Comments are due May 10, replies May 24, in docket 21-141 on iHeartMedia’s petition for a declaratory ruling on the company’s level of foreign ownership (see 2103290057), said a public notice Friday. The petition concerns a Bahamian company that bought enough iHeart stock to exceed a foreign-ownership threshold established in a previous bureau ruling.

Final close-out submission deadlines for entities that received reimbursement in post-incentive auction repacking are coming up in six months, said the FCC Incentive Auction Task Force and Media Bureau in a reminder public notice Thursday. Since 953 repacked stations are on their final facilities, but only 28 repacked stations and 86 low-power TV or translator stations have begun the close-out process, “we are concerned that many entities may be unnecessarily delaying making final submissions to the program,” the PN said. Final invoices are due Oct. 8 for full-power and Class A TV stations that transitioned in phases 1-5; March 22 for those that transitioned in phases 6-10; and Sept. 5, 2022, for LPTV stations, translators, FM stations and MVPDs, the PN said. “Entities are strongly encouraged to submit all remaining invoices and initiate close-out procedures as early as possible and are not required to wait for their assigned final invoice filing deadline to initiate close-out procedures.” The PN said 957 repacked full-power and Class A TV stations, 873 LPTV/translator stations, 90 FM stations and 181 MVPDs participated in the reimbursement process. As of April 6, over 96% of the repacked full-power and Class A TV stations are operating on their final facilities, the PN said.

Metropolitan Management of Tennessee acknowledges it failed to put records in its online public inspection file in a timely manner for its WNPZ-FM Knoxville station, said an FCC Media Bureau consent decree Tuesday. Under the consent decree, the licensee will install a compliance plan for online public inspection file obligations and submit a compliance report to the bureau in a year. The bureau's investigation also ended under the decree.

Scripps can substitute channel 26 for 13 for its station KRIS-TV Corpus Christi, Texas, said the FCC Media Bureau in an order Monday in docket 21-59. The bureau also seeks comment on Sinclair Media’s request to switch WCYB-TV Bristol, Virginia, from channel 5 to 35 in docket 21-128, and on WRGB Licensee’s request to change WRGB Schenectady, New York, from channel 6 to 35 in docket 21-127. Commenting dates for those will be released after the filings appear in the Federal Register.

The FCC Media Bureau designated the renewal application of Vandalia Media’s AM station WJEH Gallipolis, Ohio, for hearing, said a hearing designation order in Friday’s Daily Digest. The designation is "based on WJEH’s record of extended silence and operation at significantly reduced power,” the HDO said. Vandalia bought the station from Sunny Broadcasting Dec. 31, 2019. WJEH was silent for 364 days in 2020 and operated at reduced power for the last two days of the year, the HDO said, and has continued at a reduced power level. “Because of the Station’s extended periods of silence and operation at significantly reduced power during the preceding term, we are unable to find that grant of the renewal application is in the public interest.” Vandalia Media CEO Tom Susman told us his company lost access to the transmission site shortly after buying the station. The site wasn’t included in the license deal, he said. COVID-19 complications also made it hard to address the situation, Susman said. “We’ll respect what the FCC decides.”

The FCC will freeze FM commercial and noncommercial educational minor change applications during the Auction 109 Form 175 application filing window, said the Media Bureau in a public notice in Friday’s Daily Digest. The window is April 28-May 11. Auction 109 begins July 27 and involves 136 FM construction permits and four AM permits, said a second PN on auction procedures.

A California freelance journalist is suing the FCC over a Freedom of Information Act request for documents Sinclair submitted to the agency as part of last year's $48 million consent decree for its now-killed Tribune Media purchase (see 2005060063). In her complaint (docket 21-cv-00895, in Pacer) Thursday in U.S. District Court in Washington, Susan Wilson Cowan alleges the agency hasn't provided requested Sinclair documents that were cited in the consent decree but not entered into the public record, nor has it responded to the October FOIA request. The regulator didn't comment.

