FCC Chairman Ajit Pai circulated a draft NPRM on interference protection for Class A AM stations, he said in a speech to the Michigan Association of Broadcasters, show remarks posted Tuesday. The Society of Broadcast Engineers made such proposals in docket 13-249 (see 1603220054). “They are based in large part on comments we received from experienced broadcast engineers,” Pai said of the proposals. SBE said then that the FCC needs to address the interference created by unlicensed devices and commit to reduce the levels of man-made noise in the band. “Our rules should reflect the reality of the current noise floor and appropriately balance the interests of Americans who want to listen to smaller local stations in their communities with those who enjoy listening to Class A stations,” Pai said now. Though the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters and other commenters urged the FCC to reduce nighttime interference protection for Class A stations, SBE dismissed that as short term and unlikely to help the AM band.

Evidence received by the FCC suggested some of divestitures proposed in Sinclair buying Tribune “would have allowed Sinclair to control those stations in practice, even if not in name, in violation of the law,” said Chairman Ajit Pai in an Aug. 3 reply posted Friday to a July letter from Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Illinois. Sinclair/Tribune was later withdrawn (see 1808090042), and Sinclair -- with Enforcement Bureau blessing -- asked the administrative law judge to terminate the proceeding (see 1808100026). Durbin commended Pai’s designating the deal for hearing, and condemned Sinclair’s response seeking to further amend the takeover. “Sinclair's recent announcement to submit yet another amended proposal serves as not only acknowledgment that their previous proposals failed to comply with the law, but also as a deliberate attempt to avoid having to defend these sham purchase agreements before a judge,” Durbin said.

The BBC is working with American startup Spritz to experiment with “how science and speed-reading technologies” can help consumers better cope with the inundation of emails, text messages and online news stories, blogged Cyrus Saihan, BBC head of digital partnerships, Friday. “The average UK adult now spends more time online and consuming media each day than they do sleeping,” said Saihan. “We wanted to see what new technologies could be applied to make this overload of information easier for our audiences to manage.” The standard way of reading text is “moving your eyes across a page as you read each sentence from left to right,” he said. “It is thought that the eye movement required when you move your eyes across a line in a sentence can take up as much as 80% of your time spent reading.” In the BBC experiment with Spritz, each word shown on a screen “has one letter that is highlighted red, to draw your attention to that point in the word,” he said. “That letter is the optimal recognition point in the word and helps your brain quickly process the word, with as little eye movement as possible.” Consumers are “reading more and more on mobile phones, but the screen sizes and text sizes of mobiles are smaller than what we have traditionally been used to with books and magazines,” said Saihan. “Technologies such as this therefore have the potential to make it much easier for us to read on mobile phones. This way of reading could also possibly be useful on devices such as smart watches, which have even smaller screen sizes.”

The FCC Enforcement Bureau doesn’t oppose the termination of the Sinclair/Tribune hearing proceeding or the withdrawal of the assignment applications, said Bureau Chief Rosemary Harold in a response posted in docket 17-179 Friday. “Before the hearing can be terminated, the Chief Administrative Law Judge must dispose of the designated applications,” the filing said. In what Harold called “an oversight,” Sinclair didn’t ask for such relief from the ALJ, but she said that “the Bureau understands from the pleading that it is Sinclair's intention to have the designated applications dismissed with prejudice.” Despite Harold’s endorsement for dismissing the proceeding, it’s possible that issues raised in the hearing designation order could still dog Sinclair, broadcast attorneys said (see 1808090042). Sinclair called on the ALJ to terminate the hearing process in a motion posted Thursday. “Given that the merger agreement has been terminated, and that Sinclair and Tribune are no longer pursuing the transaction and will not seek to re-file the applications, Sinclair requests that the Presiding Judge terminate the hearing,” Sinclair said. Sinclair’s formal withdrawal of the applications “with prejudice” was also posted Thursday. Broadcast attorneys said by withdrawing with prejudice, Sinclair is saying the matter is unresolved. The FCC declined to comment on the matter.

NAB didn’t weigh in on an FCC proposal to limit interference complaints from outside an FM station's 54 dBu contour, in the association’s comments on the FCC’s translator interference NPRM in docket 18-119. Though NAB endorsed the bulk of the FCC’s proposals, including allowing translators to relocate more freely and a six-listener minimum for interference complaints, the association said in a footnote it's deferring comment on the contour issue. “We respectfully reserve the right to address this issue in reply comments,” the filing said. The contour issue was the primary point of contention in the bulk of comments on the NPRM (see 1808070039). NAB also backed a 90-day deadline for interference complaints to be resolved. “Such an approach will make the Commission’s process more efficient, particularly in cases where claimed interference appears indisputable,“ NAB said.

The FCC submitted the text of its incubator order to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Monday (Pacer link) to meet a deadline established by the court after it denied a stay request against the agency’s media ownership recon order (see 1802070053). Anti-consolidation groups said the court’s request indicated the panel is still considering whether the FCC actions on ownership adhere to its rulings. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said last week she didn’t see how the incubator order addressed the court’s concerns (see 1808020048).

Tribune reached a comprehensive agreement with Fox, renewing the affiliation of eight Tribune stations, Tribune said in a release.

Bonneville International will buy eight radio stations from Entercom, four each in Sacramento and San Francisco, for $141 million, said a Bonneville release. Bonneville has been programing the stations under a local marketing agreement since 2017, the release said. “The transaction is pending regulatory approval, and is expected to close in late 3rd quarter or early in the 4th quarter of this year,” the release said.

BBC Late Night Laugh, a series of nightly radio comedy specials highlighting the talent appearing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival that runs through Aug. 27, launched Friday for smart speakers, including Amazon Alexa, Apple HomePod or Google Home devices, said the broadcaster. “Comedy is hugely popular on smart speakers and we love the idea of people asking for a late night laugh,” said Julia McKenzie, BBC Studios head-radio comedy.

The FCC should delete its WPXQ Channel 17 at Block Island, Rhode Island, and substitute Channel 17 at Newport in the DTV table of allotments (see 1806120016), Ion commented in docket 18-153. That “will represent a preferential arrangement of allotments by affording Newport its first local full-power television service in satisfaction of the Commission' s second allotment priority,” Ion said.