The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) will merge its legal and government relations units early next year following the departure of its long-time legal chief Rick Kaplan, who is resigning at the end of December.
Kaplan most recently served as the Executive Vice President of Legal and Regulatory Affairs, signing off on hundreds of court filings, federal regulatory disclosures and other records connected to the commercial radio and television industry’s largest lobbying group in Washington.
Kaplan has worked at the NAB for more than a decade. Shawn Donilon, the current Executive Vice President of Government Relations, will succeed him in the role next year.
From that point, the NAB will restructure its different outreach operations, bringing together the staffers who work on government relations and lobbying with those who handle its internal and external legal affairs.
NAB said the arrangement will improve coordination between its advocacy before Congress, the White House and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
“In an association as diverse as ours, Rick’s ability to understand member concerns, build consensus across differently situated groups and develop creative and impactful solutions will leave an indelible mark on our industry for years to come,” Curtis LeGeyt, the CEO of NAB, said in a statement. “His tireless advocacy — no matter how big or small the issue — has significantly benefited our members.”
Kaplan said he was proud of his work at the association and the relationships developed during his tenure.
“It has been a tremendous privilege to serve America’s broadcasters and be part of NAB for the past 14 years,” Kaplan said. “I am enormously proud of what we have accomplished together, but what I will value most are the relationships I have built and the opportunity to work alongside such extraordinarily talented and dedicated colleagues.”
Kaplan has been involved in several major legal and regulatory disputes during his tenure at NAB, including the association’s push to amend broadcast ownership rules at the FCC. In August, the FCC voted to eliminate a long-standing rule that restricted individuals and companies from having direct control of licensed TV stations that reach more than 39 percent of the American viewing audience — a restriction that critics say was mandated by Congress.
Kaplan also helped secure a favorable decision before the Copyright Royalty Board that reduced digital music streaming royalty rates for radio broadcasters. NAB said the ruling helped establish the groundwork for a subsequent settlement involving webcasting royalties, but some musicians and artists said the move deprived them of the ability to earn a good living off their work at a time when the Internet was becoming a bigger player in the music industry.
Kaplan’s work as of late has been focused on winning over regulators during a favorable administration and pushing for the local TV industry to switch from the current ATSC 1.0 digital broadcast standard to one called NextGen TV, which allows broadcasters to deliver data over the air while moving more of their video signals to broadband.
A conversion to NextGen TV will require most Americans who watch over-the-air broadcast TV to purchase a new TV set or a converter box — something that could prove expensive at a time when computer components like memory and storage are in short supply. But broadcasters say the move is important to achieve parity with streaming services, especially on the advertising side, and freeing up spectrum for datacasting will allow them to generate additional revenue off their licensed frequencies.
It isn’t clear how Donilon will confront those issues as he picks up where Kaplan left off. He has worked with the NAB since 2013, primarily focused on its government outreach activities — arranging meetings with executive staff, lawmakers, policyholders, regulators and other lobbyists.
LeGeyt said Donilon’s experience working with lawmakers and policymakers will help the association pursue its priorities through a more coordinated legal and lobbying operation.
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