The FCC is seeking comment on proposed rules to require that broadcasters disclose when content is sponsored or provided by foreign governments, said an NPRM voted on Oct. 16 and released Monday (see 2009150059). Commissioner Mike O’Rielly concurred in part and approved in part and didn’t issue a statement. The other commissioners voted to approve. “We take this action in the midst of known attacks on our political processes by foreign governments and their representatives,” said Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. “This is about basic transparency and it frankly shouldn’t have taken us so long,” said Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. None of the FCC Republicans issued a statement. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., has repeatedly written Chairman Ajit Pai calling for disclosure rules. The NPRM would require disclosures if a foreign governmental entity -- as defined by Foreign Agents Registration Act -- pays a station to air material, or provides content free. The NPRM proposed requiring standardized disclosure language and applying requirements similar to those used for sponsored political ads, including a public file requirement.
Verance can address risks of fingerprint-based dynamic advertising insertion (DAI) technologies marring subscription VOD viewing, said the company. With DAI technologies “baked” into smart TVs, SVOD services and TV makers worry about the risk of “ads or measurement functions meant for broadcast being mistakenly placed into the streams” of over-the-top video services, it said. “We believe this will create a path forward for the subscription VOD and ad-supported broadcast worlds to co-exist,” said CEO Nil Shah Thursday.
The FCC Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment scheduled a virtual symposium Nov. 6 on how small and diverse broadcasters can gain access to capital, said a public notice in Friday’s Daily Digest. Hosted by the ACDDE’s Access to Capital working group and the Media Bureau, the event will include broadcasters and lenders discussing financing options and the minority tax certificate. It will also include a presentation from Nielsen and an update on pending legislation to increase broadcast ownership diversity, the PN said.
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed (in Pacer, docket 20-2315) a Dish Network interlocutory appeal Thursday in a retransmission consent fight with Cox (see 2009080002). It followed an unopposed Cox motion to dismiss in which it cited a U.S. District Court dismissing claims against Cox and Dish for not filing an amended complaint. Dish filed a second amended complaint last week (in Pacer, docket 20-cv-00570) in U.S. District Court in Chicago against Terrier Media.
Changes loosening restrictions on commonly owned radio stations in the same market duplicating programming take effect Thursday, says that day's Federal Register. The rules were approved in August on a 3-2 vote (see 2008060072).
Edge Networks is drawing cord cutters, CEO Todd Achilles told the NAB Show New York virtual event Tuesday. “They’re tired of paying over 100 bucks for a pay-TV bundle, and they want reliable service, which a lot of the streaming services don’t provide because of the unmanaged internet into their homes." The startup is having strong demand in its first market for its Evoca-branded ATSC 3.0-based content service Sept. 1 in Boise (see 2008210021), the corporate chief said. BitPath, “despite the pandemic,” this year launched seven 3.0 markets, with nine more coming, including Mobile-Pensacola going live Wednesday, said President John Hane. The “big one for this year” will be Seattle in December, with “very wide participation,” he said.
Public TV stations should be exempt from paying fees on datacasting revenue, said America's Public Television Stations and PBS in a Friday call with FCC Media Bureau staff, per a filing Monday. The statutory requirement to collect fees is related to commercial uses, the groups said. “When the revenue is used to support noncommercial services that are in the public interest, there is no need to 'recover' anything else for the public,” the stakeholders said. “Public television stations are providing remote learning opportunities through broadcast datacasting to provide educational content to student households that lack broadband connectivity.” Revenue supporting noncommercial educational activities “would not result in any unjust enrichment,” said APTS and PBS.
The FCC Media Bureau seeks comment on a proposed cap of 10 applications per participant in a 2021 window for noncommercial educational licenses, said a public notice Monday. The bureau tentatively concluded the cap is “a reasonable limit to prevent mass filings by speculators and to permit the efficient and expeditious processing of window-filed applications,” the PN said. Staff want comments on whether there should be any limit and whether 10 is the right number. Dates and procedures for the window will be issued in PNs “in the next several months,” it said.
Microsoft representatives sought additional clarity as part of an order revising the rules for TV white space devices, set for a vote Oct. 27. Microsoft spoke with commissioner aides and Office of Engineering and Technology staff, said a filing posted Friday in docket 20-36. “Make clear that a narrowband white space device can operate as a master device if it incorporates geo-location functionality and contacts the white space database to obtain a list of available channels at its location,” Microsoft advised: “Permit client narrowband white space devices to be clients to mobile and narrowband master devices, in addition to master fixed and Mode II personal/portable devices.”
Next-generation broadcast TV faces an uphill climb despite the “great job” Sinclair is doing with ATSC 3.0, Interpret Vice President Brett Sappington told a Brightcove webinar last week. “Consumers have been trained with" over-the-top, he said. "If you’re going to go to an alternative service, I think it’s more likely to go to OTT than to broadcast’s next-gen delivery." Sappington said 3.0 needs to provide something “uniquely valuable that OTT can’t do. If you can define that, you can win. If you can’t define that, you’re going to struggle.” Cord cutting hasn’t led to a meaningful increase in over-the-air viewing, said Sappington, though he’s curious to see what ATSC 3.0 does for broadcast TV. “That’s going to be a slow roll because people have to have devices, ability to access and then have to learn how to access,” he said. The new standard does allow for ways for “broadcast to grow,” he said.