FCC

Reaction poured in Thursday following delivery of President Obama’s speech in Michigan promoting his national wireless plan, which aims to reclaim enough spectrum from broadcasters and others to get 4G wireless broadband service to 98% of America within five years. NAB won’t oppose, but says broadcasters and viewers should be “held harmless.”

Many TV stations are no longer vigilant in sending out network non-duplication or syndicated exclusivity notices. Recent developments arising in retransmission consent negotiations, however, make clear that stations need to be more diligent than ever in making sure that they send out timely notices, and that the notices conform to all FCC requirements.

Look for the FCC’s much-anticipated rulemaking proposal on retransmission consent reforms to be voted on at the March 3 open meeting. That is according to sources familiar with the FCC’s agenda plans, who say to look for it on the tentative agenda list Thursday (Feb. 10) that the commission releases three weeks before the meeting.

U.S. TV broadcastersface a competitive situation similar to a prizefighter who’s forced to wear a straitjacket when facing the World Heavy Weight Champion.That’s the view of Mark Aitken, director of advanced technology at Sinclair Broadcast Group. On the one hand, they are required by law to transmit DTV using the ATSC A/53 standard, and on the other, they are being pushed into a knockdown, drag-out battle with wireless providers that covet their spectrum and are being cheered on by the FCC.

Late Thursday, the FCC released an Order laying the groundwork for the first national test of the Emergency Alert System. The order modifies the FCC’s rules to authorize such tests as well as to establish the ground rules for conducting them.

The FCC will now require documentation of all ex parte meetings and other oral communications between outside parties and commission staffers on issues under its consideration, not just those dealing with new information or new arguments, and the Enforcement Bureau will be empowered to impose fines for violations.

The Office of Management and Budget is currently considering whether to approve a revised version of FCC Form 303-S, the “Application For Renewal of Broadcast Station License” that all commercial and noncommercial full-power radio and television stations will be required to use when they file for their next renewal of license. The FCC has made several modifications to the prior version of the form.

The FCC struck back Monday at Verizon and MetroPCS’  challenge to its new net neutrality guidelines. In several motions filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the FCC asked the court to dismiss both companies’ complaints.

the former FCC commissioner says that “incentive auctions are little different from expropriation of property, far worse than the usual government condemnation of property under eminent domain.” He goes on to say “There is a better way: Simply rezone broadcast spectrum to permit other uses, and let anyone buy and sell it.”

A controversy has bubbled up in connection with the FCC proceeding to set the date by which Low Power Television stations will be required to convert to digital operations. In comments filed in the proceeding to set the end date, the question of when to terminate analog broadcasting became tangled in another issue — whether ch. 6 LPTV stations should be allowed to continue to be be used to broadcast FM programming.

Many broadcasters are already worried about declining viewers, and now they say the government wants to take away something more: the airwaves themselves.

The FCC’s approval of Comcast’s $13.75 billion takeover of NBCU requires the O&Os to air “thousands of additional hours of local news and information programming.” In addition, the agency said, some of the stations must enter into cooperative arrangements with locally focused nonprofit news organizations and they must provide free, on-demand local programming. According to an FCC source, NBC and Telemundo stations must also air a fourth hour of children’s programming each week.

No, the FCC has not instituted an early-filing program so licensees can get that pesky license renewal out of the way. Instead, in 2010 it cleaned up television license renewal applications that had been hanging around since the last renewal cycle, issuing nearly $350,000.00 in children’s television fines to some 20 licensees. So, here is an update on a kidvid requirement that stations often overlook, but which the FCC does not.

The commission is preparing to revisit the rules that govern the retransmission of local television stations by cable and satellite companies. The industry will be looking for the first signs of a reform plan when the FCC releases its February meeting agenda on Tuesday.

