iHeartMedia 2000 Annual Report Download - page 25

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25
of a low power FM radio service, and the advent of telephone company participation in the provision of
video programming service.
The foregoing is a brief summary of certain provisions of the Communications Act, the 1996 Act,
the 1992 Cable Act, and specific regulations and policies of the FCC thereunder. This description does
not purport to be comprehensive and reference should be made to the Communications Act, the 1996 Act,
the 1992 Cable Act, the FCC’ s rules and the public notices and rulings of the FCC for further information
concerning the nature and extent of federal regulation of broadcast stations. Proposals for additional or
revised regulations and requirements are pending before and are being considered by Congress and
federal regulatory agencies from time to time. Also, various of the foregoing matters are now, or may
become, the subject of court litigation, and we cannot predict the outcome of any such litigation or its
impact on our broadcasting business.
Outdoor Advertising
The outdoor advertising industry is subject to extensive governmental regulation at the federal,
state and local level. These regulations include restrictions on the construction, repair, upgrading, height,
size and location of and, in some instances, content of advertising copy being displayed on outdoor
advertising structures. In addition, the outdoor advertising industry is subject to certain foreign
governmental regulation. Compliance with existing and future regulations could have a significant
financial impact on us.
Federal law, principally the Highway Beautification Act of 1965, requires, as a condition to
federal highway assistance, states to implement legislation to restrict billboards located within 660 feet of,
or visible from, highways except in commercial or industrial areas and requires certain additional size,
spacing and other limitations. Every state has implemented regulations at least as restrictive as the
Highway Beautification Act, including a ban on the construction of new billboards along federally-aided
highways and the removal of any illegal signs on these highways at the owner’ s expense and without any
compensation. Federal law does not require removal of existing lawful billboards, but does require
payment of compensation if a state or political subdivision compels the removal of a lawful billboard
along a federally aided primary or interstate highway. State governments have purchased and removed
legal billboards for beautification in the past, using federal funding for transportation enhancement
programs, and may do so in the future.
States and local jurisdictions have, in some cases, passed additional regulations on the
construction, size, location and, in some instances, advertising content of outdoor advertising structures
adjacent to federally-aided highways and other thoroughfares. From time to time governmental
authorities order the removal of billboards by the exercise of eminent domain and certain jurisdictions
have also adopted amortization of billboards in varying forms. Amortization permits the billboard owner
to operate its billboard only as a non-conforming use for a specified period of time, after which it must
remove or otherwise conform its billboard to the applicable regulations at its own cost without any
compensation. Several municipalities within our existing markets have adopted amortization ordinances.
Restrictive regulations also limit our ability to rebuild or replace nonconforming billboards. We can give
no assurance that we will be successful in negotiating acceptable arrangements in circumstances in which
our billboards are subject to removal or amortization, and what effect, if any, such regulations may have
on our operations.
In addition, we are unable to predict what additional regulations may be imposed on outdoor
advertising in the future. The outdoor advertising industry is heavily regulated and at various times and in
various markets can be expected to be subject to varying degrees of regulatory pressure affecting the
operation of advertising displays. Legislation regulating the content of billboard advertisements and