The three stations Sinclair plans to close to obtain FCC approval for its deal to buy Allbritton “were not buyable as standalone stations,” said Wells Fargo analyst Marci Ryvicker in an email to investors Friday. Sinclair had tried to sell the stations but couldn’t find a buyer (CD May 30 p4) -- this was because without sharing arrangements the stations were no longer a worthwhile purchase, Ryvicker said. Closing the stations instead of selling them does not “impact” the Allbritton deal, she said. Since the closing stations aren’t in large markets, “we don’t think that these licenses will be very marketable in the auction,” Ryvicker said. Pai and O'Rielly’s characterization was false, said National Association of Black-Owned Broadcasters President Jim Winston in a news release Friday. “The unique circumstances in which Sinclair finds itself do not support any conclusion regarding the overall important benefits of the new JSA rule.” Sinclair may have had other business reasons for closing the stations, such as a tax deduction, Winston said. “This single instance does not refute the potential benefit that can result from” the JSA rule, he said.

The Puerto Rico Radio Broadcasters Association, Utah Broadcasters Association and West Virginia Broadcasters Association support a proposal to establish a method for disseminating emergency alert system messages in non-English languages, they said. The associations were added to the joint comments filed by other state broadcasters associations in docket 04-296 (CD May 30 p10). With the addition of the three associations, all 50 state broadcasters associations are represented in the initial comments, the associations said (http://bit.ly/1nLCTFH).

The FCC Media Bureau granted low-power TV station WYCX-CD Manchester, Vermont’s must-carry complaint against Duncan Cable TV, said an order released Thursday (http://bit.ly/SiDIcX). The complaint was unopposed, and Duncan did not respond to WYCX’s request for carriage in Wyndham County, Vermont, the order said.

An order related to the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act rules listed as circulating among FCC members is a procedural update to the act’s loudness standards, an agency official told us. As explained in an FNPRM last year, the proposed update was prompted by changes to the Advanced Television Systems Committee algorithm used to calculate loudness (CD Nov 5 p18), according to the official. The legislation references the old ATSC standard, and the order would update the language with the new one, the official said. The FNPRM didn’t receive any opposing comments, according to the proceeding’s docket 11-93 (http://bit.ly/1trMIbw). NAB asked that stations be permitted flexibility and time extensions for updating their equipment to the new standard. The Media Bureau didn’t comment.

CBS said it reviewed and enhanced its procedures related to political ads as a result of a complaint against its WWJ-TV Detroit. The Campaign Legal Center and the Sunlight Foundation filed complaints against WWJ and stations owned by Gannett, Scripps and others alleging that they didn’t publicly disclose information about sponsors of political ads this year (CD May 2 p6). CBS also “accelerated the hiring of additional staff to assist with the political advertising disclosure process,” it said in a response to the FCC Media Bureau request for information. The bureau directed the stations to respond May 27 (CD May 13 p11). The bureau told us the other companies responded by the due date, but it did not provide copies of their filings, which had not been posted on the FCC website by our deadline. When CBS staff received the complaint May 1, it reviewed WWJ’s online file and found that an incorrect NAB form for a previous Senate Majority PAC advertising buy in 2013 was inadvertently uploaded to the station’s online political file, CBS said. The staff then uploaded the correct NAB form to its file, it said. The form identified the candidate and the relevant information on the office being sought and the election date, CBS said.

The FCC needs reliable data on how the communications market functions, to replace the cancelled critical information needs (CIN) studies and fulfill responsibilities that include the quadrennial review of media ownership rules, Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a May 16 letter to House Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich (http://bit.ly/SfScdw). “I assure you that any such efforts will not overstep our authority or raise any concerns like those expressed about the CIN study.” Canceling the studies “does not mean that the Commission is abandoning its obligations under Section 257, or our review of diversity issues as part of the remand” from the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Wheeler said. The FCC will have to “find other ways to promote diversity in the communications market,” Wheeler said. “Approximately $467,000” was initially allocated to pay for the design of the studies, the pilot program and related activities, Wheeler told Upton. The early termination of the contract for studies resulted in a payout of $355,387, the letter said. The last invoice for the studies was received May 9, Wheeler said. Wheeler said he wants the FCC to address its responsibilities to promote diversity in the communications market by “seeking public input on the best way forward, and addressing any concerns head-on."

The FCC Media Bureau fined Aerco Broadcasting $20,000 for failing to file quarterly TV issues and programs lists, and children’s TV programming reports and for failing to report the violations in a renewal application for its WSJU-TV San Juan, Puerto Rico. The bureau said the forfeiture shouldn’t be reduced “as it is in line with previous forfeitures the Commission has determined are not excessive relative to the Licensee’s ability to pay,” in a forfeiture order (http://bit.ly/1pkC2hh).

The FCC Enforcement Bureau proposed a $6,000 fine for Real Life Broadcasting for allegedly failing to operate its WIFI-AM Florence, N.J., within authorized power limitations. The bureau directed Real Life to submit a written statement that the station is currently operating consistent with its license, the bureau said in a notice of apparent liability (http://bit.ly/1to77hD). The bureau applied the $4,000 base amount and an additional $2,000 due to Real Life’s “prior overpower operations,” it said.

The FCC’s framework for the incentive auction could harm TV viewers and local businesses, said the NAB’s Future of TV blog in a post Tuesday (http://bit.ly/TR8BXn). The FCC’s decision to go with the newer TVStudy software “means many viewers could lose their favorite channels,” said NAB. The blog post also criticized the incentive auction order for not providing enough spectrum for wireless microphones and for possibly imposing repacking costs on stations not participating in the auction. If broadcasters aren’t fully reimbursed for repacking costs, it could drain “vital funds” from stations and affect local economies, said NAB. The order also makes the auction “needlessly complicated and doesn’t address border issues, the blog post said: “In passing this order, the FCC has failed to honor Congress’ intent."

Attorneys representing the FCC urged an appeals court to deny a petition for judicial review of a decision that upholds the agency’s ban on political ads on public stations. This case is a “poor vehicle for the wholesale re-examination of the constitutionality of broadcast regulation that petitioner seeks,” the attorneys said in an opposition brief to the 9th U.S. Court of Appeals (http://bit.ly/ScL15R). During a rehearing of the case brought by Minority Television Project, 11 judges upheld the ban overturning the original decision that struck it down (CD Dec 3 p4). Petitioner’s contention is that the First Amendment “gives it the right to retain the valuable benefit it has received without payment ... and then disregard the terms on which that license was granted,” the brief said. The absence of advertising has been the hallmark of public broadcasting from its inception, it said. As the appeals court explained, the ad restrictions are neither over- nor under-inclusive, it said. “Instead, they ‘are specifically targeted at the real threat -- the influence of paid advertising dollars.'” The restrictions on ads are an important piece of a comprehensive plan “to promote programming that is differentiated from the typical commercial fare,” it said.