The FCC Media Bureau Audio Division initiated license revocation proceedings against two radio licensees for failing to pay delinquent regulatory fees, said two orders (here and here) and two letters (here and here) posted Thursday. Shelley Broadcasting of Montgomery, Alabama, has about $10,000 in unpaid fees going back to 2008, while Knoxville, Tennessee's Metropolitan Management owes close to $35,000 dating to 2005. In both cases, the licensees applied for license renewal, had their applications dismissed for unpaid fees by MB staff, and then filed petitions for reconsideration. Shelley Broadcasting said its inability to pay stemmed from a long-standing dispute with the IRS, and Metropolitan said it hadn't received all of the FCC communications on the matter, and economic conditions made it difficult to pay. The division rescinded the license cancellations and provisionally reinstated the renewal application but also initiated the license revocation proceedings.

Several items apparently connected with Edward Stolz’s series of challenges to the Entercom/CBS Radio -- which was approved in 2017 -- were circulated to the eight floor, said the FCC’s website and a spokesperson. Though the agency wouldn’t comment on the precise nature of the items, the spokesperson said they involve license renewals, purchase of radio stations, and dismissal of a hearing designation order. Stolz repeatedly and unsuccessfully challenged Entercom’s buy of CBS Radio since before the deal’s approval (see 1810250051).

The FCC Media Bureau designated radio licensee Entertainment Media Trust for hearing over allegations it wasn’t truthful whether its St. Louis-area AM stations are under control of felon Robert Romanik. “If found to have committed these serious violations, EMT’s licenses may be canceled,” said an FCC news release issued with the hearing designation order. The stations are KZQZ St. Louis and in Illinois: KFTK East St. Louis, WQQW Highland and KQQZ Fairview Heights. A “multiyear inquiry” showed Romanik -- convicted of obstruction of justice and bank fraud -- created EMT, provided the funds to buy the stations, negotiated on behalf of the station, and identified himself as a station owner on federal forms. Romanik wasn’t listed as a party on the station’s FCC applications and he assigned EMT’s interest in the stations to his girlfriend, the release said. “The hearing will be scheduled and heard by the Commission’s Administrative Law Judge." Neither Romanik nor EMT’s attorney responded to calls for comment. Considered alongside the Sinclair HDO, Wednesday’s order seems to suggest the FCC is more willing to challenge alleged misrepresentations and designate issues for hearing than it has been in the past, said Womble Bond radio attorney John Garziglia in an interview.

The effective date of FCC elimination of rules requiring broadcasters to submit midterm equal employment opportunity reports (see 1904290176) is Wednesday, says a notice for that day's Federal Register.

The Incentive Auction Task Force released revised procedures for MVPDs, full-power and Class A TV stations to submit financial information to receive repacking reimbursement payments, said a public notice posted Tuesday. The PN reduces the number of situations for which eligible entities must submit Form 1876, and revises the submission process. The revised process makes it easier for stations to submit banking information to the FCC, a spokesperson told us. Instructions for submission of financial information for low-power TV stations, radio stations and translators “will be provided in a future public notice,” the PN said.

Significant relaxation or elimination of FCC radio subcaps would lead to larger companies abandoning the AM band and have severe consequences for minority station owners, the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters told Commissioner Geoffrey Starks Thursday, said a filing posted in docket 18-349 Friday. Proposals to allow unlimited AM station ownership could “substantially undermine diversity” because it could “close the door” for new entrants, NABOB said: Don’t amend or eliminate the subcaps.

The outlet Los Angeles County petitioned against for an low-power TV displacement application is located in Temecula (see 1905310045).

Emergency alert system participants must renew their identifying information in the EAS test reporting system (ETRS) by July 3, before the planned Aug. 7 2:20 p.m. EST national EAS test, the FCC Public Safety Bureau said in a public notice Monday (see Ref:1905230030]). ETRS is open now and accepting 2019 filings, the PN said. The August test will involve only the legacy “daisy chain” system and won’t include the Integrated Public Alert Warning System, the PN said. The backup date for the test is Aug. 21, the PN said.

Fox Television Stations became the first owned and operated station group to join ATSC 3.0 alerting group the Advanced Warning and Response Network Alliance, AWARN said. “We support the Alliance’s broader mission to develop a framework for providing emergency information beyond the initial alert,” said Fox Executive Vice President-Engineering, Operations and Technology Richard Friedel in the release Thursday: “ATSC 3.0 will enable FOX Television Stations to use its local news assets as never before." AWARN said it will hold roundtable discussions with “TV news thought leaders” in the months ahead: “The goal is development of a voluntary framework for packaging a TV station’s news assets and using ATSC 3.0 to engage with viewers as their trusted information source across multiple devices.” Also last week, a 3.0 conference was held in Washington (see 1905310007).

FCC ownership rules are preventing Legend Communications from buying more stations to air local content, the company told Commissioner Brendan Carr Thursday as part of the latter’s Midwest trip, per a filing posted Friday in docket 18-349. Legend officials took Carr to visit competing radio stations that they said offer little local content, the filing said. “Those stations were not manned when visited -- the doors were locked, and no lights were on in the building during this visit during normal business hours.” Legend said it faces advertising competition from Google and Facebook, “resulting in a loss of an estimated $30-40,000 in monthly billing to the Legend stations.” If the firm could buy more stations, it said it would cover more high school sports and possibly offer Spanish-language programming. The FCC should relax radio local ownership rules, Legend said. Many broadcasters made arguments echoing Legend's in quadrennial review replies posted earlier last week (see 1905300018).