Campaigns & Elections' Political Broadcast Manual - March 2008 - (Page 34)

PSAs A special consideration applies to “paid” or “sponsored” public service announcements (“PSAs”) (that is, PSAs promoting a non-profit organization or activity that are paid for, at least in part, by a commercial advertiser and are identified as such). An example would be a United Way solicitation followed by mention that this reminder was brought to you as a community service by a local auto dealer or a responsible drinking promotional spot purchased by a brand of beer. Sponsored PSAs sold by themselves would be counted the same as any other paid advertisement for purposes of calculating lowest unit rates. If a station offers sponsored PSAs to commercial advertisers as a bonus or as part of a package, then the value of these paid PSAs must be calculated as part of the LUC in the same manner as package plans by assigning a reasonable value to the bonus PSA spots. Thus, if the paid PSA is of the same class and time period as a commercial spot, then the “package price” must be prorated among commercial and paid PSA spots in order to arrive at the lowest unit rate. When the paid PSA is run in a different class or time period, then the FCC will generally defer to the station’s reasonable good faith judgment in allocating the price of a package among the PSAs and spots. Advance Payment and Credit Policies A station is required to extend credit only to those candidates or their advertising agencies that have a credit relationship established with the station. If there is no credit relationship, the station may require payment in advance from a candidate for an advertising schedule, but no earlier than seven days before the first spot on the schedule is to run. Period for Rate Comparisons The FCC generally requires that lowest unit rates be calculated in comparison to commercial spots running in the relevant time period surrounding the political spot in question. Thus, the relevant period for a “weekly rotator” could be the week on which the rotation ran, while the period for a fixed position “Monday 6 PM News lead-in” would be the Monday in question at 6 PM. However, artificial manipulation of long-term schedules (that is, to eliminate low-priced spots from a seasonal or annual contract for the period near an election) must be disregarded when calculating LUCs. Increases in Rates during the Election Period Stations may increase rates during the 45 or 60 day political window, but only for a commercially valid reason, such as audience ratings, seasonal program changes or, if time is sold routinely in weekly rotations, on a weekly basis. A candidate who purchases time after a rate increase, however, is entitled to the lower rate paid by another advertiser who contracted for time before the rate increase and whose ad runs in the relevant LUC comparison period surrounding the political advertisement, so long as the spots are of the same class of time. Thus, if a long-term advertiser purchases time at a lower rate than that charged in the 24-hour period, due to a rate increase, the long-term lower rate must be used to calculate the LUCs for the same class and amount of time for those times in which such spots are aired. The long-term advertiser in this instance is the “most favorable advertiser.” Thus, the political advertiser must obtain the same benefit. “Fire Sale” Rates “Fire sales” during a political window could result in an artificially low LUC rate that would require a rebate to political advertisers down to the LUC established by the fire sale rate. In some instances, particularly where there is a heavy volume of political business on the air, a station may retain the unsold spots in inventory rather than sell them at fire sale rates and have to provide rebates to political advertisers. Advertising Agency Discounts Where a station, rather than the advertiser, normally pays a commission, the savings must be passed on to a candidate who deals directly with the station. Thus, advertising agency discounts must be passed through to a candidate who does not utilize an advertising agency, but rep commissions are not considered in calculating LUCs. Spots in Specific Programs The FCC continues to recognize that prime time programs (primarily on television) will differ in value on a program-byprogram basis. If the station’s normal sales practices treat individual programs in this fashion, the FCC will recognize each such program as a separate class of time for purposes of calculating the LUC. Sold-Out Time A broadcaster may consider a particular program or day part to be sold out so long as a candidate legally entitled to time is provided reasonable access to the station’s overall schedule. A station may claim to be sold out of preemptible time only if its preemptible spots may be bumped by spots purchased at a fixed rate or by a higher class of immediately preemptible time. On the other hand, a station cannot claim that is sold out of preemptible time where all of its preemptible time is sold in an 34 « March 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Campaigns & Elections' Political Broadcast Manual - March 2008

Campaigns & Elections' Political Broadcast Manual - March 2008 Contents Introduction – The Scope of the Political Broadcasting Rules “Legally Qualified” Candidates Reasonable Access “Uses” of Broadcast Facilities Exempt Programs Requests for Equal Opportunities Equal Opportunities Lowest Unit Charges The Disclosure Censorship of Uses Sponsorship Identification Political File Contents Access to the Political File The Fairness Doctrine Political Editorials Personal Attacks Issue Advertising News Distortion Conclusion

Campaigns & Elections' Political Broadcast Manual - March 2008

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