Nexstar completed its deal to buy WJZY Belmont, North Carolina, and WMYT Rock Hill, South Carolina, and divest KCPQ Tacoma, Washington, KZJO Seattle and WITI Milwaukee, said Fox and Nexstar Monday. Nexstar paid $45 million, while Fox paid $350 million. The deal is “geographically complementary” to other Nexstar stations in the mid-Atlantic and slightly reduces Nexstar’s nationwide reach for FCC ownership cap purposes, said Nexstar CEO Perry Sook.

The FCC Media Bureau approved market modification for WRNN-TV New Rochelle, New York, to include communities in five New York and New Jersey counties in the New York designated market area, it said Monday. The petition was unopposed.

The Multicutural Media Telecom and Internet Council wants the FCC to allow it become an interim operator of Entertainment Media Trust’s four St. Louis-area radio stations, after EMT’s license proceeding was dismissed with prejudice. Losing so many stations “in the nation’s 24th radio market would be unprecedented and devastating,” MMTC said, filed in docket 19-156 Monday (see 2002050015). FCC Administrative Law Judge Jane Halprin terminated EMT’s proceeding after the broadcaster ceased participating in the process, and the licenses will be pulled March 30 unless EMT seeks an application for review, broadcast attorneys said. EMT’s licenses were designated for hearing after investigations allegedly found that convicted felon Bob Romanik was controlling the stations. “Facilities such as these are entry points for new talent and entrepreneurship,” said MMTC. “They often serve under-represented, minority, multilingual, and religious constituencies.” The FCC could grant emergency relief to MMTC Broadcasting to operate the stations through a license management agreement with minority-owned Roberts Radio Broadcasting, the letter said. “Our plan is to operate them as radio incubators, generally along the lines of the incubator plan approved by the Commission in 2018.”The FCC has recognized in the past “that grants of interim authority, even if made to one of several competing applicants, can be justified where the maintenance of broadcast service is ‘immediately and imperatively necessary,’” said the group. EMT trustee Dennis Watkins didn’t comment.

NAB will be able to see how several other Las Vegas conventions deal with the coronavirus threat before the NAB Show opens April 18 for five days. Nevada so far has largely eluded the threat, and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has reported no trade-show cancellations. The authority runs the Las Vegas Convention Center. LVCC is due to host six trade shows before the NAB Show. “There are no confirmed cases in Southern Nevada,” emailed a spokesperson for the Southern Nevada Health District, which has jurisdiction for Las Vegas. The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services didn’t comment. NAB Show organizers declared Friday their event is “proceeding as planned” (see 2002280068). NAB and other shows linked to the same Feb. 26 open letter from LVCVA explaining coronavirus precautions. Health authorities have not "identified" Las Vegas and its "resort properties" as being "at higher risk," said LVCVA. It's "diligently working" with authorities "to share updates as the health and safety of our employees and guests of the destination remains our utmost priority," it said. "People who have not traveled to an area where the virus is circulating or have not had close contact with a patient who has tested positive for the virus continue to be at low risk for infection," said LVCVA. It didn't comment further Monday.

The next two to eight weeks will be “telling” for whether the coronavirus brings down additional trade shows as it did the MWC 2020 event in Barcelona (see 2002120056), Jack Buttine, president, John Buttine Insurance, told an International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) webinar Friday. CTA belongs to IAEE, as does NAB. Buttine’s firm sells event-cancellation insurance, and advises trade-show organizers to add communicable-disease coverage to their policies. “The question arises often what show organizers should tell their exhibitors if they see loss coming,” said Buttine. “The big peril facing a show is rumors. Will this show cancel or not?” He thinks “getting out in front of the rumors” through website messaging is critically important, he said. The NAB Show is "proceeding as planned" April 18-22 in Las Vegas, blogged organizers Friday. The show "is committed to ensuring our response during this challenging time is responsibly based in facts, not driven by fear," they said. "We continue to closely review all guidance from global, federal and local health authorities to implement what is needed for the good of our show community and the good of our industry." The FCC is revising its pandemic plan, in case the virus becomes one (see 2002280046).

The FCC Media Bureau seeks comment on extending the effective date of Section 642 of the TV Viewer Protection Act by six months, to Dec. 20, said a public notice Thursday. Section 642 requires MVPDs give potential subscribers a breakdown of all charges before a contract is signed, plus a 24-hour grace period for new subscribers to cancel service without penalty, it said. Comments will be due 21 days after Federal Register publication, with replies 28 days.

Gray Television will get a minority interest in Tegna’s over-the-top advertising platform Premion and resell the services in all 93 Gray markets, the companies said Wednesday. “The Premion business exceeded $100 million in revenue in 2019, and we expect double-digit growth rates,” said Tegna CEO Dave Lougee.

Comments on iHeartMedia’s petition to be up to 100 percent foreign-owned (see 1907260068) are due March 26, replies April 10, said an FCC Media Bureau public notice Tuesday on docket 20-51. The radio broadcaster seeks remedial permission after learning its bankruptcy reorganization and the purchase of a Oppenheimer -- a company that owned shares in iHeart -- by Bermuda-based company Invesco mean iHeart is 70 percent foreign-owned. Broadcasters are required to seek FCC permission to be more than 25 percent foreign-owned, but the bureau said iHeart followed the reporting rules. Commissioner Mike O’Rielly endorses iHeart’s request (see 1908120040).

DOJ, the Department of Homeland Security and DOD have given the nod to Cumulus’ petition to be up to 100 percent foreign owned (see 1905210074), said a letter posted in docket 19-143 Friday. “The Agencies hereby notify the Commission that they have no objection to the application.” Cumulus wants to allow holders of warrants and nonvoting stock to “convert or exercise these instruments in exchange for voting stock” and after that exchange, the company's foreign ownership would be at 34 percent, Cumulus said. The radio broadcaster is seeking permission to be up to 100 percent foreign owned because it believes that will increase the value of the company's shares, Cumulus has said.

The NAB Show will go ahead “as planned” April 18-22 in Las Vegas, despite the coronavirus outbreak, said the association Wednesday. NAB “is prepared to devote whatever resources necessary” to enable a “safe and productive” show, it said. It’s following all World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “guidance” and “recommended safety measures," it said. It opened a coronavirus “resource page” to give updates, it said. It’s also working with China-based exhibitors and registered attendees “to evaluate options for those unable to attend due to travel restrictions,” it said. Chinese visitors were less than 2% of the registered attendance at the 2019 show, it said.