Eight applicants have met the initial criteria to bid for two full-power TV station licenses. The FCC on Thursday released the status of short-form applications in the upcoming auction of VHF licenses for Atlantic City, N.J., and Seaford, Del. Neither state had a full-power VHF licensee after the June 2009 DTV transition. Federal law requires each state to have at least one.

Federal regulators aren’t expected to decide this week on whether to approve a merger of Comcast and NBC Universal, as they weigh placing conditions on Internet access, as well as other requirements, according to sources familiar with the reviews.

With the FCC and the Justice Department gearing up to give their blessing to Comcast Corp.’s proposed deal to take control of General Electric Co.’s NBC Universal, a flurry of last-minute lobbying is being done by both those in favor and those against the marriage of the two media giants.

The commission makes permanent the position he’s held on acting basis since last June.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski will tell Consumer Electronics Show attendees that broadcasters who are not making “effective use of the capabilities of their spectrum” should have it put to a “higher use for other purposes.”

The Comcast-NBC Universal transaction was not on the agenda for the next FCC open meeting, leaving insiders to speculate whether the FCC will vote on the joint venture before Jan. 25.

The Media Bureau celebrated the end of 2010 (or maybe the arrival of 2011) by serving warning that, for every single job opening — no exceptions — broadcasters must notify multiple recruitment sources that are likely to refer applicants from diverse backgrounds. Exclusive reliance on over-the-air announcements and Internet postings will not do the trick.

2011 will be a busy year for broadcasters with retrans, renewals and indecency, as well as for cable and satellite operators as well.

The public interest groups say the FCC record is not complete without Comcast programming contracts; the MSO maintains it complied with info requests.

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals is reviewing its earlier decision on the FCC’s$550,000 fine of CBS for Janet Jackson’s partially exposed breast on the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show.

The rules, expected to be approved today, would prohibit phone and cable companies from abusing their control over broadband connections to discriminate against rival content or services, such as Internet phone calls or online video, or play favorites with Web traffic.

America’s beloved television is getting an extreme Internet makeover, and questions over what shows viewers will see online and how much they pay for them could soon be resolved by the FCC. In coming weeks, the commission is expected to decide on Internet access regulation and a proposed merger by Comcast and NBC Universal that could chart a new course for the future of TV.

Incoming House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton counseled the FCC to not delay a decision on the Comcast-NBCU merger, saying it could create more uncertainty for businesses “looking to invest, innovate and create jobs.”

Regulators are pushing for tough conditions to ensure that Comcast can’t stifle online video services by withholding content or pushing up prices for marquee NBC programs at a time viewers are starting to turn to the Internet for recent movies or the latest episodes of Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock and other popular TV shows.

“I do not believe the FCC should reinstate the Fairness Doctrine.” That was the message Friday from FCC Commissioner Michael Copps to Rep. Joe Barton.  Barton had asked Copps to clarify that point after the commissioner’s speech at Columbia University where he talked about the government applying a more stringent public interest test on broadcasters.

Last night, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski poked fun at his reputation, fair or not, for indecision; for his lawyerly evasion of questions; his aborted attempt at Title II reclassification; and other criticisms leveled by both industry and the public interest community. But he had plenty of deprecation left over for everybody else, including NCTA’s Kyle McSlarrow, Verizon, Free Press and even his predecessors in the FCC’s big chair.

FCC Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake announced today that the FCC plans to issue a proposed rulemaking on retransmission consent to provide “some limited guidance” on what good faith bargaining entails

The rules governing the use of unlicensed devices in TV white spaces will officially go into effect Jan. 5, 2011. The rules, adopted by the FCC in September, have been published in the Federal Register, the final step of codification.

While the FCC hopes to take back some of TV’s valuable space by tempting broadcasters to voluntarily put it up for auction, it’s also threatening to get some by repacking the band. But what’s most galling is that it still hasn’t released its repacking models that spell out exactly what it wants to do. They’ve been “forthcoming” since March.

FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps says TV and radio stations should be required to air more public interest programming as a condition of license renewal.