The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected an appeal by Edward Stolz of a 2015 FCC decision affirming the FCC Media Bureau’s denial of his appeal of a ruling that led to a Sacramento station owned by Stolz being sold to Entercom, in a ruling (in Pacer) released Friday. The proceeding stems from an agreement to transfer Stolz’s station to Entercom that soured, said Circuit Judge Patricia Millett, who authored the court’s opinion. “Stolz and Entercom have spent the ensuing two decades clashing before the FCC and state and federal courts,” Millett wrote. “This long-running dispute should draw closer to a conclusion today,” Millett said. The court opinion affirms arguments by Stolz that the FCC and Media Bureau shouldn’t have rejected some of his previous appeals, and castigates the agency for taking 10 years to rule on his appeal to the full commission of the Media Bureau’s initial ruling, and then arguing that he should have made supplemental filings in the proceeding earlier. “This is hardly the case for the FCC to be pointing a non-jurisdictional timeliness finger at others,” the opinion said. Though the FCC was wrong about Stolz’s procedural arguments, his arguments that the FCC erred were incorrect, the court ruled. “While Stolz wins that procedural battle, he loses the war,” Millett said. The transfer of the station didn’t go against FCC rules, and Stolz’s argument that later rule changes would have put Entercom over ownership limits in Sacramento is moot since Entercom turned in the license of its Sacramento station KDND (see 1702030074), the court said. Stolz and Entercom didn't comment.

Tegna completed buying Midwest Television’s San Diego broadcast stations, the acquirer said Thursday. The deal includes CBS affiliate KFMB-TV, CW affiliate KFMB-D2 and KFMB/AM-FM. Tegna now owns or operates 47 TV stations and two radio stations in 39 markets.

Townsquare Media will buy WOUR(FM) Utica, New York, from Galaxy Communications and immediately take over the station’s sales operations through a joint sales agreement, the buyer announced Thursday. Townsquare owns three other FMs and one AM there. Townsquare owns 317 radio stations in 67 small and mid-sized markets, making it No. 3 in the U.S., the broadcaster said.

Comments on an FCC proposal to relax rules requiring broadcasters to submit hard copies of contracts to the agency (see 1801300026) are due March 19, replies April 2, says Thursday's Federal Register. The NPRM was unanimously approved in January.

The FCC Media Bureau extended deadlines on an NPRM on changes to the national ownership cap by roughly three weeks, after NAB sought one more month, said a public notice Tuesday in docket 17-318. Comments are now due March 19, replies April 18. “Pointing to the wide range of broadcasters in the TV industry, NAB asserts that all parties to the proceeding will benefit from additional time to address relevant issues and provide ‘up-to-date data and information,’” the PN said.

The Tokyo Olympics opening in July 2020 will be “a major driver in the development of 8K infrastructure,” with NHK leading efforts to produce and broadcast Olympic programming to homes, Insight Media and Display Supply Chain Consultants reported Monday. “NHK continues to meet or exceed milestones for 8K broadcasting in 2020, as the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, will mark at least the sixth major world event since 2012 where NHK has demonstrated 8K capture and display.”

Fox is offering a set of "firewall" remedies to the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to ensure Sky News' independence. In a filing posted Monday, Fox said those remedies include a commitment to maintain a Sky-branded news service in the U.K. for at least five years; a commitment to establishing a fully independent, expert Sky News editorial board that would oversee the appointment and dismissal of the head of the organization and any changes to editorial guidelines; and a commitment that no Fox employee, officer or board member will try to influence editorial choices. Fox said the firewall remedies would sunset on completion of Disney's purchase of Fox. The CMA in January issued a preliminary finding that a Fox buy of Sky may not be in the public interest regarding media plurality (see 1801230010).

An agreement between Sinclair and DOJ under which the company agreed not to buy Tribune before Jan. 30 was extended to Feb 11, the buyer said in an SEC filing. The broadcasters must provide 10 days' advance notice to Justice they plan to consummate the deal, it said.

FCC Media Bureau partial lifting of the freeze on full-power community of license petitions (see 1801120035) takes effect Monday, the day of publication in the Federal Register. Petitions that don’t require a change in service area will now be accepted without the need of freeze waiver requests. The freeze had been in place since 2004.

National Association of Black Owned Broadcaster members were hurt by "No Urban Dictates’ and ‘No Hispanic Dictates" by advertising agencies,” NABOB said Thursday, praising American Association of Advertising Agencies for this week discouraging racially discriminatory dictates (see 1802060049). The Fair Play charter AAAA is encouraging members to sign was backed by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Tuesday.