The FCC broadcast ownership review is likely to remain separate from a reworking of cable caps, agency officials said. They said Chmn. Martin tried to merge the rulemakings but lost out because colleagues wanted them addressed separately. In 2006 Martin twice floated proposals to meld the efforts, most recently around Sept., an FCC official said. Other Commissioners didn’t find a good reason to combine the broad media limit review -- prompted by a 3rd U.S. Appeals Court, Philadelphia remand -- with a cable limit reworking ordered in 2001 by the U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., FCC officials said.

A 3-day conference seeks to help women and minorities bid on 42 TV stations and 448 small-market radio broadcasters that Clear Channel is trying to sell (CD Nov 17 p1). The event has drawn over 120 registrants, said Clear Channel, lauded in 2000 by activists for divesting 40 stations to minority firms as part of a large transaction. Conference topics include regulation, business planning and investment issues key for would-be station buyers. Participants get face time with Clear Channel executives, media brokers, communications lawyers and broadcast engineers. Today (Fri.), private equity firms will meet minority and female executives. Held at NAB’s D.C. hq, the event is sponsored by Clear Channel.

EchoStar’s distant signal deal with NPS likely won’t be affected by the Supreme Court decision not to hear the DBS provider’s appeal of a related matter, said communications lawyers. The company worked with NPS to deliver distant signals after it lost legal challenges against broadcasters. On Mon., the high court said it won’t hear EchoStar v. Fox, in which the DBS company sought to overturn an 11th U.S. Appeals Court, Atlanta ruling that it violated distant network subscriber rules (CD Jan 9 p12). The Supreme Court’s decision wasn’t surprising, because the court hears very few cases, a lawyer said: “This is kind of a nonevent.” Mon.’s denial ends EchoStar’s appeal of the 11th Circuit ruling, said the attorney. One of the next steps in the distant signal battle may come with broadcast affiliate groups appealing a Dec. ruling by U.S. Dist. Court, Ft. Lauderdale to the 11th Circuit in a separate case, 2 lawyers said. Broadcasters have filed a notice of appeal. The Ft. Lauderdale court had ruled that NPS can continue to sell distant networks to Dish Network subscribers. NPS leases a transponder from EchoStar to transmit the signals to eligible customers.

New FCC Media Bureau (MB) chief Monica Desai was praised by lawyers for an ability to quickly learn about the great breadth of telecom and communications issues that she has dealt with her 7 years at the FCC. Incoming International Bureau Chief Helen Domenici also won plaudits, as agency staffers said they were pleased with her selection. The appointments were announced late Mon. by Chmn. Martin (CD Jan 9 p9).

The Jan. 17 agenda meeting may feature a review of 2006 accomplishments and the tasks ahead, with presentations by bureau chiefs and other officials, said FCC staffers. Late Tues., no orders had circulated on the 8th floor for the event, we're told. That was subject to change, because the Commission isn’t due to release a so-called Sunshine meeting notice until today (Wed.), said the officials. Commissioners, didn’t vote on any items at the Jan. 20, 2006, meeting, which went for presentations from bureau chiefs. If Chmn. Martin decides to seek a vote on any rules next week, a CPNI item is a possibility, sources have said.

The year ends on a mixed note for AT&T’s burgeoning U- verse IPTV service. The company is selling the product in fewer markets than it had expected, amid what analysts say are technical glitches common among new video products. AT&T’s video rollout may be significantly bolstered by state and federal regulatory actions such as the FCC’s Dec. 20 franchising order (CD Dec 21 p1).

Cable operators filing FCC Form 1240 can raise rates 1.89% for last quarter, the FCC said. The Q3 inflation adjustment figure compares to 3.31% in the year ago period. The figure applies to the “non-external cost portion of their rates for inflation,” said a Media Bureau public notice. On another cable rate subject, an FCC staffer said commissioners didn’t appear to be concerned that Chmn. Martin decided to stop using a benchmark figure in the most recent rate survey. The survey, covering Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2004, said it excluded the cost per channel because customers can’t buy individual networks (CD Dec 28 p7). Some executives have pointed to that figure as a better measure of rates because it partly accounts for additional services customers get; NCTA has said it favors scrapping the report entirely. There wasn’t 8th-floor discussion about the decision to exclude the per- channel figure, said a Commission staffer. Commissioners’ attention was drawn to the video franchise order, voted on Dec. 20 along with the rate survey, the person said: “We didn’t really spend time focusing on that.” By the time the report was released Wed., it was old news because it had been ready -- at least in draft form -- since Feb., said the official.

The FCC is unlikely to grant petitions to deny TV license renewals to 28 stations in 3 markets if recent history is any guide, said a lawyer for groups asking the FCC to act based on claims the broadcasters aired little local political news (CD Dec 27 p6). In the latest petition to deny, Ore. Alliance to Reform Media asked the Media Bureau to designate licenses of 8 stations in and around Portland, Ore., for a hearing before an administrative law judge. The FCC hasn’t taken that step for at least a decade, said attorney Andrew Schwartzman. If the bureau decided a petition merited a hearing, it would likely seek a vote of the full Commission, even though it could act under delegated authority, he said: “Hearing designations are so rare that if the bureau found merit to consider designating a hearing, they would almost certainly bounce it to the full Commission.”

The FCC shouldn’t renew licenses of 8 TV stations in and around Portland, Ore., because they showed little news on local elections in 2004, said a petition from the Ore. Alliance to Reform Media. A study by the Center for Media & Public Affairs found that 4.9% of news during the 4 weeks before the election concerned the campaign. Of the 25.5 hours of such coverage, 78% focused on the presidential race, the study found. The findings are similar to those in studies by the Center of TV news in Chicago and Milwaukee, cited in separate petitions to deny renewals (CD Nov 2/05 p5). Broadcasters have said such studies undercount election coverage by not taking into account such events as commercial-free coverage of political debates. The Ore. study likewise should have taken such debate coverage into account, said Dennis Wharton, NAB exec. vp: “That’s just absurd on its face.” Of the results overall, he said, “I don’t consider that a failing of the system,” because Portland-area TV stations seem to have covered hot topics like a medical marijuana state ballot initiative and the presidential campaign since Ore. was a tossup state. Stations licenses in Ore. and Wash. are up for renewal by the FCC in Feb. The stations listed in the Alliance’s petition to deny renewal are: KATU, KOIN, KGW, KPTV, KNMT, all in Portland; KPXG and KRCW in Salem, Ore.; and KPDX Vancouver, Wash. The group said it works to promote “public-interest media.” The Commission typically doesn’t grant such license denial requests based on news coverage alone, said Wharton, citing the agency’s recent denial of another request in Chicago. “It would be unprecedented for the FCC to reject a license renewal based on election coverage,” he said. He said industry polling supports the claim that “by and large, broadcasters do a tremendous job of covering elections.”

Four municipal coalitions are discussing what action to take in response to the FCC’s franchise order (CD Dec 21 p1). Cities believe it may overstep Commission authority, said Libby Beaty, exec. dir. of the National Assn. of Telecom Officers & Advisors Her group is collaborating with the National Assn. of Counties, the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The groups sent Chmn. Martin a letter Dec. 12 saying Title 6 of the Telecom Act doesn’t allow the agency to intervene in franchising. The Alliance for Community Media, which advocates on behalf public access channels, also is involved in the discussions, Beaty said.