A March 8 status conference is scheduled on the license of a broadcaster convicted of attempting to have a woman raped (see 2112100056), said an FCC order Thursday. The previous conference, set for Jan 13, was canceled after broadcaster Roger Wahl abruptly informed the office of Administrative Law Judge Jane Halprin that he was undergoing a medical procedure (see 2201120063).

The FCC Media Bureau approved Gray Television’s request to switch the channel of WYMT-TV Hazard, Kentucky, from 12 to 20, said an order in docket 21-125 Thursday. The bureau seeks comment on a request from E.W. Scripps to change KTVQ Billings, Montana, from Channel 10 to 20. Comments will be due 30 days after Federal Register publication and replies 15 days later, in docket 22-39.

The FCC Media Bureau’s grant of KPTV-KPDX Broadcasting’s request to switch KPTV Portland, Oregon, from Channel 12 to Channel 21 took effect Tuesday, said an item in that day’s Federal Register.

The FCC Media Bureau dismissed Gray Television’s application for review of the agency’s rejection of Gray’s market modification application for WYMT-TV Hazard, Kentucky, at Gray’s request (see 2112150054), said an order in Tuesday’s Daily Digest. The agency rejected Gray’s original application in part because the satellite MVPDs in the area were carrying another Gray station with a duplicate network affiliation.

Filings submitted to the FCC Media Bureau via email after the shutdown of the consolidated database system (see 2201120056) must include a certification that the applicant hasn’t been denied federal benefits due to drug offenses, said a public notice clarifying the new filing procedures Tuesday. The requirement stems from the 1988 Drug Abuse Act, the PN said. Added to the list of filings that should be emailed to the bureau, the PN said, are consummation notifications, consummation extension requests, and notifications of non-consummation. Commercial applicants should pay application fees for emailed filings using the commission registration system (CORES), the PN said.

The FCC unanimously approved changes to political advertising rules, an item that had been on Thursday’s commissioners’ meeting agenda, said an order Tuesday in docket 21-293 (see 2201190072). The draft order was considered noncontroversial and administrative, and the final version appeared to have no substantive changes. The order changes the language of FCC rules to conform to the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, requiring information on political issue ads to be included in station online public files. The Media Bureau has required the filings since 2002, but until now the text of the rules didn’t reflect the BCRA. The order also incorporates campaign websites and social media activity into the list of factors broadcasters consider when judging if a write-in candidate is “bona-fide” and therefore eligible for lowest unit ad rates and other benefits. The changes “not only conform our rules with statutory requirements, they also reflect modern campaign practices and increase transparency,” the order said.

FCC foreign-sponsored content identification rules build incrementally on existing sponsorship ID rules and are designed to be minimally burdensome, the agency told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in a response brief posted Friday in docket 21-1171. The rules require “a simple name search” of entities seeking to lease air time and a narrower rule would either be ineffective or raise First Amendment issues, the agency said: A rule that required broadcasters to verify a lessor’s status only when they had reason to be suspicious or based on content would be “open to discriminatory application.” A “standard relying on broadcaster’s subjective belief regarding the risk of foreign governmental sponsorship would be ineffectual and unenforceable.” The rules respond to incidents where foreign governments were leasing large chunks of airtime, the filing said: The requirements aren't “fruitless make-work” but “a reasonably targeted means” for making the public aware of when a foreign government is behind a broadcast.

Two FCC Media Bureau channel moves took effect Friday, said that day’s Federal Register. KVVU-TV Henderson, Nevada’s shift from Channel 9 to 24 took effect Friday along with the allotment of Channel *4 for Fort Bragg, California, to One Ministries. Channels designated with an asterisk are reserved for noncommercial educational stations.

Full-power and Class A TV stations assigned to the latter half of the repacking must submit all remaining reimbursement invoices by March 22, said the FCC's Incentive Auction Task Force and the Media Bureau in a reminder public notice in docket 16-306 Friday. “Extensions of the assigned invoice submission deadlines should not be required,” said the PN. “Close-out procedures were announced” in February 2019. The agency will consider an extension to Sept. 6 if entities can provide evidence of extenuating circumstances outside the entity's control. The agency won’t grant extensions that don’t provide staff with enough time to complete close-out procedures, and any money remaining in the reimbursement fund will be rescinded to the U.S. Treasury in July 2023. Failing to make the deadline “could preclude that entity from receiving full reimbursement,” the PN said.

The FCC Media Bureau granted Univision’s request (see 2110050053) for permission to be more than 25% foreign owned, said a declaratory ruling in Friday’s Daily Digest. “It is in the public interest to grant Univision’s request to permit foreign investors to own up to 100% in the aggregate of Univision’s equity and voting interests.” Univision had sought the approval to allow investors SoftBank and Liberty Global to have voting interests above 5%. There were no comments on the request, and the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications Services Sector signed off last month (see 2112270049).