The FCC Media Bureau will open a filing window for new low-power FM stations Nov. 1-8, said a public notice in Thursday’s Daily Digest. “This will be the first LPFM filing window since 2013, and we encourage potential applicants to begin familiarizing themselves with the application process,” said the PN. “The Bureau will provide detailed information about filing procedures and requirements by public notice in advance of the filing window.” LPFM advocate Rec Networks expects the window to be accompanied by a freeze on LPFM modifications, likely 30 to 60 days before the window opens.
The FCC should block Adell Broadcasting's sale of WADL Mount Clemens, Michigan, to the Nexstar-sidecar Mission Broadcasting because Nexstar would be the party in control of the station, said the American Television Alliance in comments filed Tuesday. Nexstar declined to comment. Owning the Detroit-area WADL outright would place Nexstar above the national ownership cap, ATVA said. Nexstar lists Mission’s stations as its own in its website and reports Mission’s stations as part of its financial results. Under the terms of the proposed deal, Nexstar would guarantee financing, have an option to buy WADL for no additional funds, negotiate retransmission consent for WADL, sell all the station’s advertising, and assist the station’s operations, ATVA said. “Any one or two of these things might be sufficient to raise real party in interest questions,” said ATVA. “All of them together leave little doubt that Nexstar, not Mission, will control WADL.” DirecTV made similar arguments about Nexstar’s relationship with Mission in an antitrust case in U.S. District Court in Southern New York (see 2305250001). “Unless and until Nexstar and Mission revise the transaction documents to prevent Nexstar from asserting control, the Commission should not grant the proposed transaction,” ATVA said.
A Hawaii broadcaster agreed to pay a $10,000 penalty for unauthorized transfers of control that occurred among shareholders of KRYL(FM) Haiku, Hawaii, without FCC permission, said an order and consent decree in Wednesday’s Daily Digest. Media Bureau staff discovered the issue when Hochman Hawaii Five sought to transfer the station to one of its shareholders, George Hochman, the consent decree said. Stock transfer documents submitted with the application showed that two stock transfers among HHF’s shareholders had led to transfers of control of the station without FCC sign-off. “The Parties acknowledge that any proceedings that might result from the Violations would be time-consuming and require a substantial expenditure of public and private resources” and that the settlement seeks to conserve such resources, said the consent decree.
The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America wants the FCC to deny the sale of an AM radio station to former PBS talk show personality Travis Smiley over allegations of sexual misconduct and questions about his finances, said a filing Tuesday. Smithwick and Belendiuk attorney Arthur Belendiuk, who has represented the UCCA in other filings opposing broadcasters airing programming controlled by the Russian government (see 2204060070), emailed that Smiley is “an adjudicated sexual predator” and the FCC “must add character and financial qualification issues against Smiley.” Smiley’s company Smiley Radio Properties applied to buy KBLA (AM) Santa Monica, California, from Multicultural Radio Broadcasting Licensee. Smiley’s attorney David O’Neil of Rini O’Neil said the UCCA is using Smiley as a pawn in its efforts to attack MRBL over its ownership of a station broadcasting Russian state programming. “These allegations are preposterous, Mr. Smiley is eminently qualified to hold a broadcast license,” said O’Neil. Smiley oversees the programming at KBLA, which is currently the only station west of the Mississippi “amplifying the voices of black listeners,” said O’Neil. PBS terminated Smiley’s contract in 2018 over allegations of sexual harassment. He sued the network and a District of Columbia Superior Court jury found he had violated the morals clause of his contract. “While Smiley was not found criminally liable, his actions were so egregious as to shock the conscience," said the UCCA filing Tuesday. The FCC “needs to further investigate Smiley’s repeated sexual misconduct toward his subordinate employees to determine whether he has the necessary character qualifications to be an FCC licensee,” said the UCCA filing. In further court proceedings over the collection of the $2.6 million verdict against Smiley, PBS argued Smiley moved assets around his companies to avoid paying, and Smiley filed for bankruptcy, said UCCA. The FCC “needs to designate a financial issue to determine if Smiley has the requisite financial qualification to become a Commission licensee,” said the UCCA filing. “Mr. Smiley has nothing to do with the disagreement between these two parties and looks forward to the FCC dismissing these baseless claims,” said O'Neil.
