The FCC unanimously approved a notice of apparent liability for a proposed $66,000 fine against Seward, Alaska, FM licensee Kenai Educational Media for “actions that undermine the effectiveness of the Emergency Alert System” and failing to maintain public records or respond to agency inquiries, said a Wednesday news release. Kenai’s noncommercial educational KIBH was failing to monitor EAS sources, didn't make EAS information available to staff, was in violation of staffing and public file rules, and had programmed its EAS equipment messages for a radio station serving a different geographic area, the NAL said. “A broadcaster’s failure to meet these FCC requirements is a serious offense which can pose real dangers for their communities,” the release said. Kenai Educational Media didn't comment.

If broadcasters or the FCC ask Congress to expand the $1.75 billion repacking reimbursement fund, that’s when broadcasters should seek “assistance” for FM stations affected by the repacking, Wilkinson Barker broadcast lawyer David Oxenford blogged Wednesday. Congressional intervention is possible because the total cost of the repacking was found to be more than the reimbursement fund last week (see 1707140070). “There is no provision in the law providing for reimbursement of expenses incurred by FM stations for the costs they incur due to the effects of the TV repacking process,” Oxenford said. With an NAB reconsideration request on the repacking pending and lobbying around the vacant channel order heating up, broadcasters “need to stay” alert to repacking developments, Oxenford said.

ATSC 3.0 includes “the accessibility tools” necessary to comply with FCC rules for closed captioning, said NAB and CTA in a meeting with aides to Chairman Ajit Pai and staff from the Media Bureau, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau and the Office of General Counsel Thursday, an ex parte filing said. It said the 3.0 petition was intended to show that the agency has “previously approved technologies closely related to the Next Gen TV standard for closed captions in the past,” not “elide the requirements of Section 79.1 with respect to the types of programming that must be captioned.” ATSC 3.0 devices “will fully meet their accessibility obligations,” CTA and NAB said Monday in docket 16-142. The A/343 document, approved as a final ATSC 3.0 standard in December, defines the required technology for closed caption and subtitle tracks over multiple transports.

The “accelerated pleading cycle” proposed by the FCC for comments on Sinclair's buying Tribune is “clearly inadequate,” said Common Cause in a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Monday in docket 17-179. The applications are “woefully deficient” in demonstrating public interest benefits and the FCC should require additional information and defer the pleading cycle until that information is added to the record, the group said. It backed a similar request last week by Dish Network, Public Knowledge and the American Cable Association (see 1707130068).

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will conduct a nationwide emergency alert system test either Sept. 27 or, as a backup, Oct. 4, FEMA said in a letter posted Friday in FCC docket 15-94 to Public Safety Bureau Chief Lisa Fowlkes. The proposed test would be “originated in the same manner” as the national test conducted last September, FEMA said. Meantime, a dedicated EAS event code for blue alerts would facilitate the adoption of new blue alert plans in the 23 states that don’t yet have one, and a national blue alert network would help save police lives, said the National Association of Police Organizations in comments posted in FCC docket 15-94 Monday. “Lack of a dedicated Blue Alert EAS event code is one of the main obstacles to states adopting and using Blue Alert plans,” the filing said. “With the number of law enforcement officer assaults, injuries, and deaths increasing sharply in recent years, a functioning National Blue Alert Network, with all states participating, is vital.” Commissioners approved an NPRM at their June meeting (see 1706220045).

The BBC served 24.1 million stream requests during this year’s Wimbledon tennis championships via BBC Sport and BBC iPlayer, making it the most streamed Wimbledon in history, the broadcaster said in a Monday announcement. The most popular match was the July 10 “epic” that Gilles Muller won over Rafael Nadal after 66 games, generating 1.4 million stream requests, it said. “With more people streaming this year’s tournament than ever before, BBC Sport also saw record numbers of users signing in,” it said. During the second week of the tournament a weekly record of 2.1 million “unique browsers” signed into BBC Sport, it said.

The Media Bureau is seeking comment on proposed waivers of the channel substitution freeze and contour extension freeze for Gray TV’s KYES-TV Anchorage, it said in an NPRM released Monday in docket 17-187. The Media Bureau believes the waivers would serve the public interest and that Gray’s proposal “warrants consideration,” the NPRM said. Gray committed to improving the station’s service to viewers when it acquired KYES last year under a failing station waiver, the NPRM said. “Rather than remain at a remote, frequently powerless site and expend large sums on a new antenna and transmission line,” Gray seeks to “move KYES to the transmitter site of sister station KTUU and broadcast from an existing broadband antenna shared by three other stations,” the NPRM said.

The FCC “has the opportunity to seize the momentum” from the end of the incentive auction “to transition ATSC 3.0 through an organic, market-driven process,” CTA told members of the Media Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology in Tuesday meetings, said an ex parte notice filed Thursday, and posted Friday in docket 16-142. The petition asking the commission to allow broadcasters to transmit using ATSC 3.0's physical layer "was filed over a year ago," in April 2016 (see 1604130065), “but industry still does not have the certainty needed to move forward,” CTA said. The South Korean transition to ATSC 3.0 is “driving industry” to deploy TVs with dual ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 tuners, and “the current prevalence of smart TVs will smooth the consumer transition to ATSC 3.0,” it said. ATSC, CTA and other standards organizations “are working in parallel to develop standards and best practices for the transmission standard ATSC 3.0 that will continue to allow industry to meet its legal and regulatory obligations, including those related to accessibility,” it said. CTA would like "for the FCC to issue its Order soon" on ATSC 3.0's final rules, said Julie Kearney, vice president-regulatory affairs, Friday when asked what sort of certainty CTA seeks from the commission. "We know that it hopes to, but we really want it issued," Kearney said of the order. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in February he hoped to have the order authorizing ATSC 3.0 as a final voluntary standard by year-end, while Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said authorization of the final standard could occur “hopefully by Halloween" (see 1702230060).

The FCC Media Bureau issued a protective order for confidential information that will be submitted as part of its review of Sinclair buying Tribune, said a public notice in docket 17-179 Friday. The order includes provisions for “highly confidential” information, which can be viewed only by outside counsel and consultants, as opposed to in-house employees of companies weighing in on the deal. Public Knowledge, Dish Network and the American Cable Association asked the FCC to require Sinclair and Tribune to submit confidential contract and retransmission consent information that likely would fall under the “highly confidential” strictures (see 1707130068).

The FCC Media and Wireless bureaus created an online tutorial for AM broadcasters filing applications for FM translators, said a public notice released Thursday. The tutorial is on the website for the translator window, which the agency calls Auction 99. The PN also clarified that the auction is open to eligible AM licensees and “the proposed assignee of such an AM station.” Stations that filed in the previous FM translator application windows aren’t eligible, the PN said. The window opens July 26.