vetting” has begun if the Biden administration decides to pull Sohn’s nomination. InsideRadio

$8.4 Billion to Be Spent on Political Ads This Fall

That’s according to a Kantar CMAG forecast for the upcoming mid-term elections. During this cycle nearly 40 Governor’s races are in play, 35 U.S. Senate seats and all 435 House seats. Add all the local elections on top of that and the money will be flowing in every direction. RadioInk

Networks Increased Use of New Measurement Companies in Upfront

Most deals continued to be done using Nielsen, but the networks and advertisers were aggressive in talking about trying out alternate services because of complaints about Nielsen undercounting viewers and losing its accreditation from the Media Rating Council. NextTV

Meta (Facebook) Officially Cuts Funding For U.S. News Publishers

Meta began telling its news partners in the U.S. that the company no longer plans to pay publishers for their content to run on Facebook's News Tab.

Why it matters: As the company moves forward with sweeping changes to the Facebook experience, news has become less of a priority. Axios

What the Facebook changes of 2022 mean for local news outlets

Summer 2022 has brought waves of changes at Meta that demonstrate its deprioritization of news products, including its wind-down of payments to U.S. news publishers.

In parallel, the company has been planning shifts to how it delivers content.

LocalMediaAssociation

Analysis Finds 35% Increase in Local Broadcast Television News Over Past Decade

Nielsen data shows growth in local news telecasts nationwide over 10-year period

Broadcast television stations significantly increased the number of local news telecasts and hours of news content they aired over a 10-year period, according to an analysis of Nielsen data conducted by the NAB.

2022 NAB Marconi Radio Award Finalists Announced

The NAB announced the finalists for the 2022 NAB Marconi Radio Awards in a livestreamed video. The winners will be announced October 19 at the Marconi Radio Awards Dinner held during NAB Show New York.

Established in 1989 and named after inventor and Nobel Prize winner Guglielmo Marconi, the NAB Marconi Radio Awards are given to radio stations and outstanding on-air personalities to recognize excellence in radio.

Looking at Legislative Proposals that Would Allow Broadcasters to Accept Marijuana Advertising

By David Oxenford, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP

As more and more states revise their laws to decriminalize or legalize marijuana use (for medical and recreational purposes), and more and more cannabis businesses in those states begin operations, broadcasters have been looking to provide their advertising services to these new companies.

But, as we’ve written before, marijuana is still illegal under federal law, as is the use of the radio airwaves to aide in its distribution.

This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters:

July 30, 2022 to August 5, 2022

By David Oxenford, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP

Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the last week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.

2022 PENNSYLVANIA EAS NETWORK REQUIRED MONTHLY TEST DATES

More EAS information

Month	Day	Time
July 21	THU	10:15 A.M. DAY
August 18	THU	12:45 A.M. NIGHT
September 15	THU	10:30 A.M. DAY

For Your Traffic Department

NCSA Traffic Update for August

A big THANK YOU to our Member Stations for running our NCSA Awareness and Educational spots! Our Governmental Agency and non-profit clients greatly appreciate your support!

The strength of our NCSA program further illustrates the power of broadcast to inform and educate residents of the Commonwealth! Your participation in the program allows us to serve the community outside of your own outreach programs.

We are grateful for your participation and are pleased to offer our member stations additional services based on the long-term success of the program.

As always: THANK YOU FOR RUNNING OUR SPOTS!

For more information about NCSA/PEP, please contact Carter Wyckoff.

The most recent traffic update for 8.1 – 8.14 can be found here:

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