Sinclair’s proposed buy of Tribune didn’t get special FCC treatment, said Chairman Ajit Pai in a letter released Tuesday responding to correspondence from House Commerce ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Mike Doyle, D-Pa., and House Commerce Oversight Subcommittee ranking member Diana DeGette, D-Colo. (see 1708140058). “My actions have been motivated by my belief that a strong over the air broadcast service advances the public interest," Pai said. “They have not been fueled by a desire to help any particular company.”
The FCC Media Bureau request for more information on Sinclair buying Tribune isn’t a sign of increased scrutiny or hostility toward the deal at the agency (see 1709150041), industry analysts and even opponents of the transaction said in interviews Monday. The information request asked for specifics about many issues that have been raised by opposition group Coalition to Save Local Media (see 1708300053) but is seen to be motivated by procedural concerns rather than FCC agreement with critics of the deal, industry officials said.
A draft item that would relax certification and measurement requirements for stations using directional AM antennas isn't seen as controversial and likely won't face opposition from industry or on the eighth floor, broadcast attorneys, engineers and an official said in interviews. Chairman Ajit Pai called the draft "highly technical" when announcing it at the 2017 Radio Show (see 1709060073).
Comcast and Dish Network losing subscribers is good for streaming services like CBS All Access, CBS CEO Les Moonves told investors Thursday. Cord-cutters end up migrating to streaming offerings like All Access, Wells Fargo analyst Marci Ryvicker emailed investors earlier in the day. MVPD consolidation hasn’t “impacted” retransmission consent fees, Moonves told a Goldman Sachs conference. He believes Sinclair's buy of Tribune will be approved, and CBS will look at expansion opportunities in American Football Conference markets such as Houston and Cleveland. Moonves believes CBS’ TV business is “strong,” a spokesperson confirmed. CBS will renew its NFL rights in 2022, and Moonves expects Amazon and Google to bid on the digital rights, Ryvicker wrote.
Most radio stations affected by the post-incentive auction repacking will be able to broadcast at reduced power from their own or auxiliary facilities rather than going off-air, and likely will have to do so only intermittently, said tower industry executives, broadcasters and their engineers in interviews. Even short periods off-air or not being able to be received throughout its full contour can have disastrous effects for a radio station, broadcasters said. Losing a small portion of a station’s revenue due to unaired ads can severely affect profit, said Henson Media CEO Ed Henson. “Radio is a fixed cost business.” Legislators expressed support for legislation that would compensate affected stations for repacking-related costs (see 1709070058).
Some broadcast industry officials now don’t expect FCC action on petitions for reconsideration of the 2014 quadrennial review until after Chairman Ajit Pai has been reconfirmed. Since it's not known when or if that reconfirmation will take place, expected relaxation of newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership rules and other ownership policies may not occur until at least October, and possibly not until the end of 2017, said broadcast executives. Legislators deferred Pai’s reconfirmation when they confirmed Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Brendan Carr in August (see 1708030060). Pai told us last week he hadn't begun considering the agency’s plans for October (see 1709060073).
AUSTIN -- A pending adjudication on a translator interfering with a full-power FM station likely will bring “more clarity” to the FCC’s process for handling such complaints, said Media Bureau Audio Division Chief Peter Doyle on a panel Thursday at Radio Show 2017. “We are working on a case right now where a number of these issues are teed up.” The case is widely believed to be between an FM translator in Greenfield, Indiana, rebroadcasting Radio One, and Reising Radio’s full-power WXCH Columbus, Indiana (see 1707280059). Doyle indicated support for reforming the way the commission handles interference complaints between translators and stations: “We’re going to have to bear down and figure out some better procedures.”
AUSTIN -- Chairman Ajit Pai promised at the Radio Show that the FCC will tackle deregulation of its media “underbrush” though a series of monthly NPRMs, going forward. He offered few specifics about rollback of ownership rules that Connoisseur Media CEO Jeff Warshaw said on a panel earlier Wednesday is “required” for radio’s “survival.” Radio needs “the rope cut from our hands,” Warshaw said. Lack of specifics about ownership deregulation didn’t appear to faze attendees, who gave Pai a standing ovation. Several told us they had little doubt the FCC would roll back ownership rules governing radio. “I’m hopeful that it’ll come soon,” said John Zimmer, CEO of Zimmer Radio.
The health of radio, with its lack of deal-making, advertising slowdown and debt-burdened industry leaders, is expected to be the main topic of the 2017 Radio Show, which kicks off in Austin Tuesday, industry experts said. “Cumulus and iHeart and their need to restructure are continuously overhanging the industry” (see 1708090069), said MVP Capital founder and broker Elliot Evers. Media ownership rules such as AM/FM subcaps (see 1704100065) and FM translators will likely also be on the menu, but the financial state of the industry was foremost in the minds of the broadcast executives, attorneys and brokers interviewed.
“Zombie” stations that sold their spectrum in the incentive auction and now want to sell their stations to their channel sharing partners are still waiting for a clear signal from the FCC, numerous attorneys told us. After the FCC indicated that it considers such deals new and novel, many were restructured in a way believed to be more acceptable to the commission, but it’s not clear how such deals will be treated. Lawyers said the FCC still may see a licensee selling its spectrum in the auction and then selling its license as “double dipping.”