The FCC unanimously approved a reimbursement order Friday for low-power TV, TV translator and FM stations. It's little changed from the draft, Media Bureau Chief Michelle Carey said. It was uncontroversial at the meeting, as expected (see 1903130076). Most commissioners cut their pre-vote statements short.
The FCC’s draft low-power TV, translator and FM radio reimbursement order isn’t expected to be much changed from its circulated version and is considered largely uncontroversial, agency and industry officials told us. NPR, T-Mobile and several Class A broadcasters (see 1903070071) lobbied the agency for changes to the item. Now, FCC officials said few changes are likely. The order is to get a vote at Friday's commissioners' meeting.
The TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board lacks transparency, has an inherent conflict of interest and inaccurately rates TV content, said parent advocacy groups and many of the approximately 1,600 individual commenters. Docket 19-41 responses were on the FCC’s congressionally mandated call for filings (see 1903010046)on the TV ratings system and the board that oversees it.
FCC commissioners unanimously approved an order streamlining the reauthorization process for satellite TV stations, an item that was on Friday’s FCC meeting agenda (see 1803220027). “Ultimately, this item will save significant resources for both affected broadcasters and the Commission,” said Commissioner Mike O’Rielly. Satellite TV stations are full-power broadcast TV stations that largely retransmit the content of a parent station, usually another full-power station owned by the same licensee. The order (here and here) allows applicants transferring a satellite TV station to do so without making extensive showings that the station should retain its satellite status, as long as they can certify there has been no other material change to the station’s situation. Under the previous rule, reauthorization was required, even though the requests were always approved, and the process was widely seen as a “rubber stamp,” attorneys told us. The media modernization item wasn't deemed controversial, and the streamlining provisions drew no opposition in the lead-up to the order. When the NPRM on the proposed order was voted, then-Commissioner Mignon Clyburn expressed concern that a satellite station changing parent stations should be considered a material change, but the final order doesn’t restrict the definition of a material change to specific situations. The “circumstances of each case” should guide the determination of whether a material change in the circumstances led to the original grant of satellite status, the order said.
“Digital companies” may have been too successful in avoiding regulation, former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler told the Brookings Institution Tuesday. The rollback of Wheeler’s net neutrality order by what he called “the Trump FCC” included disavowing jurisdiction over the internet, leaving room for states to step in with their own rules, Wheeler again (see 1903110063) said. Digital companies got what they wanted and maybe a little too much, he said. Wheeler said Facebook isn’t a neutral carrier of information but instead exercises editorial control over what users see. The company should release open application programming interfaces for how it gathers and publishes content, so consumers can see “what’s going in and going out,” Wheeler said. Current antitrust regulations can’t adequately constrain such companies because those rules are based on pricing and Facebook is free, he said. “The rules that have worked for industrial capitalism are no longer sufficient for internet capitalism.” The current wave of technological change isn’t unprecedented, and harkens back to similar shifts such as the development of the printing press, Wheeler said. His new book argues the internet hasn’t yet caused the same degree of upheaval, but it’s on the cusp of such an event, and the fast pace of technological change is short-circuiting democratic processes needed to digest the shift. That gap allows “authoritarians” to step up and offer “slogans instead of solutions,” said Wheeler, offering “The Wall” and Brexit as examples. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., also mentioned state telecom policy in his introduction of Wheeler, saying localities should be allowed to create their own municipal networks to compete with ISPs. Americans across the country unanimously support net neutrality, Doyle said. Facebook didn't comment.
TV station owners fear the FCC is leaning toward a national cap lower than they want, and are seeking to characterize a 78 percent cap as maintaining “the status quo.” That's according to interviews with broadcasters, broadcast attorneys and a letter to all five commissioners filed Monday. “Nothing in the record provides any basis for tightening the national ownership cap,” said Ion, Nexstar, Tribune, Univision and others that in total represent almost 500 stations.
Difficulties minorities and women face accessing funds to buy and keep afloat media companies was a theme of every panel of broadcasters, programmers, investors and attorneys at Thursday's FCC broadcast symposium on media diversity. Broadcast incubation programs, the defunct minority tax certificate and a “raised eyebrow” from the agency encouraging companies to pursue diversity were broached as possible solutions. The agency should hold a diversity symposium for large media companies, because the largely minority attendees now are mostly “talking to ourselves,” said Bayou City Broadcasting CEO DuJuan McCoy. Companies wouldn't turn down an invitation to such an event from Chairman Ajit Pai, said Beasley Media CEO Caroline Beasely.
Sinclair will have a hard time buying TV stations until outstanding character questions affirmed in an FCC administrative law judge ruling Tuesday (see 1903050022) are resolved, said broadcast attorneys and media brokers in interviews. ALJ Jane Halprin dismissed the agency's Sinclair/Tribune hearing designation order but said the allegations against Sinclair “reasonably warrant a thorough examination,” and should be considered when Sinclair is seeking commission approval for a license transfer or renewal.
An FCC proceeding on TV ratings isn’t likely to lead to agency action beyond its congressionally required report (see 1902260059) but could put public pressure on programmers, said attorneys and content-industry officials in interviews. Though the PN released last week seeks comment only on the ratings and ratings board, longtime rating system critic Parents Television Council wants the proceeding to lead to pressure on the programmers comprising the ratings board and possibly the FCC's dissolving the system. PTC’s influence is seen as a reason for the directive in the 2019 Consolidated Appropriations Act ordering the FCC to report to Congress by May 15.
Sinclair was involved in recent broadcast TV mergers and acquisitions “processes,” but the properties went to other buyers at prices higher than it wanted to pay, said CEO Chris Ripley on a Q4 call Wednesday. Sinclair didn’t comment on which deals he was referencing. Recent M&A includes Cox’s proposed sale of stations to investment fund Apollo and Nexstar’s proposed buy of former Sinclair dance partner Tribune. Since issues from the outstanding hearing designation order stemming from the failed Sinclair/Tribune remain unresolved (see 1901040047), it’s widely believed Sinclair buying TV stations could trigger unwanted FCC action on its licenses. That’s been seen as something Sinclair would seek to avoid, and the broadcaster has opposed efforts to bring that matter before the FCC before the 2020 license renewal period (see 1812110062). Ripley has said the HDO won't keep Sinclair out of M&A (see 1810180024). Q4 revenue rose 25 percent, compared with Q4 2017, Sinclair reported, reaching $893.3 million. Executives are bullish about the company’s outlook, touting activity with regional sports networks, expected political advertising sales gains and progress on ATSC 3.0. Sinclair and SpectrumCo hope to begin broadcasting 3.0 in 20-30 markets this year, Ripley said. That's delayed waiting for the FCC to create an application form (see 1902260046). Sinclair is open to doing more sports deals similar to its recent one with the Chicago Cubs (see 1902130019), Ripley said. Sports content is the highest rated and the “scarcest” content, Ripley said. “You can't create more sports, you can create more of almost any other genre.” The rapidly increasing field of 2020 presidential candidates “really bodes well for local broadcasters” on political ad dollars, said Chief Operating Officer Steven Marks. In the lead-up to the election, broadcasters “aren’t gonna be able to get out of the way of all the money” pouring in for political ads, he said.