FCC decisions to seek comment on eliminating the main studio rule and to reinstate the UHF discount were favorable to Sinclair and could undermine public confidence in the agency, Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy said in a meeting with Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel Wednesday, recounted a filing in docket 17-179. Newsmax opposes Sinclair buying Tribune, and Ruddy and the commissioner discussed and “agreed” on possible consequences of the merger, it said. Rosenworcel “reviewed with Mr. Ruddy how the proposed transaction could be utilized to force adoption of ATSC 3.0 creating a windfall for Sinclair as a result of its patents on this technology,” the news organization said. Rosenworcel in a speech last week called the new standard a tax on consumers (see 1710120057). Ruddy and Rosenworcel “agreed that the Commission should engage in a comprehensive review of media ownership rules, including seeking comment from the public and Congress before deciding on the Sinclair merger,” the filing said. They agreed the deal likely would lead to higher retransmission consent prices, it said. Rosenworcel’s office didn’t comment.

“All this talk” about ATSC 3.0 tuner mandates in smartphones is “fake news,” said an LG Electronics USA spokesman of wireless interests weighing in at the FCC since mid-September to fight what they described as broadcasters’ calls for 3.0 tuner mandates in smartphones (see 1709200016). “Broadcasters aren’t seeking mandates.” At LG, “we sure don’t see the need,” he said. LG thinks “market and competitive forces” will lead to “incorporating 3.0 tuners into smartphones on a voluntary basis,” said the representative. Embedding 3.0 reception in smartphones has “technical challenges,” he said. “But when the mobile ATSC 3.0 business opportunities for all the stakeholders -- broadcasters, wireless carriers, manufacturers -- become clearer, the engineers will find ways to make it work, and they’ll make it work well, I’m sure.” On Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel last week slamming 3.0 as a “tax on every household with a television" because consumers will be forced to buy new TVs (see 1710120057), “this is a voluntary, industry-led effort that won’t require set-top boxes. We envision a smooth, but slow ramp-up that’s going to take a number of years for this transition to take place. It’s not going to be like flipping a switch like the last one,” the rep said of the 2009 DTV switch.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit should reject former Indiana Class A broadcaster Kingdom of God’s appeal of FCC decisions revoking its license for broadcasting from an unauthorized location for more than six years (see 1701310063), the agency said in a brief (in Pacer) filed Friday. Kingdom of God was found in 2015 to have been broadcasting for several years from a different location than its license and at a different power level. Since unauthorized broadcasting doesn’t count as broadcasting under rules, its license was automatically forfeited for failing to broadcast at its licensed frequency and location for more than 12 months, the brief said. Kingdom of God argued it was broadcasting but not at the location authorized, and informed the commission of the new location in an application for special temporary authority. “The entire purpose of the Communications Act is to ensure that broadcasting takes place in accordance with the terms and conditions of licenses granted by the Commission,” the brief said. After repeated appeals to the agency and full commission, the regulator directed staff “to dismiss summarily” subsequent pleadings from Kingdom of God, the brief said. “In choosing not to broadcast from its licensed location for more than six years, Kingdom ran afoul of Section 312(g) of the Communications Act and its license expired as a matter of law.” Kingdom of God didn’t comment.

CTA is “excited about the upcoming transition to Next-Generation television and the ATSC 3.0 standard,” said President Gary Shapiro in a statement Friday when asked for reaction to FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel calling the transition to 3.0 a “tax” on TV homes because it will require consumers to buy new 3.0-capable sets (see 1710120057). ATSC 3.0 “will bring a variety of benefits to Americans who receive television programming over-the-air, including the ability to receive for free 4K Ultra High Definition programming, live television on any mobile device and advanced emergency alerts that include video and more geo-targeted information,” said Shapiro. “For the foreseeable future, broadcasters will transmit in both ATSC 1.0 and 3.0, and consumers can continue to receive OTA programming on their legacy TVs. Television viewers also will have access to converter devices that will enable them to obtain Next-Gen TV signals for viewing on their legacy displays.” The ATSC 3.0 NPRM that the FCC released in February asked whether the commission should consider requiring HDMI ports on future TVs to accommodate devices for upgrading ATSC 1.0 TVs for 3.0 reception (see 1702270059). In the NPRM, the FCC “tentatively” concluded an HDMI port requirement won’t be needed for now because the 3.0 transition will be voluntary and market-driven. By all current indications, requiring HDMI ports on future TVs appears a moot point anyway because virtually all new flat-panel TVs shipped today have HDMI ports and have had them for more than a decade. The "time is right" for the FCC to approve an order authorizing 3.0 broadcasts, NAB President Gordon Smith told Rosenworcel in meetings last week (see 1710130042).

