A group of religious broadcasters wants the FCC to act after waiting "a number of years" on allowing noncommercial educational (NCE) stations to fundraise on-air for other nonprofits, calling it "nonpartisan" since then-Chairman Julius Genachowski started the proceeding. National Religious Broadcasters said, based on concerns of public broadcasters "being put in an awkward position," the rule could apply only to NCEs that aren't CPB grantees. NRB Vice President-Government Relations Aaron Mercer, who reported Friday on lobbying earlier in the week aides to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, also noted his group sought to limit "the scope of third-party non-profits to 501(c)(3) organizations." Mercer disclosed in docket 12-106 a meeting with Pai Chief of Staff Matthew Berry, acting media adviser Alison Nemeth, and Nathan Leamer, recently hired as a policy aide to Pai (see 1703070019). In a recent meeting with Berry and Nemeth, NPR said rules restricting third-party fundraising by NCEs shouldn’t be relaxed (see 1703030063). The deregulation could encourage “the use of NCE broadcast stations as fundraising vehicles for independent third parties or other non-station interests rather than as sources of public interest programming,” the public radio programmer said.
FCC staff fined an alleged Florida pirate radio operator $20,000 for unauthorized operations on 88.7 MHz and 90.1 MHz from three locations in Pompano Beach and Margate. Charles Philome continued broadcasting after commission agents warned him, said an Enforcement Bureau forfeiture order in Thursday's Daily Digest. We couldn't find a way to reach him for comment. The commission under Chairman Ajit Pai is expected to be active on anti-pirate enforcement (see 1701230058).
An FCC radio revitalization order relaxing rules for siting translators takes effect April 10, now that the Office of Management and Budget OK'd information collection requirements, the commission said in Thursday's Federal Register. Later that day, the Media Bureau also announced the effective date. The effective date of the order, approved by commissioners at their Feb. 23 meeting, had been on hold pending OMB OK "of a non-substantive change to the rule as originally proposed" (see 1703080023).
The FCC should be prepared for its 39-month-deadline for the post-incentive auction repacking to prove insufficient, NAB said in a meeting with Chairman Ajit Pai’s office Thursday, according to an ex parte filing posted in docket 12-268 Tuesday. “We urge the Commission to adopt a flexible, balanced approach to repacking that is fair to all stakeholders, while avoiding disruption to existing broadcast services.” The FCC should take a proactive role in making sure the repacking doesn’t harm TV or radio broadcasters, NAB said. “The Commission’s focus must be on ensuring a smooth transition that delivers spectrum to wireless companies in a timely fashion without unreasonable disruptions to broadcasters or the public.”
The FTC cleared Gray Television’s $85 million buy of Diversified Communications’ two TV stations, said an early termination notice. Gray announced the deal in February. Another FTC early termination notice released Tuesday said the agency also cleared private equity firm Veritas Capital’s $690 million buy of Harris Corp. (see 1701270061).
Oral argument on Free Access & Broadcast Media's challenge of incentive auction rules (see 1608290057) in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is set for May 16 at 9:30 a.m., said an order from the clerk. The case involves FCC treatment of low-power TV stations.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai will speak at the 2017 NAB Show on April 25, NAB said in a news release Monday. "The address is expected to provide insight into the FCC’s policy and regulatory objectives related to broadcasting, technology and communications law and regulation."
Notice of the FCC NPRM on ATSC 3.0 was published in Friday's Federal Register. Comments on the TV standard (see 1702230060) in docket 16-142 are due May 9, replies June 8, said an FCC public notice and the FR notice. The May 9 deadline falls a week before ATSC members convene for their annual broadcast TV conference.
The FCC should consider signal coverage of an embedded market radio station to determine whether that station should count toward the parent market’s ownership limits, NAB said in a letter posted Friday in docket 14-50. An embedded market is a suburban radio market identified by Nielsen as a separate radio market for the purposes of reporting ratings. Radio stations in embedded markets also are considered part of parent markets, which cover an entire metropolitan area. Connoisseur Media filed a reconsideration petition against the 2014 quadrennial review based on its treatment of stations in embedded markets ([see Ref:1612020048]), and NAB supports that petition, the letter said. The current rules are “based on a false presumption” that the suburban stations also compete in the parent market, NAB said. “Adopting a standard based on signal coverage would allow marketplace dynamics to govern while protecting against unreasonable market consolidation in parent markets.”
The FCC should allow AM stations in Puerto Rico to use synchronous boosters as it has for WSTE-TV Ponce, said broadcast engineer Jorge Blanco-Galdo in an email to Chairman Ajit Pai in docket 13-249 Wednesday. According to a 2002 public notice attached to the email filed Wednesday, the FCC in 1986 allowed Siete Grande Television’s WSTE-TV to construct an experimental system of “multiple cochannel transmitters” that simultaneously broadcast in an attempt to provide better service in “Puerto Rico’s mountainous terrain.” Like WSTE, AM broadcasters have found multiple synchronous boosters useful to increase reception. “However, AM radio is treated differently,” said Blanco-Galdo. “Why can't the FCC proceed making permanent existing boosters in Puerto Rico and the Continental US as it proceeded with WSTE-TV's boosters?”