Citing Dominion Voting Systems being granted a partial summary judgment by the Superior Court of Delaware in March in its defamation case against Fox News, former Fox Broadcasting executive Preston Padden said Thursday the FCC should question parent company Fox's character qualifications to hold broadcast licenses for its broadcast TV stations. In a Daily Beast opinion piece, Padden said the record in that case showed Fox management and Fox News personalities knew the 2020 election had not been stolen but didn't report that. "That means that the false news was presented knowingly," he said. "It is hard to imagine an issue that more directly impacts a broadcast licensee’s character qualifications." Fox Corp. and the FCC didn't comment.
The updated low-power television and TV translator services rules adopted in April (see 2304180055) are now in effect, the FCC Media Bureau said Monday.
Claiming Entravision Holdings "apparently willfully and repeatedly violated" FCC rules on timely filings of its WJAL Silver Spring, Maryland, quarterly issues/programs lists and children's TV programming reports, the FCC Media Bureau said Monday that Entravision should pay a fine of $18,000. Entravision didn't comment.
Low-power television station WWOO-LD in Boston applied for an experimental license from the FCC to broadcast in 5G, it said Monday. 5G broadcasting is a method of using broadcast spectrum to transmit data that can be received by existing 5G devices, Frank Copsidas, president of the LPTV Broadcasters Association, said in an interview Saturday. Qualcomm and XGen Networks are also involved in the undertaking. 5G broadcast is an alternate method of datacasting from ATSC 3.0, which requires devices to have 3.0-capable receivers to get the signal. “ATSC 3.0 is a huge step forward for full power stations, but challenges remain,” said WWOO’s website. 5G broadcasting is more suited to LPTV stations because of interference concerns, Copsidas said. Full-power broadcasters using the technology would interfere with a huge swath of other 5G signals, whereas LPTV stations have a more reduced reach, he said. “As a broadcaster, WWOO will air one programming stream and data stream,” said a WWOO news release. “Software and apps for smartphones, tablets, and commercial receivers have been or in the process of being developed.” The application still needs FCC approval, and the test facility hasn’t yet been built, Copsidas said.
The FCC Media Bureau blocked a Florida broadcaster from receiving an NCE license after finding it didn’t include correct ownership details in its application, said a letter in Wednesday’s Daily Digest. Key West Radio’s application listed three members of the Stebbins family as officers, but didn’t list John and Peter Stebbins, two brothers whose company 305 Community Radio was the target of a 2019 FCC investigation over operating an LPFM at an unauthorized location. In connection with that investigation, the Media Bureau required any future applications from the Stebbins brothers for the next five years to include disclosures about that investigation. The KWR application didn’t include those disclosures and didn’t name the brothers as officers of the company, but John Stebbins was listed as an officer in filings with the state of Florida in 2021 and 2022. KWR argued the listings with Florida were a mistake and the brothers aren’t officers, but the Media Bureau was unpersuaded, the letter said. The Bureau "will not allow an applicant to ‘simply disavow its duly adopted corporate articles and Bylaws, claiming extra-legal considerations, in order to avoid adverse legal consequences,” the letter said. The bureau was informed of KWR’s leadership structure in a petition to deny from Frequency Zero, another, mutually exclusive applicant for the same NCE license as KWR. With KWR out of the running, Frequency Zero is now a tentative selectee to receive a license, the letter said. The disclosure requirement for 305 Community Radio was increased to ten years, and future applications from 305 now must include disclosure of this application incident along with the 2019 information, the letter said
State Emergency Communications Committees will now be able to file state emergency alert system plans year-round, said updated guidance released by the FCC Public Safety Bureau in Tuesday’s Daily Digest. The changes will “streamline the Bureau’s review and approval process for updated plans,” the public notice said. The PN also provides guidance for SECCs on amending their EAS plans to seek approval for updated assignments on which sources stations monitor for alerts. “Previously, SECCs could file EAS Plans in [the Alert Reporting System] for review and approval only once annually,” the PN said. "Although the traditional monitoring waiver process will continue to be available, the Bureau encourages SECCs to use the newly automated EAS Plan amendment process incorporated into ARS whenever possible,” the PN said. SECCs should configure their monitoring by assigning as many EAS Participants as possible “to directly monitor (with no intermediate links) one or more sources that receive the National Emergency Message (EAN) signal directly from the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” the PN said.