Sinclair’s proposed deal with Tribune is expected to break up Thursday, but Sinclair executives didn’t comment on the transaction during an earnings call Wednesday, though Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley said an update would be coming “soon.” Under Tribune’s agreement with Sinclair, passing Wednesday’s deadline allows Tribune to walk away from the deal without suffering a breakup fee, attorneys and analysts told us. Wednesday was also the deadline for parties to file notices of appearance in the administrative law judge proceeding, and those filings could provide a clue to whether Sinclair intends to battle the allegations against it, attorneys said. Tribune announced Wednesday it was set to hold an 8 a.m. conference call Thursday, before the opening of the stock market.
An FCC proposal to limit the distance at which full-power FM stations can complain of interference from an FM translator stirred up the most reaction from radio broadcasters, in comments in docket 18-119. Most commenters and large radio groups including iHeartMedia and Beasley object to limiting interference complaints to within a station's 54 dBu contour, but other broadcasters, including Cumulus Media, support the contour limit. Commenters also were divided over a proposed minimum number for listener complaints but widely receptive to relaxing rules on where on the dial translators can relocate if bumped.
The likely unwinding of Sinclair’s buy of Tribune and the related FCC hearing designation order are unlikely to derail rollout of ATSC 3.0 but might cause it to take longer, said supporters and critics of the new broadcast standard (see 1807270002). Sinclair/Tribune would have given the standard backing of a broadcaster reaching 60 percent of the U.S., but the entire industry is now heavily invested in ATSC 3.0, said broadcasters, industry officials and lawyers. Sinclair’s plans for the new standard predate its plan to buy Tribune, said Mark Aitken, Sinclair vice president-advanced technology. “NextGen TV will move forward regardless,” said New America Wireless Future Program Director Michael Calabrese, a frequent opponent of 3.0.
Commissioners approved a radio incubator order 3-1 Thursday, with Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel dissenting and calling the item “modest” and muddled. “There is nothing bold here,” she said. “I fail to see how it will make a material difference in the diversity of media ownership.” The final version of the order adhered to NAB’s positions on comparable markets and that ownership waivers be transferable, as expected (see 1807310072).
Likely changes to the draft incubator order are being worked out, said FCC and industry officials in interviews. Requests from the Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment (ACDDE) that provisions on what constitutes a comparable market be restricted (see 1807260058) are seen less likely to be included. The item is to be voted at Thursday’s commissioners’ meeting, and forms the basis for a report to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals due Aug. 6 in Prometheus Radio Project’s challenge of a media ownership reconsideration order (see 1806290039).
The wording of the draft NPRM on reimbursing low-power TV stations, translators and FM stations for expenses caused by the post-incentive auction repacking will be changed to address concerns about repacking expenses and eligibility raised by NAB, T-Mobile and Microsoft, FCC and industry officials told us. The commission has a March deadline to create a reimbursement policy under legislation that granted the funds, the NPRM said. The notice is set for a vote at Thursday's commissioners' meeting.
The anticipated unwinding of Sinclair's planned buy of Tribune and last week’s court decision upholding the UHF discount aren’t considered likely to affect what the FCC eventually does to the national cap (see 1807250050). They could affect timing, said broadcasters, attorneys and industry officials in interviews.
A draft NPRM on repacking reimbursement for FM stations, low-power TV stations and translators appears to “penalize T-Mobile for taking a proactive approach” to funding LPTV relocation (see 1707170043), said the carrier in meetings with the Media Bureau, Incentive Auction Task Force, and aides to Chairman Ajit Pai and to Commissioners Mike O’Rielly and Jessica Rosenworcel, it recounted in docket 18-214, which also had other filings posted Thursday, a week before commissioners vote. The company was represented by former IATF Vice Chairman Howard Symons, now of Jenner & Block. T-Mobile “was willing to step in at a time when Congress had not funded the post-auction relocation of LPTV stations,” but Congress’ authorization of reimbursement funds for LPTV and translators “has materially altered the post-auction landscape for these stations,” T-Mobile said. The draft suggests T-Mobile could remain responsible for funding LPTV repacking despite the new reimbursement fund, and proposes precluding stations that received funding from the company, even for future expenses, it said. Stations that received money from T-Mobile should be able to use the fund “provided that they demonstrate that funds received from the third party have been returned or have not been used to fund the same eligible expenses” and likewise for the future, T-Mobile said. Microsoft also met with the IATF and Office of Engineering and Technology on the draft reimbursement NPRM. It should include questions about letting LPTV, translators and FM stations be reimbursed for transmit filters that will promote “greater overall band utilization,” wrote Microsoft, hoping “the NPRM ask whether the Commission could promote greater use of the television band by reimbursing full-service filters for all low-power broadcasters, rather than stringent or simple masks.” The draft misinterprets legislation authorizing the additional reimbursement, NAB continued to say (see 1807240061) in meetings and calls with Pai Chief of Staff Matthew Berry, Media Bureau Chief Michelle Carey, and aides to Pai, Rosenworcel and Commissioner Brendan Carr, it said (and filings). The draft operates from the premise the legislation lets the FCC draw FY 2018 funds only to reimburse LPTV, FM stations and translators, but NAB argued that’s a “phantom reading.” That led the NPRM to propose graduated payments for FMs based on how they are disrupted by the repacking, NAB said. “Congress specified funding levels from Fiscal Year 2018 funds, but also provided the FCC with discretion as to how to allocate Fiscal 2019 funds.”
The FCC’s likely sinking of Sinclair buying Tribune is “disgraceful” and “so sad and unfair,” said President Donald Trump Tuesday evening in a tweet that angered Democratic lawmakers, but is considered unlikely to influence FCC policy, said boosters and critics of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “I don’t think the chairman would kowtow” to Trump, said Benton Foundation and Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law and Policy fellow Gigi Sohn, an aide to previous FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. “I’m sure he knows the FCC is an independent agency,” said Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy, a friend of Trump’s and opponent of Sinclair/Tribune. “I would be very surprised if he ever tried to meddle with FCC policy.”
U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejection Wednesday (see 1807250002) of anti-consolidation groups’ petition against the restored UHF discount is seen as removing pressure on the FCC to raise the national cap and paving the way for TV station dealmaking.