ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC affiliate boards will meet in person for the first time in two years at the NAB Show, the association announced Thursday. The event in Las Vegas didn't happen physically last year, and this year was delayed because of COVID-19. Affiliate officials gather Oct. 11-12 in the "closed meetings," emailed an NAB representative. For more on the event's safety precautions, see our report.
Byron Allen’s Allen Media is buying Gray's WJRT-TV Flint, Michigan, for $70 million, Gray said Wednesday. It said this smooths the path for approval of its purchase of 17 Meredith stations (see 2105030056) by removing the only market overlap. Gray said the WJRT deal is expected to close in Q3 or Q4, before Gray/Meredith is completed. Gray and Allen Media announced in April that Allen would buy 10 Quincy Media stations related to Gray/Quincy (see 2104290067).
Comcast's retransmission of WPIX New York is governed by an agreement with Nexstar, but the cable operator is ignoring the agreement to the tune of millions of dollars of unpaid retransmission consent fees, the broadcaster said in a complaint Tuesday in New York State Supreme Court in New York County. Nexstar said it sold WPIX in 2020 to Mission Broadcasting, and it and Mission have a local marketing agreement with Nexstar providing programming and other support services. It said Comcast had no objection there. When Mission told Comcast the retrans agreement between the two didn't apply to WPIX, Comcast complained to the FCC about the LMA terms. Comcast petitioned the FCC earlier this month for a declaratory ruling that Nexstar is attributed with WPIX and that its divestiture of the station as part of Nexstar buying Tribune to stay under the national ownership cap is "a sham." Comcast said it has a retrans agreement with WPIX owner Mission, yet Nexstar asserted retrans consent and other rights over WPIX. It suggested possible remedies such as ordering a rewrite of the LMA. In a statement Wednesday, Comcast said the Nexstar complaint "is just an attempt to distract from the important issues that we have brought to the FCC’s attention, including that Nexstar’s control and influence of WPIX violates the national ownership cap and the FCC’s merger conditions on its acquisition of Tribune Media.”
FCC Media Bureau OK of Sinclair’s request to substitute KBOI-TV Boise Channel 20 for 9 (see 2107020052) takes effect Wednesday, says that day's Federal Register.
Denials of two petitions for reconsideration of relaxation of some FCC technical rules for low-power FM stations (see 2106160048) take effect Aug. 13, says Wednesday’s Federal Register.
The FCC Media Bureau gave the nod to license transfers associated with Alpha Media’s bankruptcy reorganization, said an order Tuesday. It's conditioned on the reorganized company filing a petition within 30 days of emerging for a declaratory ruling to be more than 25% foreign-owned. The order denies petitions to deny from former Alpha CEO Lawrence Wilson and minority shareholder Paul Stone (see 2104160057), classifying them as informal objections. Wilson and Stone raised concerns about current CEO Bob Proffitt’s conduct and the company seeking foreign ownership. MB ruled that neither has standing. And complaints about corporate governance “are wholly outside the jurisdiction of the Commission,” the order said. Alpha Media USA would own the company’s broadcast licenses and a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. based company New Alpha. MetLife will control 43.7% of New Alpha, investment management firm Hamilton Lane will control 49%, and U.K. and Cayman Islands-based Intermediate Capital Group will control 5.8 %, the order said. New Alpha will be managed by a five-member board consisting of Proffitt and directors designated by the other stockholders.
The FCC Media Bureau canceled a proposed $1,500 forfeiture after translator owner Gerard Media argued a late renewal application was caused by an error in the FCC licensing and management system, said an order listed in Monday’s Daily Digest. The LMS listed the wrong expiration date and the error wasn’t initially corrected after staff was informed. The order cancelled the NAL and admonished Gerald on late filing for W294CY Valparaiso, Indiana. “After alerting the staff to the LMS issue in February 2020, Licensee took no steps until July of 2020 to address the continuing technical issues,” the order said. “Failure to timely file the renewal application was due to Licensee’s own lack of diligence.” Gerald Media didn’t comment.
The FCC Media Bureau proposed a $3,000 forfeiture for WPGS(AM) Mims, Florida, for not seeking license renewal application on time. It was due Oct. 1, 2019, and was filed Jan. 31, 2020, said a notice of apparent liability Monday. “The Licensee provides no explanation.” WPGS didn’t comment.
Comments are due Aug. 3, replies Aug.13 in docket 21-284 on FCC auction of 17 low-power TV and translator construction permits set to open bidding in February, said a Media Bureau public notice Friday. Auction 111 is open only to specific groups that filed for new facilities, major changes or displacement relief that were mutually exclusive, the PN said.
GeoBroadcast Solutions geotargeted radio broadcasting went online the week of June 28, the company told FCC Media Bureau Audio Division Chief Al Shuldiner and an aide to acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, per a filing posted Thursday in docket 20-401: The test is being done at Universal Media Access' KSJO(FM) San Jose, with engineering consultants Robertson and Associates. Comprehensive measurements by a larger team is next, followed by a report to be shared with FCC staff, the filing said.