A record spectrum donation of as many as 155 low-power TV stations from a non-profit religious broadcaster to a group that trains women and minorities to run stations points up the sagging market for TV stations of all types, said brokers and executives we interviewed. That Trinity Broadcasting Network, the world’s largest Christian TV network, is giving up most of its low-power TV (LPTV) stations to the Minority and Media and Telecommunications Council illustrates the recent dearth of deals for LPTV and full-power broadcasters, they said. Trinity will keep about 95 of its LPTV stations and upgrade them to digital, said attorney Colby May, who represents the broadcaster. He estimated it may cost $100,000-plus to upgrade from analog each station being donated by Trinity, which had been assessing its portfolio of 250 LPTV stations.

The burgeoning market in online video is “highly unlikely” to become a full-fledged pay-TV competitor anytime in the “foreseeable future,” Comcast, NBC Universal and NBCU parent General Electric told the FCC. Consumers and programmers alike see Web video as a complement to and not substitute for service from multichannel video programming distributors (MVPD), they said in the last round of comments on commission review of Comcast’s planned purchase of control in NBC Universal. Union and telecom foes of the deal represented by ex-FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and companies including EarthLink disagreed with Comcast and NBC Universal in filings posted Friday to docket 10-56. They and direct broadcast satellite companies contend the rapid growth of online video, in some instances including over-the-top Web programming seen on TVs, is making it more of a competitor to cable.

An overdue report to Congress on FCC efforts to increase diversity among the industries it regulates and containing recommendations for legislation has effectively recirculated at the commission for a final vote, agency officials said. An updated draft of the report, which mandated to be prepared every three years by Section 257 of the Telecom Act, was sent to commissioners Aug. 11 and doesn’t appear to be controversial, officials said. The revised report doesn’t appear to contain major revisions and sticks with the legislative recommendations of the original draft that first circulated Jan. 8 but was essentially put on hold while career FCC staffers made changes, commission officials said. The report, due to Congress last Jan. 1, drew criticism from some minority advocates for being late (CD Aug 2 p2).

The sides in a program access dispute likely will begin meeting with commissioners soon in rare joint sessions to brief them and their aides on the case that’s likely to go to the members soon for consideration, agency officials said. They said Mid-Atlantic Sports Network and Time Warner Cable representatives will meet as early as next week with the offices of Commissioners Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn and may meet later with other FCC members. Such meetings are rare in restricted proceedings on complaints, whose filings aren’t made public by the FCC as is done with rulemakings and transaction reviews. The meetings require the consent of all parties to a proceeding.

An FCC proposal to require that all pay-TV providers let devices connect to their networks by 2012 without complicated or expensive equipment such as CableCARDs and get online video drew fears of content unbundling from cable programmers, telco-TV, direct broadcast satellite providers and cable operators. AT&T, Cablevision, NCTA, Verizon and a group of seven major media companies that own cable networks were among those voicing fears that the so-called AllVid regime could lead to disaggregation of video content.

The consumer electronics and wireless industries are concerned that a potential settlement of a disagreement over whether terrestrial stations ought to pay royalties when they air music could include requirements of chips to allow cellphones to get radio broadcasts, executives favoring and opposing a deal told us. The pact on the table (CD Aug 5 p6) would bypass the Performance Rights Act -- which broadcasters worry could pass over their opposition in the waning days of this Congress -- but it isn’t a done deal, broadcast industry officials said. There appears to be wide support among broadcasters for the pact, our survey found.

FCC staffers reviewing Comcast’s planned purchase of control in NBC Universal may not complete their work this year, as the companies hope, said commission officials and industry executives not part of the ongoing staff work. They said there have been indications in private comments from commission officials familiar with the deal that an order on the multibillion-dollar transaction may not be finished in 2010. Staff work on Comcast-NBC Universal, with Internet video continuing to be a key area of focus, likely will be complete in the first quarter of 2011. though there’s still a possibility work will be done this year, commission and industry officials said. Once bureau work is done, an order will be circulated for a commission vote, which will take additional time.

The cable industry, having sat out Monday’s deal on net neutrality between Google and Verizon, isn’t likely to take part in any future agreements between supporters and opponents of rules, industry officials said. There’s little to be gained politically from cable operators’ signing on to the Google-Verizon agreement, said pay-TV executives and lawyers. Attacks on that wireline-broadband deal by many nonprofit groups supporting net neutrality -- and the lack of support from FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, at whose behest representatives of NCTA and five other bodies met unsuccessfully to seek consensus -- show that similar deals may not have support among regulators and lawmakers, industry lawyers said.

The FCC asked Congress for $4.5 million of unused funds from previous years to pay for two proceedings, required by statute, in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. It seeks $3.5 million to continue working on the National Broadband Plan (NBP) and $1 million for the 2010 media ownership review. The money would be used to hire staffers to implement the plan and to run additional workshops on media ownership and pay for studies on the issue. The request points up the overarching focus of delivering on the March broadband plan at the FCC, though it’s been overshadowed recently by net neutrality and reclassification talks, and on trying to improve on data collected for previous ownership reviews, communications lawyers said.

Talks over performance royalties for broadcasters have intensified recently, with a deal between radio and music labels on both terrestrial and streaming payments seeming more likely, industry officials said Wednesday. Such a deal has been expected by some (CD July 23 p15). The sides have held on-again, off-again conversations at the behest of members of Congress who want industry to come to an agreement about the performance royalties. Although an agreement seems closer, it’s far from certain that individual labels and owners of radio stations, which would need to approve any agreement, will sign on, industry officials said.