The FCC should act promptly on iHeartMedia’s petition to be up 100% foreign owned, said executives in a call Monday with Matthew Berry, chief of staff to Chairman Ajit Pai, per a filing in docket 20-51. A similar call Aug. 28 was between iHeart and Pai’s media adviser, Alexander Sanjenis. Team Telecom -- DOJ, DOD and the Department of Homeland Security -- OK'd the petition in June, and similar petitions have been approved, the radio station owner said. “Grant of the Petition would clear the way for greater investment in broadcast as radio emerges from the economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.” The petition is intended to give flexibility to sell stock, and was endorsed by Commissioner Mike O’Rielly (see 1908120040).

The FCC Media Bureau granted WRNN License Co.’s unopposed market modification petition to add 10 New Jersey counties to the market of its WRNN-TV New Rochelle, New York, said an order in Wednesday’s Daily Digest.

FCC members 5-0 rejected Discount Legal’s petition for reconsideration of its revamped rules for mutually exclusive (MX) noncommercial educational license applications as being procedurally defective. Discount Legal asked the FCC to allow for secondary grants of leftover NCE licenses after the initial MX process is resolved (see 2003130077). “Discount Legal’s Petition does not allege any change in circumstances or offer any newly discovered facts, but rather, reargues points previously advanced and rejected,” Wednesday’s order said. It rejected the substance of the arguments, emphasizing allowing secondary grants would double the workload for staff and that barring such grants has been a longstanding policy. “It has been, and remains, the resolve of the Commission -- not the staff -- that the Bureau will process applications based on a ‘one-grant’ policy.” The company didn’t comment. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said an NCE FM filing window will open this year (see 2007310062).

The FCC should set the licenses of Sinclair and its sidecar companies Deerfield and Cunningham for hearing, said a petition to deny Tuesday against the renewal applications of Sinclair’s WBFF Baltimore, Cunningham’s WNUV Baltimore and Deerfield's WUTB Baltimore. Ihor Gawdiak, the Columbia, Maryland, viewer, also filed a petition to deny against the FCC’s settlement with Sinclair (see 2006290054). A “litany of documents” show “the principals of Cunningham and Deerfield are cronies of Sinclair and have no stake or risk in the business,” Gawdiak said: “They are effectively employees who serve at the whim of Sinclair.” The same ownership issues that led to the hearing designation order exist in Sinclair’s relationships with Cunningham and Deerfield, the petition said. All of Deerfield's and Cunningham's leadership has “close, multiyear connections to Sinclair or one of its controlling shareholders,” and a web of agreements limiting the decisions the companies' nominal owners can make without Sinclair’s permission meant they have no control over their daily operations, the petition said. Cunningham CEO Michael Anderson can't buy any equipment, and records appear to indicate Cunningham doesn't own any broadcast equipment, Gawdiak said. Sinclair guarantees much of Deerfield's and Cunningham's debs and compensates them for expenses, and agreements require principals of Cunningham and Deerfield Sinclair to assign the agreements to a third party of Sinclair’s choosing, the petition said. Sinclair didn’t comment.

The FCC Media Bureau canceled seven recently released political file consent decrees after discovering the stations were in compliance, said an order Monday. “Licensees have since demonstrated to the Media Bureau’s satisfaction that the radio stations identified in their respective Consent Decrees substantially complied with their political file obligations and that the Consent Decrees should be canceled.” The companies include Sumter Broadcasting, Liberty in Christ Jesus Ministry and W & V Broadcasting.

Entercom is launching its first native automotive application on select connected General Motors vehicles, it said Monday. The Radio.com in-dash app will offer local news and sports content, music stations, podcasts and on-demand audio content beginning Sept. 15.

SESAC and the Radio Music License Committee agreed to roll forward the rates from their previous public performance rates for terrestrial radio agreement until Dec. 31, 2022, said a joint news release Monday. The terms include a blanket license fee of 0.2557% of net revenue and an all-talk rate of 0.0575% of revenue, the release said. “We are pleased to carry forward the terms of the prior agreement with SESAC, which is an efficient path forward for both sides in a music licensing landscape that has become increasingly complex," said RMLC Chairman Ed Atsinger in the release. “With the agreement with SESAC, combined with the agreement earlier this year with BMI and one agreed to in late 2016 with ASCAP, the commercial radio industry has agreements in place with the major performing rights organizations except for Global Music Rights,” said Wilkinson Barker broadcast attorney David Oxenford in a blog post. Instead, stations are using interim licenses for GMR content while the rights organization and RMLC battle out their ongoing lawsuit, Oxenford said.

The FCC Media Bureau approved Marshall Broadcasting’s bankruptcy sale of stations it purchased from Nexstar to Mission Broadcasting, a company that primarily operates stations through sharing arrangements with Nexstar. Marshall acquired the stations as part of Nexstar’s 2014 purchase of stations from Communications Corp. of America, White Knight Broadcasting and Grant Broadcasting, but in 2019 filed FCC and court complaints alleging Nexstar continued to exert financial control over the stations after the sale. In April, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas approved transferring the stations to Mission. The Congress of Racial Equality, National Newspaper Publishers Association and law firm Randall and Associates filed in opposition to the transaction, but all were rejected as lacking standing in the matter, said a Media Bureau letter Monday. The oppositions raised arguments the deal would violate the FCC's ownership rules and allow Nexstar to have control over the stations. “The Opponents provide no specific support for their allegations that the transfer to Mission would violate the Commission’s rules or otherwise not be in the public interest,” the letter said. “Prompt emergence from bankruptcy is critical to the continued operation of the Stations, and facilitating prompt emergence” advances the public interest, the letter said. Nexstar, Marshall and Mission didn’t comment.

Startup Edge Networks will soft-launch its Evoca-branded ATSC 3.0-based content service Monday in Boise through an “early access” program for the first 200 subscribers who sign up at $20 a month through year-end. The offer includes a Scout-branded receiver and indoor TV antenna, since much of Evoca’s content is broadcast locally from one of two low-power 3.0 stations in Boise being leased from Cocola Broadcasting (see 2003100036 or 2003100042). The service officially starts Sept. 1 at the standard subscription price of $49 a month, offering “60+ channels with more to come.”

The FCC has the authority to keep regulatory fees the same as last year, said NAB in calls with aides to Commissioners Brendan Carr, Jessica Rosenworcel, Mike O’Rielly, and Geoffrey Starks last week, said an ex parte filing posted Friday in docket 20-105. The regulatory fee NPRM’s “blind adherence to the full-time employee model undermines its ability -- and responsibility -- to assess fees fair and equitably,” said the filing. The agency shouldn’t raise regulatory fees for radio stations when there hasn't been any change in the amount of agency attention radio requires, and when radio is disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, NAB said.