The FCC will require state emergency alert system organizations to document their multilingual EAS offerings, said an order approved Wednesday by a 4-1 vote, with Commissioner Mike O'Rielly dissenting in part. The order is a response to “The Katrina Petition,” a 2005 request for multilingual EAS offerings by the Independent Spanish Broadcasters Association, the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council and the United Church of Christ. “We reaffirm our commitment to promoting the delivery of Emergency Alert System (EAS) alerts to as wide an audience as technically feasible, including to those who communicate in a language other than English or may have a limited understanding of the English language,” the order said.
Though Tuesday evening is the final deadline for broadcasters to enter their spectrum in the incentive auction and has been billed by the Incentive Auction Task Force and Chairman Tom Wheeler as the start of the auction for months, no actual bidding is likely to happen for more than a month, according to statements by Chairman Tom Wheeler and IATF officials. The window for broadcasters to tell the FCC what they'd like to happen to their spectrum in the auction -- called the initial commitment window -- opened Monday at 10 a.m. EDT, and will close Tuesday at 6 p.m. Broadcasters that don't make an initial commitment to sell all their spectrum or relocate to VHF by Tuesday's deadline will be repacked, the IATF has said. To give broadcasters a chance to test the sign-up process, the commission made it available for a preview period starting last week.
The federal government spends close to $1 billion a year on advertising, but very little of that is going to minority-owned broadcasters, said panelists at the FCC Office of Communications Business Opportunities roundtable Wednesday. “Our purpose is not to indict but to understand why federal government ad dollars are not more spread out,” said OCBO Director Thomas Reed.
Broadcasters need to be more aware of their vulnerability to hacking and cyberattacks, said panelists on an NAB webcast on cybersecurity. Broadcasters are considered “critical infrastructure” by the federal government because of their role as “first informers,” and have a responsibility to maintain their ability to transmit emergency alert system messages and information, said Kelly Williams, NAB senior director-engineering and technology policy. It's “vital” that broadcasters prevent attackers from taking over or shutting down “broadcast resources,” said David Simpson, chief of the FCC Public Safety Bureau.
AM broadcasters, engineers, professional sports teams and associations don’t agree on whether the FCC should alter some protections that prevent Class B, C and D radio stations from interfering with the more powerful Class A stations, in comments filed in docket 13-249 in response to a Further NPRM and notice of inquiry on AM revitalization. Dual-band broadcasters also opposed an FCC proposal to require them to surrender one of their licenses, and NAB and the Society of Broadcast Engineers argued the proceedings should focus on reducing the growing interference from unlicensed devices rather than changing power levels in the AM band. It’s “discouraging” that the FCC “seems content to allow the ambient noise levels in the AM broadcast band” to continue to increase and accepts “the deteriorating RF environment as a given,” SBE said.
Nexstar’s proposed deal to buy Media General would create an overly large broadcaster with too much power in retransmission consent negotiations and disregards FCC rules for joint sales agreements, said petitions against the transaction filed in docket 16-57 by several public interest groups, the American Cable Association, Dish Network, ITTA and Cox Communications. The public interest groups’ petition is framed as a petition to deny the proposed sale. ACA, Dish and ITTA is styled as a petition “to deny or impose conditions” and the Cox filing is a “petition for conditions.”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s denial of a requested stay of the incentive auction by Class A broadcasters Fifth Street, Videohouse and WMTM makes it uncertain what sort of relief the court ultimately will be able to grant if the broadcasters prevail in their case, broadcast industry officials told us. Oral argument in the case is May 5, making it likely bidding in the incentive auction will be underway by the time the court issues a decision, according to the timelines most recently offered up by the FCC Incentive Auction Task Force. “No one knows” how the court could make the stations whole if it decides in the broadcasters' favor after the auction has begun, Videohouse CEO Ron Bruno said in an interview.
A draft NPRM slated for the FCC's March 31 meeting would seek comment on expanding the amount of described video available to consumers who are visually impaired, industry officials told us. The proposal is based on portions of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) that give the FCC authority to make such an expansion after June 2016, an industry official said.
The FCC will allow Class A Latina Broadcasters to participate in the incentive auction and the auction will begin on schedule on March 29, commanded the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in an order released Thursday. Though the FCC previously claimed in pleadings in the Latina case that including WDYB Daytona Beach would cause a delay of the auction, it said Friday the auction would take place on time, in a statement. That didn't stop some from worrying the auction may yet be delayed.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied a request from low-power TV broadcaster Free Access & Broadcast Telemedia that the incentive auction be stayed. LPTV broadcasters FAB, Mako Communications and Word of God “have not satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending court review,” said the order from Judges Karen Henderson, Brett Kavanaugh and Patricia Millett. Two other requests for a possible stay of the auction await a decision from the court, both from Class A broadcasters (see 1603160065). The decision against FAB and Mako can be seen as an indication the court may not look favorably on the other stay requests, but not a strong one since the arguments and circumstances of the three cases are very different, several broadcast attorneys told us.