The FCC is holding up transactions by treating a proposed sale between two channel sharing stations as new and novel, said the owners of 43 stations in joint comments filed Wednesday in docket 17-121. The docket concerns Meruelo Television’s proposed buy of Hero Licensco’s KBEH Oxnard, California (see 1705090067). KBEH sold its spectrum in the incentive auction and reached a channel sharing agreement to be hosted by Meruelo’s KWHY-TV Los Angeles. By putting that deal out for comments instead of approving it, the Media Bureau created uncertainty for similar transactions, the filing said.
A request by public interest groups that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issue an emergency stay (Pacer) of FCC restoration of the UHF ownership cap discount is seen by broadcast attorneys as a long shot, though courts are difficult to predict (see 1705120058). The D.C. Circuit ordered (Pacer) the FCC Monday to respond to the request for a stay by Thursday. NAB, Ion and Tribune are among those filing to intervene.
After broadcasters pushed hard in the lead-up to the incentive auction for the option to forego repacking reimbursement in exchange for having “flexible use” of their spectrum in the aftermath, the FCC received only six applications for the “service rule” waiver needed to trigger that option by last week’s deadline. Flexible use of their spectrum will allow broadcasters to adjust to changing wireless technology and "mine for innovation,” said WatchTV President Greg Herman, an applicant. He and other broadcast officials agree lack of enthusiasm for flexible use spectrum is a consequence of the increasing viability of ATSC 3.0, which offers many of the same opportunities as flexible use did in what’s seen as a more widely accepted and clearly defined package.
The FCC Enforcement Bureau has “redoubled” its efforts to combat unauthorized broadcasting and is working its way through some of the changes required by the 2015 field modernization order, bureau officials told an FCBA event Tuesday. The bureau is seen as likely to function differently under the current administration than in the past, said a panel of industry officials. The bureau's general policy for enforcement actions is to start with a warning and then proceed in a way that will discourage future violations. “The driving force is what will be needed to encourage the individual to stop,” said Senior Field Counsel Steve Spaeth.
The FCC needs to provide relief for low-power TV stations in danger of getting bumped from their spectrum long before the post-incentive auction displacement window intended to find them a new home takes place, said the LPTV Spectrum Rights Coalition in a letter Tuesday to the Incentive Auction Task Force and Media Bureau staff. Without some sort of action, “whole communities could go dark,” said coalition Executive Director Mike Gravino in an interview. Unless the FCC provides some accommodation for what Gravino calls “phase zero” stations, a court battle that would slow the repacking effort is likely, he said.
The FCC has received 20 applications for construction permits for the post-incentive auction transition, and granted 14, said Media Bureau Associate Chief Hillary DeNigro and Video Division Chief Barbara Kreisman at an FCBA event Monday. Members of the Incentive Auction Task Force also discussed the repacking schedule, timing of payments, and broadcasters seeking payment for equipment upgrades. Though applications aren’t due until July 12, the officials said more applications would be welcome and will be granted on a rolling basis. “We’re ready for the onslaught,” said DeNigro.
Commissioner Mignon Clyburn was critical of both media items approved by the FCC Thursday, dissenting from only the public notice on review of media regulations. “In the case of this PN, the FCC’s majority starts with a premise that advancing the public interest can only be achieved by clearing the books of rules for the benefit of industry,” Clyburn said after the 2-1 vote. She voted in favor of the NPRM seeking comment on eliminating the main studio rule for broadcasters but expressed reservations about its effect on localism.
The FCC could consider a "phased approach" to the transition to ATSC 3.0 and could be open to changes to broadcaster public interest requirements, said Media Bureau Chief Michelle Carey at an ATSC conference (see 1705170033) Wednesday, saying the agency is "drilling down" into comments on the ATSC 3.0 NPRM. ATSC 3.0 is a "top priority," Carey said, saying the recent comments created a "robust record" and staff are working on the new standard as fast as they can.
Differences between Free Access & Broadcast Telemedia’s current challenge of the incentive auction rules and a prior one from low-power TV broadcaster Mako Communications (see 1608300056) were a focus Tuesday of a three-judge panel at oral argument at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The panel included judges who previously sided with the FCC on the incentive auction in multiple cases. Broadcast attorneys didn’t expect FAB to be succeed.
The FCC 2017 filing window for new FM translator licenses is expected to be announced soon and generate hundreds of applications, radio industry officials and attorneys told us Monday. The opening of the promised 2017 window was added to the list of items on circulation Friday. Wilkinson Barker broadcast attorney David Oxenford said in a blog post he expects the window “very soon.”