That second candidate can only guarantee that they will end up in morning drive by buying a spot guaranteed in that time period). Not all third-party spots are entitled to this treatment – only this special class of coordinated expenditures – and stations are entitled to get written confirmation from the candidate that the expenditures are coordinated under applicable election laws. Any class of spots that run in a unique time period, with a unique rotation or unique rights attached to it (e.g., different levels of preemptibility, different make-good rights, etc.) Discussion of FCC, copyright, advertising and other legal issues of importance to radio and television broadcasters and other media companies. By using this site you indicate your consent to this.

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In these cases, these parties may in fact be entitled to these rates – but only where the spot includes the recognizable voice or picture of the candidate and the message is specifically authorized by the candidate. Accordingly, stations should contact legal counsel with specific questions or problems they encounter. Instead, the package must be broken down by the station into a price per spot for each class of spot that is contained in the package. Each time period for which the station charges a differing rate is a class of time that has its own lowest unit rate. Stations need to be familiar with these rules and apply them accurately through the lowest unit rate windows. Central to understanding and complying with the political rules is the concept of a candidate’s “use” of a broadcast station.

Political files must contain a station’s political documentation for the past two years. Various advertising sales packages, and how they are factored into lowest unit rate calculations, also seem to lead to many questions by broadcasters.

The laws regarding political broadcasting are extremely complicated and legal conclusions are very fact-dependent so you need to talk to your own attorney for specific advice on situations that arise at your station.

But there are many other aspects to the lowest unit rates, and stations need to be sure that they get these rules right. That is done by allocating the package price to the various spots of each class that are contained in the package. As we wrote back in August, lowest unit charges (or “Lowest Unit Rates”) guarantee that, in the 45 days before a primary and the 60 days before a general election, legally qualified candidates get the lowest rate for a spot that is then running on the station within any class of advertising time running in any particular daypart.

If not coordinated, the parties get charged the same as any other third-party organization.

While the FCC has not formally ruled on it, it appears that some states have similar state laws that allow third parties to buy spots that are authorized by a candidate and may be entitled to lowest unit rates. He has represented broadcasters and webcasters before the Federal Communications Commission, the Copyright Royalty Board, courts and other government agencies for over 30 years.

Read More: Political Broadcasting Advisory, © 2001–2020 Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.

The Indiana Broadcasters have produced several other videos in which I explain some of the basics of the political broadcasting rules. Stations must adopt and meticulously apply political broadcasting policies that are consistent with the Communications Act and the FCC’s rules, including the all-important requirement that stations fully and accurately disclose in writing their rates, classes of advertising, and sales practices to candidates. Other than the station, only the FCC will see this allocation if they decide to conduct some sort of audit. On television stations, there are often classes based not only on daypart, but on the individual program. One question that still comes up with surprising regularity is whether these rates apply to state and local candidates, as well as federal candidates.

of the political broadcasting rules, in most circumstances, a candidate must: Publicly announce his or her candidacy. As a general rule, stations may not discriminate between candidates for the same office as to station use, the amount of time given or sold, or in any other meaningful way. Talk to your own attorney if you are faced with that issue. There are obviously many other issues that come up in the political broadcasting process. However, the FCC allowed certain smaller, small market, and noncommercial radio stations a longer period of time to move their pre-March 1, 2018 political documents online. He has represented broadcasters for over 30 years on a wide array of matters from the negotiation and structuring of station purchase and sale agreements to regulatory matters. It is therefore important for stations to understand their obligations so they are able to quickly respond to such allegations before they generate formal FCC complaints.

A party political broadcast (also known, in pre-election campaigning periods, as a party election broadcast) is a television or radio broadcast made by a political party.

Similarly, if a station sells different rotations, each rotation that offers substantially different benefits to an advertiser will be its own class of time with its own lowest unit rates (e.g., a 6 AM to Noon rotation is a different class than a 6 AM to 6 PM rotation, and both are a different class from a 24-hour rotator – and each can have its own lowest unit rate). Under federal law for federal candidates, these purchases will be by political parties and subject to political campaign donation limitations (known as “hard money”). For instance, there will be different rates for spots running in morning drive than for those spots that run in the middle of the night. And our articles here, here, here and here on the new requirements for the identification in the public file of all the issues mentioned in any advertising on federal political issues or candidates. Check with your own legal advisor to discuss the specifics of these issues as they arise as they are often very difficult to apply in the real world. That video summarizes many of the issues that we wrote about back in August and is available here: At the end of this article, we provide links to other videos produced by the Indiana Broadcasters discussing other political broadcasting issues, and to other articles that we have written on other political broadcasting issues.