Entravision couldn't meet its Form 10-K SEC filing deadline, said in a release Wednesday, the deadline day. The broadcaster “experienced unexpected delays in its completion of the audit of its financial statements” for 2020 due to buying a majority of Cisneros Interactive, it said. “The Company continues to work diligently to complete its audit and Form 10-K. The Company intends to file its Form 10-K as soon as practicable.” This deadline was the company’s second missed one here -- it also missed the original March 16 due date, said filings. Independent auditors are going through financial records for the Cisneros acquisition, Entravision told the SEC. “During the course of the completion of these audit procedures, items may be identified which could result in the Company’s audited results that will be included in the Form 10-K to be materially different than the Company’s unaudited financial results,” which were included in a March 11 news release on the Cisneros buy. “In addition to achieving record political revenues in the fourth quarter of 2020, our digital business expanded significantly and was up 424% over the prior-year period due in large part to our acquisition of a majority interest in Cisneros Interactive, said CEO Walter Ulloa in that release.

Entercom rebranded as Audacy, said CEO David Field Tuesday. He cited sports betting, with the company announcing a multiyear deal with BetMGM Tuesday. The MGM property is its “preferred sports betting partner” across its stations, Audacy and Bet QL apps and digital platforms, and the recently launched “BetQL Audio Network.” Audacy is integrating sports betting content to “millions of sports fans” who tune in daily to Audacy’s broadcast stations, podcasts and shows, it said; BetMGM gets preferred access to Audacy talent. The broadcaster recently bought sports data and iGaming affiliate platform QL Gaming Group. “The advent of legalized mobile sports betting has presented an unprecedented opportunity to bring the action closer to the audience than ever before and, as a result, provide our partners with a direct line of sight to tap into an attentive, fully engaged audience of potential sports bettors,” said Mike Dee, Audacy president-sports. BetMGM Chief Revenue Officer Matt Prevost cited Audacy’s track record in sports radio, digital audio and “now the direct-to-consumer betting analytics space,” saying the partnership enables the company to extend its reach. Audacy’s stations include WFAN-FM/AM New York, SportsRadio WIP(FM) Philadelphia and WSCR(AM) Chicago. Audacy also said Tuesday it signed an exclusive podcast partnership with singer and actress Demi Lovato and exclusive podcasts and projects with Boomer Esiason, Big Tigger and The Rich Eisen Show. A revamped Loveline debuts this summer, it said. The broadcast company’s stock ticker symbol will change from ETM to AUD. Also effective Tuesday, the company sunsetted the Radio.com brand and aligned its direct-to-consumer platform under Audacy. Cadence13, Pineapple Street Studios, BetQL and Podcorn remain market-facing brands.

The FCC Media Bureau conditionally approved transfer of several radio licenses to an iHeartMedia subsidiary while the company has a pending petition for declaratory ruling (PDR) on a Bahamian company buying enough iHeart stock to exceed a foreign-ownership threshold established in a previous bureau ruling (see 2011050061. The order, in Monday’s FCC Daily Digest, includes conditions “designed to insulate, to the extent possible, the non-compliant foreign interests pending action on iHeart’s remedial PDR seeking specific approval of those interests,” the staff said. “The record raises no substantial and material question of fact as to whether iHeart is qualified to be a licensee of broadcast stations and whether grant of the Applications is in the public interest.” The radio group informed the FCC in February that Global Media & Entertainment Investments, which is controlled by U.K. citizens, bought shares to give it about 6.6% of the equity and 8.7% of the voting interests in iHeart. That exceeded the 5% threshold for requiring FCC approval established by a previous declaratory ruling. IHeart “did not solicit the non-compliant foreign investment and was not even aware of it until GMEI’s SEC filing,” the order said. While FCC approval of the foreign ownership is pending, GMEI can’t appoint members to or attend meetings of iHeart’s board or have any role in the company’s day-to-day operations. The MB approved the deal over objections of several listeners, who sought to prevent the stations’ formats from changing. “It is well settled policy that the Commission does not regulate programming formats,” the order said. The transfers involved are located in Fort Worth, Houston and Fisher, Minnesota, and the sellers were Mortenson Broadcasting, Multicultural Radio Broadcasting, and Sun and Snow Station Trust.