Ion’s decision to elect must carry makes it unlikely it and Fox will be involved in a transaction, Wells Fargo analyst Marci Ryvicker emailed investors Friday. "While FOXA could still choose to do something with ION, we don't see how this could work financially for the FOX networks or affiliated stations.” It's also likely that Fox and Sinclair will reach a renewed affiliation agreement “hopefully sooner rather than later,” Ryvicker said.

DOJ antitrust thresholds would act as a check on radio groups expanding if the FCC eliminated the AM/FM subcap rules, said Beasley Media CEO Caroline Beasley and Urban One CEO Alfred Liggins on a panel at the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters Broadcast Management Conference Thursday. DOJ limits on broadcasters expanding too much in any market would stop “wholesale” consolidation of radio owners maneuvering to acquire more FM stations after subcap elimination, Liggins said. That makes elimination of the subcaps “not as scary” as it might appear to AM broadcasters, he said. Beasley and Liggins support elimination or relaxation of the subcaps, though Liggins -- who is black -- conceded that the loosening of the rule would “not be great for minority ownership.” Consolidation would be a boost to the radio industry, Liggins said. NABOB President Jim Winston said that eliminating subcaps would soon lead to the demise of the AM radio industry, with large companies likely jettisoning such stations, manufacturers ceasing to make the equipment, and AM engineers unable to find work. Proponents of AM should seek to elevate the band’s sound rather than keep rules in place that limit companies’ growth, Beasley said. Broadcasting needs the ability to consolidate, said Tegna CEO Dave Lougee. Broadcasters face more competition than they once did and must concentrate on content and specifically live and local content, Lougee said. There’s “not a great market for non-day and date specific content,” Lougee said. “What’s on the air needs to be live,” Lougee said. “That doesn’t mean it needs to be news.” Restructuring of debt-burdened iHeartMedia and Cumulus is unlikely to lead to many spun-off stations, Liggins said. Management of iHeart wants to keep “scale” and instead of offloading stations, would likely seek to grow if ownership rules are relaxed, Liggins said. Cumulus could seek some transactions, but they are likely to be station swaps that allow it to consolidate its reach to certain markets, Liggins said.

Chairman Ajit Pai Chief of Staff Matthew Berry tweeted in support of T-Mobile’s agreement with Fox to speed the repacking of WWOR-TV Secaucus, New Jersey (see 1710100067). “T-Mobile agreement with FOX is good news,” Berry said Tuesday. “Quicker wireless deployment + less gov't money spent on repacking.” T-Mobile officials said they're looking for similar opportunities to clear spectrum faster.

The FCC should require broadcasters transitioning to ATSC 3.0 to simulcast 1.0 to a similar coverage area and community of license as before the transition, said NCTA in Oct. 4 visits with aides to Commissioners Brendan Carr and Mike O’Rielly, said an ex parte filing posted Tuesday in docket 16-142. NCTA met with FCC staff on a similar matter last week (see 1710020044).

The FCC should take action on embedded markets, Connoisseur told aides to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel in a meeting Friday, said an ex parte filing posted Tuesday in docket 09-182. An embedded market is a suburban radio market identified by Nielsen as a separate radio market for purposes of reporting ratings. Radio stations in embedded markets also are considered part of parent markets, which cover an entire metropolitan area. Under current rules, the FCC measures whether a deal is within ownership rules using both markets. Instead, if a prospective owner has interests that are only within embedded markets, the deal’s compliance with ownership rules in the larger parent market shouldn’t be examined, Connoisseur said. Connoisseur's reconsideration petition (see 1707070064) proposing that change remains unopposed, the broadcaster said.

The FCC Enforcement Bureau warned two Florida pirates to cease unlicensed operation, according to notices released Friday. Jeffrey Darius of Hollywood and Brindley Marshall of Miami were each found by bureau agents to be broadcasting an unauthorized signal, the warnings said.