By David Oxenford on Posted in Multiple Ownership Rules,Public Interest Obligations/Localism,TelevisionAt its December meeting, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to review the national ownership cap for over-the-air television, which limits one owner from having attributable interests in television stations reaching more than 39% of the national audience. That Notice was published in the Federal Register on Friday, setting February 26 as the… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in Multiple Ownership Rules,TelevisionYesterday, the FCC issued a Public Notice declaring the proposed acquisition of the Tribune television stations by Sinclair Broadcast Group a “permit-but-disclose” proceeding. This is not an unusual occurrence in a large broadcast combination where policy issues may be considered. This simply allows the parties to the transaction, and any other party who files comments… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in Digital Television,Multiple Ownership Rules,TelevisionYesterday, in a very short one page decision, the US Court of Appeals rejected the requests filed by public interest groups to stay the effect of the FCC’s decision to reinstate the UHF discount (see our article here about some of the issues involved in this stay request, and our article here about the reinstatement… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in Multiple Ownership Rules,TelevisionWhen the FCC last month reinstated the UHF discount (see our article here), it opened the door to ownership consolidation in the television industry, and immediately deals were announced based on the discount being back in place. But public interest groups in DC, fearing too much consolidation, asked the FCC to stay the effect of… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in Multiple Ownership Rules,TelevisionThe FCC yesterday released the agenda for its April 20th meeting – and it includes three broadcast items. Two deal with noncommercial broadcasters (undoing the requirement for noncommercial broadcasters to get Social Security Numbers from its board members so that they can acquire an FCC Registration Number for them – see our articles here and… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in Digital Television,Multiple Ownership Rules,TelevisionAs we wrote here, the FCC has requested comments on a petition for reconsideration of the elimination of the UHF discount – which had counted UHF stations as reaching only half of their market in assessing an owner’s compliance with the National Ownership Rules for TV. These rules limit an attributable owner from having an… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in AM Radio,EEO Compliance/Diversity,General FCC,Multiple Ownership RulesAfter months of speculation, Chairman Wheeler today announced that he will step down from the FCC on Inauguration Day. Together with the Senate not confirming the renomination of Commissioner Rosenworcel (as the Senate is effectively on recess and not expected to return before the end of the term, her renomination will almost certainly not be… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in FM Radio,Multiple Ownership Rules,TelevisionWhile several parties went to Court to challenge the FCC’s decision ending the UHF discount, one broadcaster decided instead to ask for reconsideration. That petition for reconsideration has now been published in the Federal Register, giving interested parties until December 27 to comment, and other parties until January 6 to reply to any comments that… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in Digital Television,Multiple Ownership Rules,TelevisionLast week, the FCC released its order eliminating the UHF discount. Under this discount, a TV broadcaster, in determining its compliance with the national ownership limit prohibiting any owner from having attributable interests in stations serving more than 39% of the nationwide television audience, would include in its count only one-half of the audience of… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in Digital Television,Multiple Ownership Rules,TelevisionThe FCC yesterday proposed abolishing the UHF discount – which counts the audience reached by a UHF station as only one-half when computing whether the owner is approaching the 39% cap on nationwide audience that can be reached by one owner. While many FCC rulemaking proposals are very subtle, with many nuances that are important in… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in FM Translators and LPFM,Multiple Ownership Rules,Tower IssuesOn September 26, the FCC will hold its next open meeting and, according to a Public Notice released Friday, will consider several issues important to different parts of the broadcast industry. For television broadcasters, there will be concerns about the proposal to do away with the “UHF discount,” which gives UHF stations a 50% discount in determining… Continue Reading
By David Oxenford on Posted in General FCCSeptember is one of the few months without a due date for the standard regulatory filings – no renewals, EEO public file reports, and no Quarterly Issues Programs Lists or Children’s Television Reports. Instead, the big filing this month is one that applies to all commercial broadcasters (and most entities regulated by the FCC in other… Continue Reading
