Three Pittsburgh stations went live in ATSC 3.0, said Sinclair Tuesday: Sinclair’s WPGH-TV, WPNT and Hearst’s WTAE-TV. “The participating stations have cooperated to ensure that all existing programming remains available to all viewers,” including on pay TV, said Sinclair. “Pittsburgh is just the second city in which different broadcasters have cooperated to launch full time commercial ATSC 3.0 service,” blogged BitPath President John Hane. “WPNT and WPGH-TV will soon be important links in the BitPath network.”

The FCC issued the order wrapping up dangling aspects of ATSC 3.0 rules, as expected (see 2006050054). Stations with fewer than three potential simulcasting partners would be eligible to receive simulcast waivers, if they commit to taking reasonable efforts to provide ATSC 1.0 service during the transition. That could be by providing consumers with converters, but the order said the agency would consider other ideas. Waiver applications that include providing free converters to consumers will be looked upon “favorably,” the order said. The order doesn’t grant a blanket waiver to noncommercial educational or low-power TV stations, as some commenters sought. The order also doesn’t allow broadcasters to use vacant channels for the transition, and rejects reconsideration petitions of the 3.0 order from the American Television Alliance and NCTA. “If warranted by market conditions in the future, we may revisit the need for permitting broadcasters to use vacant channels as transition channels,” the order said. Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks dissented in part, raising concerns about the costs passed on to consumers and the order’s lack of requirements that 3.0 patents be licensed on a reasonable and nondiscriminatory basis. That’s inconsistent with past policy, and in this case, “a single broadcaster holds the essential ATSC 3.0 patents and thus can set pricing and terms for any other broadcaster seeking to transition,” said Starks. Sinclair and affiliates are said to hold several 3.0 patents. “By failing to follow history here, FCC is conferring special status on those who hold key patents without requiring fair terms in exchange,” Rosenworcel said. Commissioner Mike O’Rielly voted to approve but said broadcasters should be able to self-certify they can’t find sharing partners. O’Rielly and both Democrats said they agreed with the decision to keep transitioning broadcasters off vacant channels. “This is clearly a premature matter that can be examined later, if absolutely necessary,” he said. The order said stations’ significantly viewed status doesn’t change while their 1.0 channel is being hosted by another broadcaster.

A “vastly unacceptable” lack of station ownership by minorities contributes to unrest and concerns about racial inequality, said the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters in a statement Monday. “If our corporate and government leaders are serious about effecting change, they should include plans to strengthen the voices of the Black community over the nation’s airwaves.” African Americans are 13% of U.S. population but own 1.6% of commercial radio stations, 1.8% of TV, NABOB said. Black broadcasters are also hampered by advertisers, agencies and government entities that don’t advertise on black-owned stations, financial institutions that “refuse to invest in or loan money to Black owned broadcasters,” FCC policies that promote media consolidation, and “the failure of the largest media companies to include adequate levels of Black participation on their boards,” NABOB said. The group urged advertisers and investors to reverse such policies, called for reinstatement of the minority tax certificate, and said the FCC “should restrict industry consolidation, not promote it.”

Stations in less populated areas should pay lower annual FCC regulatory fees than those in larger population centers with more economic opportunity, commented Redrock Broadcasting and Media Advisors, posted to docket 20-105 Friday (see 2005130057). It responded to an NPRM on 2020 regulatory fees. Re-index the market size increments to calculate regulatory fees to increments of 50,000 people instead of 350,000, they asked: The current structure “imposes a disproportionate burden on stations serving markets at the lower end of this population range.” It would be “insensitive” to raise such fees for broadcasters during the pandemic, Redrock and Media Advisors said. “Since the start of the pandemic, revenue from advertising has decreased by double digits." NAB said Thursday the FCC should allow broadcasters to pay regulatory fees with an installment plan (see 2006110052). Spanish Broadcasting System and Televicentro of Puerto Rico praised FCC proposals to adjust regulatory fees for stations in Puerto Rico to reflect the island’s recent steep population decrease: “Adjusting the island’s population count in TVStudy to 3.10 million, and assessing fees based on service to a maximum of 3.10 million viewers, is a practical, commendable plan."

The FCC Media Bureau’s Audio Division seeks comment by Aug. 3, replies Aug. 18 in docket 20-155 on a proposed change to FM allotments to assign channel 238A in Edgefield, South Carolina, to Georgia-Carolina Radiocasting, said an NPRM in Thursday’s Daily Digest. It would be the community’s first local service, the NPRM said.

A new coalition of developers and manufacturers aims to speed the transition to ATSC 3.0. The NextGen Video Information Systems Alliance includes BitRouter, Digital Alert Systems, Hitachi-Comark, Triveni Digital and Verance, the group said Thursday. “The Alliance's initial objective is to ensure the successful deployment of enhanced emergency information solutions across the ATSC 3.0 ecosystem,” the release said. "This is a time of significant transformation, and forward-thinking companies are exploring how to leverage new technology areas like ATSC 3.0," said alliance Chairman Edward Czarnecki, senior director-strategy and government affairs for Monroe Electronics, which is affiliated with Digital Alert Systems.

Most new technical rules for low-power FM stations take effect July 13, says the FCC in Thursday's Federal Register (see 2004230046). Parts of those rule changes that involve information collection and reporting won’t take effect then because of Paperwork Reduction Act delays from the Office of Management and the Budget.

The FCC has “no discretion to grandfather Franken FMs,” said NPR in an ex parte letter posted in docket 03-185 Wednesday, referring to channel 6 analog low-power TV stations that broadcast content that can be received by FM radios. The agency “lacks authority to rewrite the statutory scheme to permit continued operation of LPTV analog operations after the LPTV digital transition,” said the public radio programmer. The deadline for all LPTV stations to transition to digital is July 13, 2021. Some channel 6 LPTV stations sought permission to continue an analog signal after the transition because their digital TV signal won’t be receivable by FM radios and their content is primarily audio (see 2001230021). “Allowing analog Franken FMs to continue after the DTV deadline is contrary to the Communications Act, Commission regulations, and fundamental federal communications policy,” NPR said.

The FCC Enforcement Bureau mailed the second batch of equal employment opportunity audit letters for 2020 Tuesday, said a public notice. Each year, about 5% of all radio and television stations are selected for EEO audits.

The FCC Media Bureau proposed a $7,000 forfeiture for a Salem, Virginia, AM station that was operating without a license after the license was allowed to expire in 2019, said an order and notice of apparent liability Thursday. Ward Broadcasting told the bureau its DWTOY’s license application wasn’t filed on time because of the death of the company’s sole shareholder in 2019. The order grants Ward license renewal for two years instead of the usual eight. “Because it had previously been licensed to operate the Station, the latter transgression is not comparable to ‘pirate’ operations, which typically have been subject to forfeitures of $10,000 or higher,” said the items.