The World Broadcasting Unions (WBU) released recommendations for members and media companies to use when “designing, procuring and implementing their systems, software and services,” said a news release Monday from the North American Broadcasters Association and the European Broadcasting Union, the entities that developed the WBU’s recommendations. “It is important that broadcasters reinforce the need for cyber security with their vendors,” said WBU Technical Committee Chairman Simon Fell.

Sinclair/Tribune deal opponents the Coalition to Save Local Media met last week with aides to Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, and with Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel to argue against the takeover by Sinclair, said filings posted Monday in docket 17-179. The transaction will hurt competition, cause a rise in retransmission consent rates and reduce localism, said representatives of coalition members Ride-TV, the National Hispanic Media Coalition, Sports Fan Coalition, Computer & Communications Industry Association, NTCA and National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians-Communications Workers of America. "Transaction-related public interest harms to viewpoint diversity, localism, and competition overwhelm any purported public interest benefits." Sinclair and allies have defended the deal (see 1712060055).

Some TV stations involved in the post-incentive auction repacking will have equipment inspected by the FCC between February and May to confirm “the existence and functionality” of the baseline equipment listed in their repacking reimbursement forms, the Media Bureau and Incentive Auction Task Force said in a public notice on docket 16-306 Monday. “This program supports the Commission’s responsibility as a prudent steward of taxpayer money to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse,” the PN said. “Approximately 60” of the 957 total stations in the repacking will be visited, though the PN said that number could change. The stations inspected include some randomly selected and some “certainly selected” based on “judgment or discretion,” the PN said. The visits will be conducted by a third-party contractor and consist of a “one or two day onsite physical inspection of the broadcaster’s existing facility and equipment, including an auxiliary facility, if applicable,” the PN said. The stations selected will be notified by letter ahead of time, the PN said. Additional site visits may be held to confirm that equipment paid for with reimbursement funds has been deployed, the PN said.

The 3rd U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals should reject broadcaster motions to intervene in public interest groups’ request for an emergency stay of FCC relaxation of broadcast ownership rules (see 1802020065), said Prometheus Radio Project and Media Mobilizing Project in an opposition filing (in Pacer). Prospective intervenors Bonneville International, Nexstar, NAB, Sinclair, News Media Alliance, 21st Century Fox, News Corp. and Connoisseur Media should be denied because their filings argue the merits of the FCC’s media ownership order on reconsideration and so aren’t “germane,” the public interest groups said. If those entities will be injured by the staying of the order, “it is the result of the FCC’s persistent and repeated failure to follow the directives of this Court,” the public interest groups said. NAB and Sinclair raised points germane to the stay request but only repeated the agency’s points, Prometheus and the Media Mobilizing Project said. Connoisseur disputed the public interest groups’ filing in a response (in Pacer) Monday, arguing it has the right to intervene because the stay request also would freeze the recon order’s changes to the rules on embedded markets. “The oppositions did address the mandamus request and its call for a stay of the changes in the FCC’s ownership rules,” it said. Connoisseur lobbied the FCC for the embedded markets rule change, and "neither Petitioners nor any other party opposed this change, and no party before the FCC suggested that this policy change would have any effect on minority ownership,“ Connoisseur said. “Grant of Petitioners’ mandamus request would provide Petitioners relief they never requested from the FCC.” A ruling on the emergency stay request is expected soon; without court intervention, the recon order takes effect Wednesday.

Oral argument for public interest groups’ challenge of the FCC restoration of the UHF discount (see 1706150044) will be April 20 at 9:30 a.m., said a Thursday order (in Pacer) from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. An upcoming order is expected to dictate how time will be divided among the FCC, petitioners such as Free Press and the National Hispanic Media Coalition, and intervenors such as Ion and Sinclair.

The FCC Enforcement Bureau issued a notice of violation to Pentecostal Temple Development for WGBN(AM) McKeesport, Pennsylvania. The station was warned for failing to abide by rules requiring procedures and schedules for monitoring power levels, tower lighting and other systems. WGBN didn’t have calibration procedures for equipment and didn’t submit a required form, the notice said.

Public interest groups’ claim the FCC ignored the directives of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal on media ownership are “baseless,” the agency said in its response to the emergency stay request of the commission’s newly relaxed broadcast ownership rules (see 1801290036). The FCC “carefully analyzed whether each of its rule changes would have a ‘material impact on minority and female ownership,’” as the 3rd Circuit ordered, the response said. Even if the FCC had failed to meet the court’s requirements, it wouldn’t justify the “sweeping relief” of a stay or the appointment of a special master, as Prometheus Radio Project and Media Mobilizing Project requested. The public interest groups attempted “to shoehorn their stay request into a mandamus petition” to get around rules requiring that they seek a stay from the FCC before seeking judicial intervention, the FCC’s filing said. “Petitioners’ failure to seek a stay through the normal channels is perhaps unsurprising, as they could not satisfy the traditional stay criteria.” The public interest groups “rely on speculative harm to the public that they claim might result from media consolidation at some undefined future time,” the filing said. The court’s prior rulings don’t require the agency to collect more data on the effects of ownership rules on minorities, the agency said. “To the contrary, this Court merely stated: ‘If [the Commission] needs more data to do so, it must get it,’” the FCC said. The agency concluded it didn’t need further data to readopt a revenue-based definition of eligible entity instead of one based on race or gender, the filing said. “Because the Commission complied with this Court’s mandates in all respects, Petitioners cannot meet the high bar of showing a clear and indisputable right to mandamus relief,” said the FCC filing. NAB and Sinclair Broadcast filed to intervene in the case on the FCC's side, but the court hasn't ruled on their motions. In a joint filing Friday, they responded to the stay request anyway, along with an attached pleading asking the court to allow their response. The FCC supports letting the broadcast entities respond, but Prometheus and the Media Mobilizing Project haven't consented, NAB and Sinclair said. The broadcaster joint filing argues the public interest groups' request for a stay and writ of mandamus is a thinly veiled attempt to prevent other parties from opposing a request or a stay" and is procedurally improper. "Petitioners could easily have sought a stay and know how to do so; they should not be allowed to sidestep that process or box directly affected parties out of the discussion," the joint filing said.

Comcast NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group completed the takeover from ZGS Communications of TV stations in several markets, the buyer announced Thursday. Most of the acquired outlets are Class A's, and one full power, KTDO Las Cruces, New Mexico, it noted: "Applications to acquire the stations in Providence and Raleigh will be filed when the channel sharing arrangements in those markets have been finalized." Other ZGS stations Comcast bought include WTMO-CD Orlando and four others in Florida; WZTD-LD Richmond, Virginia; and WDMR-LD Springfield, Massachusetts.

The FCC order authorizing ATSC 3.0 voluntary deployment is to take effect March 5, as it's being published in Friday's Federal Register. Commissioners approved the order Nov. 16 in a 3-2 party-line vote (see 1711160060).

The Cesar Chavez Foundation will pay $115,000, have a one-year moratorium on underwriting from for-profit entities and set up a compliance plan, under a consent decree the FCC announced Thursday. The agency said the settlement is the largest penalty for violations of its underwriting rules. An Enforcement Bureau order said the foundation FM's KNAI Phoenix and KUFW Woodlake, California, broadcast announcements between August 2016 and March 2017 promoting goods or services of its financial contributors despite being noncommercial educational stations. NCEs can name underwriters but can't promote those underwriters' businesses, products or services. In a statement, the foundation said it “fully cooperated with the FCC and accepts its findings. This has been a learning experience for the organization and as we move forward in polarizing times we will continue being a voice for our community of one million daily listeners across 11 stations in four states.”