The FCC added versions of its TV rescanning guide webpage in some new languages, the agency tweeted Wednesday. The information is now available in Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese. The agency’s previous rescanning guide was also available in those languages, and the FCC is now providing those translations again for the recently updated page (see 1812040059), a spokesperson said Thursday.

Plaintiffs in consolidated advertising collusion lawsuits against some large broadcasters aren’t entitled to see documents stemming from DOJ’s investigation, said a Tuesday opposition motion (in Pacer) in U.S. District Court in Chicago from defendants, which include Nexstar, Sinclair and Tribune (see 1810050041). Those companies reached consent decrees with Justice for sharing ad pricing information but didn’t admit wrongdoing, defendants said. The request is premature, mischaracterizes the investigation as involving price fixing, and would require a substantial and expensive effort to prevent release of confidential contract information, the broadcasters said. “Plaintiffs’ existing complaints make no effort to describe the conduct any Defendant allegedly engaged in or to allege any facts to show that such conduct was unlawful,” the opposition motion said. Most documents were provided to DOJ as part of Sinclair's failed buy of Tribune, and “the great bulk of the documents produced to DOJ in the merger investigation (approximately 5.5 million in total) are irrelevant to the issues in this case,” the broadcasters said.

Sinclair was involved in recent broadcast TV mergers and acquisitions “processes,” but the properties went to other buyers at prices higher than it wanted to pay, said CEO Chris Ripley on a Q4 call Wednesday. Sinclair didn’t comment on which deals he was referencing. Recent M&A includes Cox’s proposed sale of stations to investment fund Apollo and Nexstar’s proposed buy of former Sinclair dance partner Tribune. Since issues from the outstanding hearing designation order stemming from the failed Sinclair/Tribune remain unresolved (see 1901040047), it’s widely believed Sinclair buying TV stations could trigger unwanted FCC action on its licenses. That’s been seen as something Sinclair would seek to avoid, and the broadcaster has opposed efforts to bring that matter before the FCC before the 2020 license renewal period (see 1812110062). Ripley has said the HDO won't keep Sinclair out of M&A (see 1810180024). Q4 revenue rose 25 percent, compared with Q4 2017, Sinclair reported, reaching $893.3 million. Executives are bullish about the company’s outlook, touting activity with regional sports networks, expected political advertising sales gains and progress on ATSC 3.0. Sinclair and SpectrumCo hope to begin broadcasting 3.0 in 20-30 markets this year, Ripley said. That's delayed waiting for the FCC to create an application form (see 1902260046). Sinclair is open to doing more sports deals similar to its recent one with the Chicago Cubs (see 1902130019), Ripley said. Sports content is the highest rated and the “scarcest” content, Ripley said. “You can't create more sports, you can create more of almost any other genre.” The rapidly increasing field of 2020 presidential candidates “really bodes well for local broadcasters” on political ad dollars, said Chief Operating Officer Steven Marks. In the lead-up to the election, broadcasters “aren’t gonna be able to get out of the way of all the money” pouring in for political ads, he said.

IHeartMedia’s RCS acquired Greece-based Radiojar. The cloud-based audio playout platform will let broadcasters extend listening experiences to other audio platforms such as music streaming and podcasts, said iHeartMedia Tuesday. The technology will enable streaming media services to combine or parse individual audio elements such as DJ voice tracks, music and broadcast spots to “create, manage, distribute and monetize streams, podcasts and other audio content in real-time from anywhere,” it said. Radiojar tools allow independent podcasters, radio stations and individuals to create their own radio stations and broadcast “from anywhere,” it said.

A Paterson, New Jersey, pirate radio operator will pay $1,500 and face an additional penalty of $23,000 if he operates another such station in the next 20 years, said an order and consent decree. The FCC Enforcement Bureau had issued a $25,000 forfeiture against Winston Tulloch but settled after it was found he had attempted to respond to the notice of apparent liability, but his response was sent to another federal agency. Tulloch argued he's unable to pay the original fine, and the additional funds will also be due if it's found he misled the bureau about his finances. An unauthorized radio station was found operating out of properties connected with Tulloch several times going back to 2015 (see 1804250059).

Under a Democratic majority, “you can be sure the House will continue investing in public TV,” Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told the America's Public Television Stations Summit Tuesday. Hoyer committed to working with colleagues to secure a $50 million funding increase for CPB in the next budget. The annual funding has been level at $445 million for a decade, APTS CEO Patrick Butler said Monday (see 1902250063). Hoyer and fellow public TV supporters will “see how close we can get,” he said. “Hopefully, we can get to $495 million.”

The FCC and NAB lack sufficient data showing the FCC broadcast incubator program will increase media ownership among women and minorities, said petitioner for reconsideration Red Brennan Group in a reply posted Monday in docket 17-289 to NAB's opposition filing (see 1902110048). The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found previous FCC ownership changes to be arbitrary and capricious because of lack of data, Red Brennan said. A study provided by NAB isn't sufficient to satisfy that requirement and appears to conflict with data gathered by the FCC Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment, the filing said. The revenue-based standard the FCC is using for the incubator program is arbitrary and an obvious attempt to avoid a court loss, Red Brennan said. “Small businesses are not the same as minority-owned and female-owned businesses, and the huge disparities in data suggest that both NAB and the FCC have yet to figure out how likely the groups are to overlap.”

The FCC will vote an order on FM translator interference this spring, Chairman Ajit Pai said in a speech Friday to the Association of Federal Communications Consulting Engineers (see 1810090042). The Media Bureau is drafting the order now, Pai said. A new license management system form to let TV stations apply to begin broadcasting in ATSC 3.0 is expected to be completed in Q2, Pai said. The bureau also is working on a supplementary 3.0 order on local simulcasting, and an order addressing concerns raised in reconsideration petitions on the new standard, Pai said. Pai also discussed the post-incentive auction repacking (see 1902220062).

The Supreme Court has declined to take up PMCM’s appeal of repeated FCC decisions blocking the company's WJLP Middletown Township, New Jersey, from being broadcast on virtual channel 3, said the court’s website Tuesday. “We’re disappointed,” said PMCM’s attorney Donald Evans, of Fletcher Heald. “We recognized this was kind of a long shot,” Evans said. PMCM had hoped the court would view the case as a chance to rule on deference to federal agencies by the courts under Chevron. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected PMCM’s en banc appeal in September (see 1809050062). WJLP will continue broadcasting on channel 33, Evans said.

The FCC will seek comment on the FCC’s “track record” on equal employment opportunity enforcement and “how the agency can make improvements to EEO compliance and enforcement” in a Further NPRM, said the text of the agency’s order in docket 18-23 on mid-term EEO reports (see 1902140053), released Friday. The FNPRM will be issued within 90 days of the order’s adoption, the order says. In footnotes, it says several of the data collection requests from civil rights groups that led to the FNPRM are also at issue in other pending EEO proceedings.