FCC

The FCC on Friday cleared the way for Tribune Co. to emerge from bankruptcy by allowing the owner of the Los Angeles Times and KTLA Los Angeles to transfer ownership of its newspaper-TV station holdings in five markets to a new owner. But in four of the markets — including Los Angeles — the new owners may have to seek FCC waivers to continue holding the combined media properties for more than a year, according to the FCC’s order.

The staff of the FCC has recommended that the agency grant Tribune Co. waivers of so-called media ownership rules, paving the way for the company to emerge from its long-running bankruptcy. The waivers — the last major hurdle in the four-year case — would take effect Friday as long as none of the five commissioners raise serious objections, according to a person at the FCC who wasn’t authorized to speak and therefore did not want to be identified.

There was no doubt that the FCC would wait until after the election to deal with the always controversial review of media ownership rules that have been in and out of court since 2008. On Wednesday, the FCC confirmed that Chairman Julius Genachowski circulated a proposed order of the rules for a vote among the other four commissioners. The FCC is about two years behind schedule on congressional requirements that the rules be reviewed every four years.

Long-term TV viewers and marketers may seek out more digital alternatives when it comes to multi-TV network provider blackouts. They may also force the FCC to take action, according to media agency TargetCast.

While most presidential candidates on Tuesday were concentrating on last-minute campaign events aimed at swaying undecided voters, independent presidential candidate Randall Terry was instead focused on winning votes at the FCC, filing multiple election day political advertising complaints against broadcast stations.

Federal regulators are poised to ease ownership restrictions on major-market media outlets in what could be a boost to some big players in the struggling newspaper industry. After two failed attempts to loosen its rules, the FCC is expected by the end of the year to approve a new proposal that would allow newspapers and television or radio stations in the 20 largest markets to consolidate.

The FCC yesterday said WUSA Washington must air political spots from activist Randall Terry. The reasonable access requirements for federal candidates are encoded into the Communications Act, and there is only so much the FCC can do in applying the statute in a political landscape that is far more complex than those who drafted these provisions likely ever contemplated. With election season nearly over, and many stations sold out of airtime through the election, the immediate impact of the decision will be limited. It is a safe bet, however, that the underlying issue will continue to haunt future elections.

With Hurricane Sandy muscling its way up the East Coast and preparing to turn inland, the FCC has started its anticipatory disaster response. A public notice released late Friday, alerts the public to an “advisory tip sheet” on communicating during emergency conditions.

While big broadcasters are largely ambivalent about creating TV-newspaper combinations in large markets, NPG’s David Bradley says he and other small operators are interested in creating them in small markets. Unfortunately, the FCC is only interested in allowing such combos in large markets. How does that make any sense?

Given that the volume of issues to be addressed in the FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on incentive auctions  is so great, and there is literally no way any individual party could cover them all, the best chance for a well-informed outcome in this proceeding is for the FCC to hear from a large number of commenters who, cumulatively, will hopefully touch on most of the key issues in their comments and reply comments.

The FCC has ruled that a must-carry station cannot expect to keep its channel number on a cable system based on its previous analog channel, but instead will be given a channel number from its new digital channel designation.

Press secretary Neil Grace becomes senior communications adviser and is succeeded by Justin Cole.

The commission votes to lift a ban on encryption of basic cable signals, saying it will reduce the number of visits by cable technicians to disconnect service and reduce cable theft.

Given that the FCC adopted its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to establish the parameters of its much-anticipated broadcast spectrum auctions on Sept. 28, and released the text of that NPRM on Oct. 2, you would think that the communications industry would now be buzzing over the details of the FCC’s long-in-the-making plan. Instead, the industry doesn’t know much more now than it did before about how the auctions will be structured. Instead, we are left with many excellent but unanswered questions asked by the NPRM, leaving the auction rules and structure a very ethereal proposition.

Tomorrow (Friday) is the deadline for requesting a waiver under the FCC’s Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act implementing procedures, intended to combat “loud commercials.” All such waiver requests must be submitted through the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System.

The commission puts the kibosh on hybrid digital/analog transmission system that would have allowed ch. 6 licensees to provide additional audio-only service.

Cable companies no longer have to share programming if they don’t want to. Smaller cable operators and satellite companies fought vigorously to convince the FCC to renew the  rules, while the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, whose members include Comcast and Time Warner Cable — owners of popular regional sports networks — would rather see the rules sunset.

The FCC has initiated a rulemaking proceeding seeking comments on a comprehensive review of its satellite and earth station licensing and operating rules, the first broad reexamination of them in 15 years. Comment deadlines have not yet been set.

