Lack of a final decision from Chief Administrative Law Judge Richard Sippel on the Sinclair/Tribune hearing designation order won't slow or affect Sinclair merger and acquisition efforts, CEO Chris Ripley told us after speaking at NAB Show New York Thursday. Sinclair is “focused” on more consolidation in broadcast TV, and on adjacent growth avenues such as regional sports networks, cable and digital offerings, Ripley said.
Raising the 39 percent national ownership cap to 60 or 70 percent but adding a sunset clause that would require further consideration after a few years could be a way for the FCC to relax the cap in a fashion more politically palatable than getting rid of it, said Nexstar CEO Perry Sook on a panel at NAB Show New York Wednesday. Sook told us he believes FCC Chairman Ajit Pai intends to act, but it's also possible the Pai FCC won't get around to it.
There are no signs FCC action on the TV-station national ownership cap is coming soon. The expected busy agency schedule for the remaining months of 2018 means such action is unlikely this year, FCC officials, broadcasters, attorneys and analysts told us. Without any deals actively pending that push against the cap and the UHF discount not under threat, the national cap appears to be “on the backburner,” said S&P Global Senior Research Analyst Justin Nielson.
A compromise on reducing interference protection for Class A AM stations is likely to lead to a contentious proceeding, said radio engineers and attorneys in interviews Tuesday. The FCC issued a unanimously approved NPRM Friday. It's seen as offering a “middle” solution that stops short of total removal of interference protections (see 1808210045) previously proposed by the agency but that still would reduce protections for existing Class A “clear channel” stations, said duTreil, Lundin Vice President Ronald Rackley.
The midterm elections in 2018 will generate vastly more broadcast political advertising spending than the 2014 midterms, broadcasters and analysts said in interviews. A host of tight congressional races, an early focus on negative ads, and high rates of spending by outside groups are seen as reasons for the increase. That’s going to lead to “healthier than expected” political ad revenue for radio and TV stations, said BIA/Kelsey Chief Economist Mark Fratrik. E.W. Scripps projects revenue in 2018 will grow more than 50 percent over 2014. “It feels more aggressive,” Alpha Media CEO Bob Proffitt told us.
Spectrum sharing and the gravity of the spectrum crunch generated disagreement Tuesday at the annual Americas Spectrum Management Conference. Federal officials touted spectrum sharing as “the new normal” while T-Mobile Senior Director-Technology Policy John Hunter called sharing policies “draconian.” “It's incredibly difficult to measure scarcity,” said FCC Wireless Bureau Assistant Chief Matthew Pearl.
Broadcasters of all stripes, MVPDs, T-Mobile and Microsoft have differing opinions on how repacking reimbursement funds should be doled out and to whom, according to comments filed in docket 18-214 by Wednesday's deadline. NAB continued to argue that $400 million appropriated for reimbursements for FY2019 can be used to cover repacking costs for FM, low-power television and translators, but the American Cable Association said it would be “unfair” to reimburse the FM and secondary broadcasters newly covered by the Reimbursement Expansion Act (REA) from FY2019 funds until MVPDs and “all entities for whom the Reimbursement Fund was originally created” are “fully satisfied.”
ORLANDO -- FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly spoke favorably of NAB's subcap proposal at Radio Show 2018 Thursday and suggested he would be open to even more relaxation of those rules. Just a few hours before O'Rielly's speech, Audio Division Chief Albert Shuldiner warned in a separate panel that the industry should be more cautious about anticipating aggressive relaxation of the rules.
Broadcasters seeking broad relaxation of children's TV rules found themselves at odds with programmers and consumer groups, in comments on the FCC's kidvid NPRM in docket 18-202 in time for Monday's deadline. Though almost all commenters agreed existing rules are outdated, nearly every broadcaster filing supported the FCC's proposed rule changes. “The existing children’s TV regulatory regime leads to less than optimal use of limited air time to the detriment of stations and their local audiences,” said NAB. House Communications Subcommittee Democrats are expected to note their concerns about the kidvid NPRM during a Thursday hearing on the state of the media marketplace (see 1809260054).
ORLANDO -- The radio industry is looking forward to 2019 for possible ownership deregulation and the emergence from bankruptcy of industry leaders Cumulus and iHeartMedia, said the CEOs of Beasley Media, Townsquare Media and Hubbard Radio on a Wednesday finance panel with Wells Fargo analyst Davis Hebert at the NAB Radio Show. Outside investors have “a wait and see mentality” towards radio, Beasley CEO Caroline Beasley said. This is a “a major transition year,” Hebert said.