WASHINGTON, DC – The National Association of Broadcasters Board of Directors met in Washington this week. Below is a summary of their actions.
JOINT BOARD OF DIRECTORS
October 14-15, 2008
CALL TO ORDER
NAB Joint Board Chairman Jack Sander, Senior Advisor to Belo Corp., called the meeting to order. After a call of the roll, the minutes of the June Board meeting were approved.
CHAIRMAN'S
REPORT
Mr. Sander briefed the Joint Board on the many issues facing the broadcasting business. Mr. Sander also introduced Janet McGregor, incoming chief operations and financial officer for NAB.
PRESIDENT'S
REPORT
NAB President and CEO David K. Rehr highlighted the many issues on Capitol Hill and at the FCC facing the broadcasting industry, and he outlined NAB's short- and long-term goals and objectives.
ISSUES
UPDATE
NAB Executive Vice President of Government Relations Laurie Knight and NAB Senior Vice President of Legal & Regulatory Affairs Jane Mago briefed the board on issues related to the FCC's proposed localism ruling.
Ms. Knight briefed the board on issues surrounding the recording industry-backed effort to impose a performance tax on local broadcasters for radio airplay of music.
Jonathan Collegio, vice president of NAB's digital TV transition team, updated the board on NAB's educational campaign to inform all Americans of the transition to digital TV.
NABPAC
UPDATE
Anne Brady, vice president of NAB's Political Action Committee updated the Board on NAB's fundraising efforts and encouraged members to contribute.
CELLULAR
INDUSTRY IMPACT ON BROADCASTING
NAB Senior Vice President of Science and Technology Lynn Claudy introduced David Epstein, managing partner of Epstein and Associates. Mr. Epstein updated the board on the opportunities and challenges that broadcasters may confront through advanced services on new technological platforms.
NABEF
NAB Education Foundation President Marcellus Alexander updated the Board on the recent activities and initiatives undertaken by the Foundation. Specifically, Mr. Alexander briefed the Board on an NABEF initiative to increase political awareness and participation among U.S. students.
FINANCIAL
REPORT
Mr. Sander and Mr. Rehr provided a financial update to the Board.
RADIO BOARD OF DIRECTORS
October 14, 2008
CALL TO ORDER
NAB Radio Board Chairman Steve Newberry, president and CEO of Commonwealth Broadcasting, called the meeting to order. After roll call the minutes of the June Board meeting were approved.
NAB RADIO SHOW
NAB Executive Vice President of Radio John David provided highlights from the recent NAB Radio Show in Austin.
FCC UPDATE
NAB Senior Vice President of Legal & Regulatory Affairs Jane Mago updated the Radio Board on the status of the FCC proposal to allow AM stations the ability to use FM translators as a means to enhance their signals' reach.
Ms. Mago provided an update on NAB's effort to protect FM radio broadcasters from interference that would result from removal of third-adjacent channel protections.
Ms. Mago also briefed the Radio Board on issues related to a recent FCC proposal to mandate new localism requirements that would dictate how broadcasters serve their local communities.
NAB Senior Vice President of Science and Technology Lynn Claudy briefed the Radio Board on the status of a request to the FCC that would allow FM radio stations broadcasting in HD to increase their power level.
CAPITOL HILL ISSUES
NAB Executive Vice President of Government Relations Laurie Knight updated the Radio Board on recent legislation that would allow radio stations to bypass onerous streaming rates set by the Copyright Royalty Board and instead negotiate new streaming rates directly with SoundExchange. The legislation establishes February 15 as the deadline for a negotiated settlement.
Ms. Knight briefed the Radio Board on NAB's efforts related to the performance tax, noting that a majority of House lawmakers are on record in opposition to the RIAA-backed effort.
Ms. Knight updated the Radio Board on legislation introduced by House Telecommunications Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey (D-MA) that would boost the implementation of HD Radio chipsets in newly manufactured radio receivers.
RADIO MEMBERSHIP
Mr. David briefed the Board on membership issues.
RADIO DATA SYSTEM ON RECEIVERS
Mr. Claudy briefed the Radio Board on current trends and practices of radio stations that are enhancing their service with a radio data system.
TELEVISION BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OCTOBER 15, 2008
CALL TO ORDER
Television Board Chairman James Yager, CEO, Barrington Broadcasting, called the Television Board to order. After a call of the roll, minutes of the June Board meeting were approved.
DTV TRANSITION STATUS
Jonathan Collegio, vice president of NAB's DTV transition team, updated the Board on NAB's campaign to educate Americans on the pending transition to digital TV. Specifically, Mr. Collegio highlighted NAB's efforts related to Wilmington's early analog cut-off and discussed challenges related to Hawaii's early DTV switch.
NAB Executive Vice President of Government Relations Laurie Knight briefed the board on legislation offered by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) that would require the FCC to implement a plan for short-term extension of analog TV broadcasting to continue educating the public on the DTV transition.
The Television Board adopted a resolution supporting the legislation and instructed NAB staff to work with the FCC to implement details related to the educational effort.
Seth Geiger of the polling firm Smith/Geiger briefed the Television Board on data related to growing public awareness of NAB's DTV educational campaign.
Lynn Claudy, senior vice president, NAB Science and Technology, briefed the Board on the joint NAB/MSTV DTV converter box evaluation program.
WHITE SPACES DISCUSSION
Mr. Claudy and TV Board member Liz Burns, president of Morgan-Murphy Stations, briefed the Board on NAB/MSTV action steps related to the "white spaces" debate.
The Television Board adopted a resolution in support of MSTV's geolocation-based alternative to spectrum-sensing unlicensed devices.
TELEVISION MEMBERSHIP AND ACTIVITIES
NAB Executive Vice President of Television Marcellus Alexander updated the Board on NAB TV membership and discussed upcoming Television events and activities.
DTV QUIET PERIOD
The NAB Television Board discussed the status of the broadcast industry's voluntary and pro-consumer initiative to ensure cable subscribers have continued access to broadcast TV signals in the weeks leading up to and following the DTV transition.
RETRANSMISSION CONSENT
NAB Television Board Member Alan Frank, president, Post-Newsweek Stations led a discussion on the cable industry's recent efforts in Washington to alter the private market-based negotiations between cable operators and broadcasters on the carriage terms of broadcast programming.
FCC UPDATE
NAB Executive Vice President of Legal and Regulatory Affairs Marsha MacBride and NAB Senior Vice President of Legal and Regulatory Affairs Jane Mago updated the Television Board on various FCC-related issues including low-power TV must-carry and the FCC's proposed localism mandates, which would dictate how broadcasters serve their local communities.
SATELLITE HOME VIEWER EXTENSION AND REAUTHORIZATION ACT
Ms. MacBride and NAB Executive Vice President of Government Relations Laurie Knight briefed the Board on legislation related to the upcoming required renewal of the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act (SHVERA).
CAPITOL HILL ISSUES
Ms. Knight also updated the Board on legislation expected to be approved by Congress instructing the FCC to complete a study on advanced TV program blocking technology.
OPEN MOBILE VIDEO COALITION
Anne Schelle, executive director of Open Mobile Video Coalition, updated the board on continued efforts by OMVC to launch mobile DTV services.
About NAB
The National Association of Broadcasters is a trade association that advocates on behalf of more than 8,300 free, local radio and television stations and also broadcast networks before Congress, the Federal Communications Commission and the Courts. Information about NAB can be found at www.nab.org.
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