Here’s a quick briefing on the FCC proceedings affecting broadcasters from communications attorneys David Oxenford and David O’Connor. The topics: CALM Act … Class A TV … Closed Captioning … EEO Rules … Emergency Alert System … License Renewals … LPTV Stations and TV Translators … Must Carry and Retransmission Consent … Online Public Inspection File … Ownership Limits and SSAs … Political Advertising … Public Interest Disclosure … Regulatory Fees … Spectrum Reallocation … Sponsorship Identification … Tower and Antenna Issues … Video Descriptions … White Spaces.

It just might be for some TV stations.The value of the spectrum for alternative uses seems substantial enough that it may persuade some stations to participate in the FCC’s planned incentive auction and cash in. They now just have to wait for the FCC’s opening bid.

The reallocation of TV spectrum is moving ahead, with the FCC voting unanimously to adopt a rulemaking on how to acquire spectrum now used by TV stations, with compensation, and auction it for broadband development. The auction could come as soon as 2014.

This political season, the biggest legal and practical issue for many stations so far has been the need to accommodate competing demands for air time from everyone from bona fide candidates to Super PACs to regular commercial advertisers. Staying out of hot water at the FCC involves knowing the rules and balancing those demands.

The FCC chairman said the FCC had to overcome naysayers in coming up with the incentive auction plan for repurposing “beachfront” TV spectrum and in then shepherding it through Congress. The agency is moving ahead this week with a rulemaking implementing the law, he confirmed.

Spectrum auctions are fine, say the chairs of three congressional caucuses representing minority interests, but the FCC needs to make sure those minority communities don’t lose TV service. And they note that low-power stations are particularly important.

The NAB has moved to delay its lawsuit challenging the FCC’s order requiring TV stations to put political advertising data online. The group told a federal court that it needs more time to decide whether to drop the case entirely.

The owner of the business news cable channel has written a letter to the FCC asking it to force Comcast to comply with a previous order to move Bloomberg TV closer to rival CNBC.

Now that we are in the political window, we’re doing a series on the basics of the FCC’s political broadcasting rules. On Monday, we covered lowest unit charges. Today’s topic is equal opportunities. Many think of this as a straight-forward issue — just requiring that you provide equal time to competing candidates. But the nuances are what makes equal opportunities much more complicated.

The trade group says it takes no issue with FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski setting plans for a spectrum auction – as long as stations have the right to participate on a voluntary basis. The commission is scheduled to vote on the chairman’s newly released proposal Sept. 28.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is expected to begin circulating proposed rules for spectrum auctions to other commissioners today, with plans to discuss the proposal at the Sept. 28 FCC meeting, an FCC official said. The FCC hopes to finalize the rules in the middle of next year and hold the auction in 2014, according to the source.

An ad hoc coalition of broadcasters and minority advocacy group argue that permitting foreign ownership in excess of 25% would “incent entry into the broadcast sector, including by minority and women-owned businesses. It would facilitate investment in new services and infrastructure, create jobs and, ultimately, enhance service to local communities and their viewers and listeners.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has put the brakes on the FCC’s order last month requiring cable giant Comcast to make the Tennis Channel available to all of its subscribers.

They prefer the old paper-only filing because of the added expense, time and manpower needed to post online. And they worry who will get this info and what they’ll do with it.

On Thursday, the much anticipated Online Public Inspection File for television stations launched more or less successfully. To its credit, the FCC clearly listened to the many voicemails and emails sent to FCC staff, as well as the comments and questions raised during the FCC’s online demonstrations prior to launch. Some potentially nasty pitfalls for stations were ironed out via the FAQs, and the system will hopefully continue to be refined in the weeks and months ahead. In the meantime, here is what stations need to do now that the system is operational.

It’s important not to lose sight of the Little Things. Your primary operating license? That’s a Big Thing. You know where that stands, and you make sure that everything about it is in good order. But how about your auxiliary licenses — studio-transmitter links (STLs), remote pickups, that sort of thing? Those Little Things may seem like unimportant incidentals in the greater scheme of your operation, but heads up: the FCC doesn’t share that perception.

Tuesday was the day that the FCC was to debut its new online public file system for TV stations. You know, the system that the TV industry, en masse, will be expected to be tapping into as of Aug. 2. We dropped by the FCC to take a first-hand look at what the Feds have cooked up. We were favorably impressed.

The NAB came out swinging in an emergency motion Tuesday at the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington. The trade group wants the court to stay an FCC ruling that requires stations to put on the Web information about political ad sales that they already must make public on paper. The NAB says that TV stations will be “at a distinct disadvantage to their non-broadcast competitors” if they have to post the ad rates online after a sale.

Verizon’s controversial plan to purchase spectrum from cable companies appears likely to win approval from the FCC. But the Justice Department also must sign off on the deal before it can go through, and that agency reportedly has concerns about whether the deal will harm consumers.