NAB Notebook...
Uncertainty of FCC rules were blamed at Tues. morning panel on ownership for the fact that many station transactions aren’t being made in today’s climate. “The deals of basically ground to a halt,” said Lin TV’s Gregory Schmidt. Mass Media Bureau Chief Kenneth Ferree and others cited a case pending in the U.S. Appeals Court, Philadelphia, which held 8-hour oral argument (scheduled for 4 hours) on many ownership issues and appeals Feb. 11 (CD Feb 12 p8) as a reason for uncertainty and delay. Ferree refused to predict how the court will rule on that case -- or what the FCC might do on other ownership issues pending the court’s decision -- but he said the Commission “probably” will await a court decision on several issues, though “the staff work is on- going.” Attorney Donald Verrilli, who represented NAB in the case, responded “that depends” when asked if broadcasters would go for an en banc rehearing following court decision or go direct to Supreme Court. Ferree took issue with the suggestion the FCC is delaying action on revising cable ownership rules. “I don’t call it delay, I call it work,” he said on attempts to define rules covering cable system ownership and program providers. Citing the FCC’s new definition of a radio market, Clear Channel’s Andrew Levin said the largest owner of radio stations was “obviously disappointed that radio was the only medium reregulated” by the Commission. He said “it just makes no sense” that a licensee is permitted to own as many radio stations in Memphis as in N.Y.C. -- TN
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Most questions to the FCC on political broadcasting deal with lowest unit rate (LUC), said the FCC’s political expert, Bobby Baker. He said that’s because “we stand in their way” of stations maximizing profits because of congressionally mandated LUC. “We get questions every day, five days a week,” raising new issues about political rates. Attorney David Oxenford said a radio station often has different LUCs for different time periods -- even in the same drive time. LUC for candidates apply under commercial advertisers one- time, 3-month and 6- month contracts -- as do bonus spots for regular clients, said attorney Frank Jazzo. The law provides that political ads must reach at least 50,000 persons before LUC comes into play, and Baker said the FCC has a system “up and running” to measure such commercials -- although panelists weren’t clear on what Congress meant by passing the provision.
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A panel of congressional staffers agreed it’s unlikely Congress will get heavily involved in communications legislation during the time remaining for Congress this year. It will be “a very condensed session to say the least,” said Joel Maiola, aide to Sen. Gregg (R-N.H.). With summer recess followed by early fall adjournment because of elections, “you're not going to have a whole lot coming out,” he said. One exception could be renewal of the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act. There’s not much happening in the Senate now, “but I think it will get some visibility,” said William Bailey, aide to Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. McCain (R- Ariz.)
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Program & System Information Protocol (PSIP) should be required, and broadcasters that aren’t using it won’t be watched, warned Lynn Claudy, NAB senior vp, science & technology, at the NAB convention in Las Vegas. PSIP provides a way for DTV receivers to identify a DTV station and determine how the receiver can tune into it. Meanwhile, the FCC International Bureau is still deciding whether it has the expertise to handle license applications that Canada rejects, and the Bureau has failed to act on interference by stations in Canada and Mexico on bordering U.S. stations, said attorney Tom Van Wazer. Rick Chessen, chief of the FCC Digital Task Force, countered that his division has been working with the International Bureau. “Canada is on a much different track than ours, and they don’t have a formal schedule for DTV,” Chessen said. One aspect of FCC Chmn. Powell’s overall DTV plan that “remains undone” is educating consumers about the DTV transition, Chessen said. He went on to explain FCC Media Bureau Chief Kenneth Ferree’s plan, to chuckles and grunts in the room. Larger issues are multicasting, must-carry and linking that to public interest obligations, said attorney Robert Rini: “This raises First Amendment issues when linking program content with must- carry.”