The FCC blocked three Class A broadcasters from participating in or receiving repacking protection during the incentive auction and disqualified an additional Class A broadcaster as expected, in a recon order issued Friday (see 1602090060). The order was approved 3-2, with Commissioner Ajit Pai dissenting and Commissioner Mike O’Rielly dissenting in part. The recon petition from Fifth Street Enterprises, Videohouse and WMTM was denied as being procedurally improper and because participation in the auction is up the FCC's discretion, said the recon order. Latina Broadcasters’ WDYB Daytona Beach, Florida, had been listed as included in the auction, but the FCC decided Latina missed the 2012 deadline to file for Class A status just as the other broadcasters did, the recon order said. The broadcasters behind the recon petition didn't file for Class A status in time for the 2012 deadline (see 1601250060) that was required for stations to be eligible for the incentive auction. Latina did file for Class A status in time but allowed the underlying construction permits to expire, and then filed a low-power TV application instead of a Class A one. That means Latina wasn't pursuing Class A status by the deadline, the recon order said. The decision to remove protection while maintaining it for a similarly situated Class A station which is included in the auction, is "utterly indefensible," said Pai in his dissent. "It is impossible to reconcile the Commission's ostensible support for promoting diversity with such shabby treatment of one of the few television stations owned by a Hispanic woman.”
Monty Tayloe
Monty Tayloe, Associate Editor, covers broadcasting and the Federal Communications Commission for Communications Daily. He joined Warren Communications News in 2013, after spending 10 years covering crime and local politics for Virginia regional newspapers and a turn in television as a communications assistant for the PBS NewsHour. He’s a Virginia native who graduated Fork Union Military Academy and the College of William and Mary. You can follow Tayloe on Twitter: @MontyTayloe .
A flood of programmers, consumer groups and industry associations filed into the FCC in recent days to lobby commissioners and their staff (see 1602110055) on a controversial set-top box NPRM ahead of the sunshine notice deadline for Thursday's meeting. The FCC proposal is intended to make it easier for consumers to buy retail set-tops instead of leasing them from pay-TV companies. The documents were posted Thursday and Friday in docket 15-64. They come from groups that don't always lobby the agency, and/or top officials at those groups that don't often personally visit the eighth floor.
FCC actions on inmate phone service rates demonstrated the power a single commissioner can wield on the FCC, said Commissioner Mignon Clyburn in an interview for C-SPAN’s The Communicators, scheduled for telecast Saturday. She defended parts of the upcoming set-top box NPRM after shown clips of NCTA CEO Michael Powell slamming it on a recent Communicators episode. Clyburn also backed the Lifeline program.
The NAB is concerned that the FCC's set-top box proposals could threaten broadcaster control over their content and copyright, said NAB President Gordon Smith in an interview on C-SPAN's Communicators scheduled for telecast Feb. 20. If the FCC proposals for set-top boxes become rules, tech companies such as Google could become “gatekeepers,” Smith said.
As next Thursday's FCC meeting approaches where a set-top box NPRM may be considered on making it easier for consumers to get encrypted TV content carried through the boxes without getting one from their multichannel video programming distributor, MVPDs with concerns about any rules and NPRM backers are lobbying the agency. That is according to ex parte filings posted Tuesday and Wednesday in docket 15-64. If the FCC moves forward with its proposals for the set-top market, it should seek comment on possible exceptions for smaller cable operators, said the American Cable Association in meetings with aides to Chairman Tom Wheeler and Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel, Ajit Pai and Mike O’Rielly. “At a minimum,” the FCC should “tentatively conclude that all-analog systems should be exempt from any new requirements,” ACA said. The agency's proposals would “directly interfere with and jeopardize” its ability to provide programming for Latino viewers, programmer Hola TV wrote Wheeler. “The proposal would allow some large Internet companies to unilaterally take our content without our approval, or compensation, disassociate it from existing negotiated channel placements, and enable those entities to sell intrusive advertising absent a mechanism to share any revenue with programmers." Dish and EchoStar don’t oppose “exploration of the [Downloadable Security Technology Advisory Committee]’s recommendations regarding adoption of competitive navigation devices,” they said jointly. The FCC shouldn’t adopt “overly simplistic solutions that could damage competition and hinder innovation,” Dish and Echostar said in a meeting with staff from Clyburn’s office. Pai should vote for the NPRM, said the Consumer Video Choice Coalition in a meeting with him, according to an ex parte filing. “The Coalition has proven that competition holds the technology solution for ending the era of forced set-top box leasing from large incumbent" multichannel video programing distributors, said the filing. By moving forward with the NPRM, the FCC “will be fulfilling its mandate” in Section 629 of the Communications Act to “ensure that consumers have access to competitive devices that are interoperable with MVPD networks,” the CVCC said. Coalition members include Google, Incompas, Public Knowledge and TiVo, its website said. Another group, begun the day FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said he would circulate the NPRM (see 1601270064), includes ACA, Dish, MPAA and NCTA, its website said.
