The new version of the FCC emergency alert system handbook requires much work from broadcasters and contains few instructions, said Fletcher Heald broadcast attorney Harry Cole in a blog post. Though the Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council said the old version contained inaccurate instructions, the new one “seems to avoid those problems by opting not to provide instructions in the first place,” Cole said. The handbook is filled with blank spaces and is “more of a do-it-yourself effort than an FCC-provided regulatory roadmap.” Cole said. Calling the book a “tabula rasa,” he also said it isn't set up for onscreen completion and could require a typewriter to complete. Broadcasters have until Sept. 28 (see 1608190037) to have the handbook “located at normal duty positions or EAS equipment locations when an operator is required to be on duty and be immediately available to staff responsible for administering EAS tests,” Cole noted. Tabula rasa is a Latin term meaning "blank slate."

Beasley Media Group will buy FM translator K268CS Las Vegas from Southern Nevada Educational Broadcasters for $700,000, said a news release from Media Services Group. MSG broker Bob Heymann represented Beasley in the deal. The transaction is the third-highest cash price paid for an FM translator, Heymann told us.

NextVR will team with Fox Sports to broadcast the opening match of the Bundesliga soccer league’s 2016-17 season in live virtual reality, the companies said in a Monday announcement. The match, which pits Bayern München against Werder Bremen, is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Munich time (2:30 p.m. EDT) Friday. It's the first time the Bundesliga league will broadcast live to an international audience in VR, they said. Viewers will have the ability to watch a produced feed with cameras placed in the stands, along the sidelines, midfield and behind the goal, they said. The broadcast will be available for free through the Fox Sports portal on the NextVR platform viewable on Samsung Gear VR headsets, they said.

Madison Square Garden's buy of 3.2 million shares, or 12 percent, of Townsquare from GE Capital won some analyst praise Wednesday after the deal was disclosed. It's “a strategic move,” Noble Financial emailed investors. The investment could allow MSG to expand its live events business into smaller markets and help with Townsquare sponsorships, Noble said. "Townsquare can leverage MSG's sales capacity and broadening geographic presence," emailed Macquarie Capital of what it called an approximately $30 million "summer shocker move."

The FCC “eagerly allowed” broadcasters to build their networks under the UHF discount “with absolutely no indication that such ownership would not be permanent or transferable,” said Ion, Univision and Trinity Broadcasting on an Aug. 11 conference call with an aide to Chairman Tom Wheeler, according to an ex parte filing posted Tuesday in docket 13-236. The UHF Discount lets broadcasters count UHF stations as half-stations for purposes of calculating how close they are to the FCC's national ownership cap. “The Companies represented on the call had utilized the Discount, with the Commission's full encouragement, to develop competitive television networks that have added to the diversity of viewing choices.” If the FCC eliminates the discount, “only full grandfathering for the current owners and free transferability to new owners would guarantee that their investments would not be lost and that the value of their programming networks and network reach would not be jeopardized,” the companies said. A waiver policy to consider “new ownership structures” for the affected companies “is neither workable nor realistic,” they said. A draft FCC order would eliminate the discount (see 1608080051).

The FCC Enforcement Bureau proposed a $15,000 penalty against a church pastor operating a pirate radio station in Broward County, Florida, said a notice of apparent liability: Kedner Maxime was warned in person by Enforcement Bureau agents several times in 2015, but repeatedly reactivated his radio station. “Mr. Maxime’s deliberate disregard of the Commission’s warnings warrants a significant penalty” the NAL said.

The FCC media ownership order​ “makes no progress on media diversity,” said Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights President Wade Henderson in a statement Thursday. The order has been voted but not released by the commission (see 1608110058). “While it holds the line on media consolidation in many respects, the FCC has set forth no research agenda or policies proven to increase the diversity of ownership in broadcasting,” Henderson said. A lack of diversity in media ownership is responsible for media exaggeration of “black criminality, unemployment and poverty,” the release said. “The stakes are high for communities of color and women and we urge the FCC to finally put diversity at the top of its agenda,” Henderson said.

The FCC Media Bureau is seeking comment on a petition for declaratory ruling to allow Corvex Master Fund to own up to 14.99 percent of Pandora, which itself was the beneficiary of a foreign-ownership declaratory ruling, said a public notice Friday. Corvex is “organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands and is ultimately controlled by Keith Meister, a U.S. citizen, through a series of intervening entities that are organized under Delaware law and owned and controlled by U.S. citizens,” the PN said. Pandora's declaratory ruling included a condition that the FCC must grant approval for foreign entities that want to acquire more than 5 percent of the company. Corvex wants to buy 9.99 percent but wants the FCC to preapprove up to 14.99 percent. The PN said Corvex contends granting the request will “facilitate investment” in Pandora and “facilitate the efficient operation of the secondary markets for trading stocks of a publicly traded company.” Comments are due Sept. 12, replies Sept. 27.

ATSC 3.0 will allow broadcasters to “datacast," which will create opportunities for public TV stations, said America's Public Television Stations in an ex parte filing posted Thursday in FCC docket 16-142. “Next Gen datacasting will allow Public Television to deliver encrypted and targetable IP data, including video and other large files, and thereby provide a wireless IP delivery network that is natively multicast and not subject to congestion or delay, like the television signals carrying it,” APTS said. “Public Television is eager to embrace the non-broadcast datacasting opportunities that Next Gen presents to enhance the public services we offer.” ATSC 3.0 would allow noncommercial stations to support FirstNet and first responders, send educational materials to schools, and perform a “C-SPAN-like” service for state legislative proceedings, the association said. The service also could present a nonbroadcast revenue opportunity for public stations by allowing them to provide datacast services to local businesses, it said.

The National Association of Latino Independent Producers supports the application from Univision and Grupa Televisa to allow Univision to be up to 49 percent foreign owned, it said in a comment in FCC docket 16-217. Univision is seeking a declaratory ruling to allow for the foreign ownership, along with an application to be owned 40 percent by Grupa Televisa. “NALIP has had the opportunity to partner with both Univision and Televisa on media diversity and promotion of Latino content creators and can attest to the companies’ continued commitment to the Latino community,” the filing said. NALIP said it's part of a joint incubator program with Televisa and Univision to “boost Latino diversity in television, digital media, documentary and production." The broadcaster's request is expected to be OK’d (see 1607080051), which also got backing from another filing in the docket. DOJ "with the concurrence of the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security" asked the FCC to "defer action" on the Univision petition, said a letter filed in the docket. The three federal agencies "are reviewing this matter for any national security, law enforcement, and public safety issues but have not yet completed that effort," said the letter. They want the FCC to wait until their review is complete, the letter said. "The Agencies will advise the Commission promptly upon completion of their review.”