Revisions to the application process for noncommercial educational broadcast licenses and low-power FM stations shouldn't treat boards of such stations as owners (see 1905210069), said 54 NCE TV and radio licensees, among replies posted in docket 19-3 through Wednesday. The group includes universities and state educational authorities. The idea that a government agency or public university is owned by its governing board is ”conceptually misguided,” they said. Don't change much about the current process for handling mutually exclusive LPFM applications, said Center for International Media Action's sole staffer Pete Tridish. “You're doing great, FCC!” Allowing groups to band together to make their applications more viable encourages working together and helpful behavior, he said: “A system where groups can win by being nice and respectful, rather than buying a victory with lawyers and engineers and consultants: that is a treasure.” The FCC should improve policies requiring site assurances to prevent gamesmanship by applicants, said LPFM group REC Networks. Don't allow applicants to get around rules barring former radio pirates by changing board members, REC said.

The FCC Enforcement Bureau mailed the second batch of equal employment opportunity audit letters for 2019 Thursday, said a public notice in Tuesday’s Daily Digest. Each year, about 5 percent of all radio and television stations are selected for EEO audits.

Connecticut Public Broadcasting Inc. failed to address substantive points raised in a PMCM application for review (see 1906070074) appealing CPBI’s move of WEDW Stamford, Connecticut, from Bridgeport, replied PMCM, posted Tuesday. CPBI didn’t sufficiently show FCC partial lifting of a 2004 freeze on such petitions enabled the move, the commercial broadcaster said. The move will also have a public service cost because WEDW will lose 1 million viewers from its service area, PMCM said. The FCC should also consider the viewer loss of WZME Bridgeport, which channel shares with WEDW, PMCM said. The people of Connecticut are suffering “a double whammy” from the move by losing two stations, it said.

DOJ’s current definition of the broadcast market “is a holdover from an anachronistic assessment of marketplace dynamics,” commented NAB to DOJ in response to its May workshop on broadcast competition (see 1905020068). Evidence shows broadcasters have a declining share of advertising revenue and compete against tech companies and MVPDs, NAB said, released Tuesday. “Given profound changes in the media and advertising market, we urge the DOJ to modernize its view that broadcast television stations compete only against themselves,” NAB said. “Neither audiences nor advertisers believe that local broadcast stations are their only options for accessing content or placing advertisements.” Justice didn't release comments and didn't return our query seeking any of them.

Bonneville International supports past FCC elimination of the newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership (NBCO) rule and the agency’s consideration of radio ownership rules in the current quadrennial review proceeding, the broadcaster said in meetings Wednesday with Chairman Ajit Pai, an aide to Commissioner Brendan Carr, and Media Bureau Audio Division Chief Al Shuldiner, according to an ex parte filing posted in docket 18-349 Monday. Bonneville is among broadcast intervenors on the FCC’s side in the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Prometheus IV challenge of the 2014 quadrennial review and subsequent recon order, which includes the elimination of the NBCO rule. After oral argument appeared to go against the FCC last week, many observers expect some of those rules to be remanded or vacated (see 1906130052).

New FM translator interference rules will largely take effect in coming weeks, said the FCC in Friday's Federal Register. The rules include minimum requirements for interference complaints, a limit on where interference can occur, and relaxed rules for relocating interfering translators (see 1905090053). Some aspects of the rules need OMB Paperwork Reduction Act OK. An FCC correction later said the new date is Aug. 13.

Channel 51 wants an extension on the deadline to file in opposition to Los Angeles County’s petition to deny its Temecula low-power TV displacement application, said a motion filed Wednesday in a non-docketed FCC proceeding (see 1905310045). Channel 51 wants the deadline moved to June 26 because its engineer is out of the country and the county’s objections are technical in nature.

The full FCC approved a $2,000 settlement with a Seward, Alaska, FM station over “actions that undermine the effectiveness of the Emergency Alert System,” said an order and consent decree in Thursday’s Daily Digest. Two years ago, the full commission unanimously approved a $66,000 notice of apparent liability against licensee Kenai Educational Media over the offense (see 1707190040). The amount was reduced “because of the impact of such a fine on Kenai as a small entity and on KIBH’s ability as the only full-service radio station licensed to serve the Seward area to provide public safety alerts,” the order said. Kenai’s noncommercial educational KIBH wasn’t monitoring EAS sources, didn't make EAS information available to staff, and violated staffing and public file rules, the NAL said. Under the settlement, Kenai must appoint a compliance officer and make regular reports to the FCC on its compliance with the rules until Feb. 1, 2022.

The FCC Media Bureau approved Nexstar and WUTV Licensee's proposal to swap channels so Nexstar's WNLO Buffalo ends up with channel 36 and WUTV Buffalo with 32 (see 1904230074), said a public notice posted Wednesday on docket 19-118. There were no opposition filings, the PN said.

An Indiana church group filing labeled a petition to deny part of Nexstar buying Tribune and accusing Nexstar of preventing the church from having access to a translator station is incorrectly filed and on a contractual dispute that doesn't actually involve Nexstar, the TV broadcaster said in an opposition filing posted Wednesday. The New Beginnings Movement doesn't have standing to oppose Nexstar/Tribune, and its petition was filed in the consolidated database system rather than in docket 19-30, Nexstar said. New Beginnings' filing accuses Nexstar of denying access to public inspection files at WNDY-TV Marion, Indiana, and WISH-TV Indianapolis, and both Nexstar and Urban One of preventing New Beginnings from accessing the church group's translator site. Nexstar has a lease agreement on a WISH tower with Urban One but no lease or agreement with New Beginnings, Nexstar said. The FCC “has repeatedly held that it is not the forum for private contractual disputes;' and even if it were, this dispute does not involve Nexstar,” the filing said. Since Nexstar isn't a party to any deal with New Beginnings, it isn't required to provide New Beginnings with site access, and FCC rules no longer require physical public files at stations, Nexstar said. New Beginnings and Urban One didn't comment.