The FCC Media Bureau didn't know about the largest single-station sponsorship identification enforcement action in the commission's history until the day before the Enforcement Bureau announced it (see 1601070060), said MB Policy Division Assistant Chief Robert Baker, the agency's expert on political advertising rules, of the $540,000 consent decree with Cumulus. Panelists at a Monday FCBA CLE on political ads discussed new online political file rules, ad rate regulations and the current presidential race. The Media Bureau received numerous inquiries from broadcast attorneys concerned about receiving similar violation notices after Cumulus, Baker said. But he said he believes it was a "wild card" rather than an indication of how the FCC will treat sponsorship ID violations going forward.
The FCC will block three Class A broadcasters from participating in the incentive auction and will disqualify an additional Class A broadcaster to make its case against the others stronger, an FCC official and several industry officials told us. The order denying reconsideration petitions from Fifth Street Enterprises, Videohouse and WMTM and disqualifying Latina Broadcasters' WDYB Daytona Beach from participating is expected to be issued later this week. Latina had been listed as being included in the auction in filings last year. "What the FCC did to Latina is almost unbelievable," said Ron Bruno, owner of Videohouse, in an interview.
Opponents and supporters of FCC proposals to make the set-top box market more competitive (see 1601270064) loudly disagreed at a briefing Friday whether the plan would improve prospects for minority programmers. Officials from the Consumer Federation of America, Free Press, National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC) and Public Knowledge said making the retail set-top market more viable would create opportunities for minorities. Opponents in the crowd loudly challenged that assertion. Wednesday, the Justice Department backed the FCC issuing an NPRM (see 1602030017).
The Department of Justice's expression of support Wednesday for the FCC's planned NPRM on opening up the retail set-top box market could be a product of the numerous recent mergers in the pay-TV and set-top box industries, industry officials on both sides told us Thursday. In recent years, federal antitrust officials have reviewed and heard competitive concerns about deals that include Arris/Pace, Comcast/TWC, Charter/TWC and AT&T/DirecTV. "Every time there's a deal, interested parties go to Justice and tell them what they don't like about the deal," said Mediacom Senior Vice President-Government and Public Relations Tom Larsen. DOJ's taking a public stance in support of the NPRM before it has been voted is seen as a bad sign for multichannel video programming distributors, industry officials told us. DOJ didn't comment.
Nexstar’s proposed $4.6 billion buy of Media General is seen as likely to get FCC approval, though some details of the transaction remain unclear, communications attorneys and analysts told us. Though Nexstar has indicated it plans to divest stations in overlapping markets or sell their spectrum to get regulatory approval, CEO Perry Sook said on an investor call the specifics were still in motion. Along with specific divestitures, there are questions about how long the transaction (see 1601270040) will take to be approved, with the incentive auction just around the corner. Broadcasters are under pressure to expand to match with their growing and numerous competitors, making this deal “not surprising,” said BIA/Kelsey Chief Economist Mark Fratrik.