The draft reimbursement order doesn't fulfill the intent of Congress because its language excludes three low-power TV stations, said station owners Fifth Street Enterprises, WMTM and the Videohouse in meetings with Incentive Auction Task Force Chief Jean Kiddoo, Media Bureau Video Division Chief Barbara Kreisman, and aides to Chairman Ajit Pai and to Commissioners Brendan Carr, Mike O'Rielly and Geoffrey Starks, said a filing Wednesday in docket 18-214. The broadcasters' Class A stations missed the cutoff to participate in the incentive auction but aren't eligible to be reimbursed under the additional funds for LPTV, according to the draft order. The FCC has authority to reimburse their stations for displacement costs, the broadcasters said.

The FCC Media Bureau granted Ion’s request to change the DTV table of allotments to alter the community of license for its WNPX-TV Cookeville, Tennessee, to Franklin (see 1812050043), said an order Wednesday. The change will give Franklin its first local full-power TV station, the order said. Cookeville won’t be deprived of its sole local service, the order said.

The FCC should make it clear in the draft reimbursement order that low-power TV stations that received repacking reimbursement from third parties (see 1903010060) are eligible to receive reimbursement from the agency for expenses not covered by the third-party payout, said T-Mobile in meetings with aides to Commissioners Brendan Carr and Mike O’Rielly, said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 18-214. T-Mobile is concerned about language in the draft that appears to question the carrier's motives,.

Apollo Global Management’s application to buy some Cox stations (see 1902150051) would pair them with TV stations from Northwest Broadcasting under control of newly created Apollo subsidiary Terrier Media, said filings in FCC consolidated database system. Terrier is buying Northwest's stations through a stock deal, and would pay $3.1 billion for the Cox stations. Terrier would end up owning 25 TV stations. The combination would create no new overlaps and reach 12.9 percent of U.S. households without the UHF discount, the filings said. “The proposed transactions have been structured to ensure there are no potential concerns about competition, localism, or diversity.” The combo would include some existing duopolies, and one existing top-four combination in the California Yuma-El Centro DMA designated market area.

The FCC should increase flexibility of kidvid rules, move quickly to let stations transmit ATSC 3.0, discard AM radio subcaps and grant needed extensions in the repacking, said California Broadcasters Association representatives in meetings Feb. 27 with Commissioner Mike O’Rielly and aides to Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks, said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 18-349. “Although the repack appears to be moving forward smoothly in California, so far, broadcasters remain very concerned as the transition ‘crunch’ approaches." Attendees were from Univision San Jose and other TV stations and Diane Sutter of Shooting Star Productions, and they “lauded” the agency for actions on pirate radio.

Gray Television will sell Charlottesville, Virginia's WCAV and WVAW-LD to Lockwood Broadcasting and buy NBC affiliate WVIR-TV Charlottesville from Waterman Broadcasting, Gray said. Gray would own nine of the top 10 ranked U.S. NBC affiliates, it said. Gray said it won’t have any continuing relationship or oversight of the sold stations. The transactions are supposed to close in Q2 or Q3, Gray said.

T-Mobile is “concerned” language in the FCC draft reimbursement order appears to question the carrier’s motives for advocating low-power TV stations that received repacking funds from third parties be eligible for federal reimbursement, T-Mobile said in meetings and calls with aides to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, aides to Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Jessica Rosenworcel, and Incentive Auction Task Force Chair Jean Kiddoo, recounted a filing in docket 18-214. Jenner & Block attorney Howard Symons, former IATF vice chair, represented T-Mobile. The draft order declines to pay out reimbursement funds to such LPTV stations (see 1902220062), and says the proposal would amount to reimbursing T-Mobile. The carrier “stepped forward” to reimburse the LPTV stations, and has been recognized by the agency for doing so, the company said. The stations should be reimbursed as long as they certify they aren’t receiving double payments, said T-Mobile. The carrier asked the agency to make clear LPTV stations that received third-party funds are eligible to receive reimbursement dollars for expenses not covered by that pay-out.

Comments on Ion’s request to change the community of license for Alabama's WPXH-TV Gadsden to Hoover (see 1812050043) are due March 15, replies March 25, said Thursday’s Federal Register.

The FCC added versions of its TV rescanning guide webpage in some new languages, the agency tweeted Wednesday. The information is now available in Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese. The agency’s previous rescanning guide was also available in those languages, and the FCC is now providing those translations again for the recently updated page (see 1812040059), a spokesperson said Thursday.

Plaintiffs in consolidated advertising collusion lawsuits against some large broadcasters aren’t entitled to see documents stemming from DOJ’s investigation, said a Tuesday opposition motion (in Pacer) in U.S. District Court in Chicago from defendants, which include Nexstar, Sinclair and Tribune (see 1810050041). Those companies reached consent decrees with Justice for sharing ad pricing information but didn’t admit wrongdoing, defendants said. The request is premature, mischaracterizes the investigation as involving price fixing, and would require a substantial and expensive effort to prevent release of confidential contract information, the broadcasters said. “Plaintiffs’ existing complaints make no effort to describe the conduct any Defendant allegedly engaged in or to allege any facts to show that such conduct was unlawful,” the opposition motion said. Most documents were provided to DOJ as part of Sinclair's failed buy of Tribune, and “the great bulk of the documents produced to DOJ in the merger investigation (approximately 5.5 million in total) are irrelevant to the issues in this case,” the broadcasters said.