Broadcasters have until Dec. 30 to file petitions for reconsideration or applications for review of the form broadcasters will use to seek reimbursement for expenses caused by the post-incentive auction repacking, said a Fletcher Heald broadcaster law firm Sunday blog post. The public notice announcing the form was published in Monday's Federal Register, saying the PN took effect then. “The release of the form does not necessarily mean that that form is yet in its absolute cast-in-stone final state. It still must be reviewed and approved by the Office of Management and Budget, and the Bureau has suggested that at least some tweaking might occur along the way,” said the blog. “If there’s anything in the version of the form as described in the Bureau’s notice that raises any questions, now is the time to try to get those questions resolved.”
PMCM's WJLP Middletown Township, New Jersey, should be restored to virtual channel 3.10 on an interim basis to address the problem of TVs not tuning to WJLP in an area where a different station is transmitting on the same over-the-air channel, said PMCM in a meeting with FCC Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake Nov. 23, according to an ex parte filing in docket 14-150. The Media Bureau assigned WJLP to virtual channel 33, though PMCM is seeking to be assigned virtual channel 3.10. But many viewers trying to watch WJLP on channel 33 are instead receiving WCBS-TV New York, which broadcasts on that channel, PMCM has said (see 1510010031). PMCM wants the channel restored to 3.10 pending the incentive auction, “which might open new VHF PSIP [Program and System Information Protocol] possibilities acceptable to PMCM and not incompatible with anyone else,” PMCM said.
The FCC quadrennial review shouldn't be “a vehicle” for relaxing ownership rules, Common Cause said in a meeting with an aide to Commissioner Mignon Clyburn Monday, according to an ex parte filing posted Wednesday in docket 09-182. “Nested ownership structures lead to homogenization of content, to the detriment of the public interest.” The record on media ownership is incomplete and “more research must be done should the Commission consider relaxing or eliminating the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rules,” said the group.
The FCC Media Bureau granted MMK License a waiver of the significantly viewed exception to the network nonduplication and syndicated exclusivity rules for its WNKY Bowling Green, Kentucky, said an order in Tuesday's Daily Digest. MMK's petition for the waiver was unopposed.
The number of nations at the World Radiocommunication Conference supporting keeping the current UHF spectrum allocation for broadcast TV is growing rapidly, from 34 at the start of WRC-15 (see 1511040040) to about 125 now, North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) said in a news release. "While wireless interests argue that adding a primary mobile allocation in the band would result in 'harmonization,' the truth is that it would result in confusion, disruption, and fragmentation," NABA said Monday. It said the two services are "incompatible, with massive separation distances required to avoid interference between them."
The FCC Media Bureau approved an application to transfer three TV licenses owned by Jack Sander to Tegna, and granted a nine-month temporary waiver of the local TV ownership rule in a transaction connected to Gannett buying Belo, said a letter issued Monday. The stations are in markets where the former Gannett also held newspaper interests: KGW Portland, Oregon; WHAS-TV Louisville; and KMSB Tucson. The nine-month waiver is intended to allow Tegna to unwind a joint sales agreement in Tucson, the letter said.
The FCC Incentive Auction Task Force released the agenda public notice for its Dec. 8 reverse auction application workshop. The 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. workshop will include an overview of “the path to the reverse auction,” a step-by-step review of the application, information about channel sharing and relinquishment options, and a Q&A session, the agenda said. The workshop will also be streamed live with open-captioning via the www.fcc.gov/live, the PN said.
The Media Bureau dismissed an application for review of FCC rules on mobile TV devices after the application’s source, Elgato Systems, agreed to withdraw it “due to the passage of time,” said an order of dismissal issued Friday. Elgato filed the application in 2010, the order said.
The Enforcement Bureau proposed a $15,000 fine against Andrew Turner of Miami Gardens, Florida, for operating unlicensed radio station “BIG Station 95.9” in Broward County, Florida, after repeated warnings from the FCC, said a notice of apparent liability issued Friday. “Mr. Turner’s deliberate disregard of the Commission’s warnings warrants a significant penalty,” said the NAL. FCC agents tracked the station in January to a private home that featured signs advertising “One Caribbean International” and “WBIG International Solushuns, Inc.,” companies that Turner heads, the NAL said. Agents tracked the station to the same house in March, and left a notice of unlicensed operation at the house. Two more notices were issued in March, and agents found in September that the station was still operating out of the same house, the NAL said. According to a video of a working DJ marked as “live” streaming on wbigstation.net, the station is apparently still broadcasting. Officials at the station didn't comment.
The FCC released instructions for filing the short-form application for TV stations to participate in the reverse auction, and an online tutorial on the pre-auction process, in a public notice Thursday. To sign up for the reverse auction, applicants use their FCC registration numbers and the commission's auctions system. The application filing window begins at noon EST Dec. 8, and runs through Jan. 12 at 6 p.m. Although stations can back out of the auction after that window closes, they can't participate unless they file an application during that window. The applications asks for information about authorized bidders, the manner in which the station is relinquishing its spectrum, and for channel sharing information, the PN said. The process and options of the form are also explained in the online pre-auction tutorial, which takes the form of a narrated slide show illustrating and explaining the information required in the buildup to the March 29 auction start. “The FCC will allow you to make as many changes as you’d like to an application during the filing window, and will not consider information in your application until you click the CERTIFY and SUBMIT button,” said Pillsbury Winthrop attorney Jessica Nyman in a blog post. “You can even withdraw a previously submitted application up until the close of the filing window. So while you should strive to get it right the first time, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”