Opponents of proposals to relax kidvid rules are asking the FCC to put what’s best for programmers over the needs of children, Commissioner Mike O’Rielly told the Kentucky Broadcasters Association Tuesday. “A chief opponent of these proposals fears a transition to multicast channels because it would lose 98 percent of its advertising revenues,” O’Rielly said. “One of the original purposes of the Children’s Television Act was to limit the amount of advertising towards children.” Removing rules requiring kidvid content on multicast streams “would certainly transition our focus on children’s programming from quantity to quality,” O’Rielly said, in remarks posted Wednesday. “I remain open-minded and will only move forward on a proposal that strikes the important balance of protecting children viewers, modernizing our rules, and providing flexibility.” O’Rielly said the post-incentive auction repack appears to be proceeding smoothly, and the FCC should change rules to acknowledge the increasing competition in media.

The FCC Media Bureau scheduled a webinar on the radio station incubator program (see 1808020048) Oct. 30, said a public notice Tuesday. The 1 p.m. EDT event will include information for potential incubators and incubatees about program (see 1809280052) basics, the PN said.

The FCC shouldn’t adopt a 54 dbu contour limit beyond which full-power FM stations can’t lodge interference complaints against FM translators (see 1808070039), Entercom CEO David Field told FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Thursday, said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 18-119. “If a contour limit is necessary, then the 42 dBu contour is the more appropriate one to use to avoid detrimentally impacting full-service FM stations.” Entercom supports the position of Beasley Media and other large radio groups, which argued that a large portion of their stations’ listening audience would fall outside the proposed 54 dBu contour. Field supports deregulation and “further consideration of the present ownership rules.”

National Translator Association President John Terrill presented his fast track reimbursement proposal for translators (see 1809100033) at an Aug. 24 Utah Broadcasters Association meeting attended by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said a filing posted Friday in docket 12-268. The plan is based on paying a flat reimbursement amount to each translator and a simplified application process. NTA Vice President-Regulatory Affairs Michael Couzens didn’t comment on the apparent lateness of the document.

Two of the lawsuits against Sinclair, Tribune, Gray and other large broadcasters over advertising price collusion (see 1807310054) were consolidated and transferred to U.S. District Court in Chicago, said an order (in Pacer) Thursday from the U.S. District Court judicial panel on multidistrict litigation. The potential class-action lawsuits were filed after reports emerged DOJ was investigating the broadcast groups for conspiring to fix ad prices. Though the order transferred only cases filed in Maryland and Illinois, the plaintiffs expect 15 similar cases in other districts to be transferred to the same court, they said in a filing Thursday. “These actions involve common questions of fact, and that centralization will serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses and promote the just and efficient conduct of this litigation” the panel said. Friday, the companies didn’t comment.

A Miami pirate radio operator reached a settlement with the FCC Enforcement Bureau requiring he pay $2,680 of his $20,000 penalty, but will owe the rest if caught operating a pirate station again in the next 20 years, said a consent decree released Wednesday. After being caught, Sergio Plasencia sent the agency years of tax returns to show he couldn’t afford the proposed $20,000. Along with owing the money if he transmits an unauthorized signal again, Plasencia also will owe if he’s found to have misled the agency about his financial situation.

The FCC’s grant of Ion's request for changes to the DTV table of allotments and community of license for its WPXQ from Block Island, Rhode Island, to Newport (see 1809180049) is effective Thursday, says a final rule for Thursday's Federal Register.

The FCC didn’t properly provide notice of the market comparability standard used in the incubator order, said the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council and the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters in a petition for review (in Pacer) with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The incubator NPRM referred to allowing broadcast ownership waivers given through the program to be granted in similarly sized markets to those where the incubation occurs, but the order says the two markets must be only in the same market size tier, and the comparable market can’t have fewer independent owners, the petition said. “The difference between these two concepts is substantial." The standard in the order allows broadcasters in markets “that are substantially smaller with at least 45 full power radio stations to use the waiver in any of the ten largest (measured by size or by revenues) markets,” the petition said. It's ”arbitrary and capricious" and “an abuse of discretion,” the petition said. Prometheus Radio Project also appealed (see 1809040065). Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said Thursday he's concerned litigation could slow down incubator implementation (see 1809270059).

Rendering a “premium TV experience without the premium price” of a pay-TV subscription is the positioning behind TiVo’s 4K-capable Bolt OTA DVR that combines over-the-air reception through an HD antenna with streaming capability via an onboard modem, said the company Thursday. TiVo designed the product to resonate with the 25 percent of pay TV homes that describe themselves as “cord-cutter intenders” -- those that are weighing dropping their cable or satellite subscriptions for budgetary reasons, said the company. “Cord cutter regretters have already moved to using only internet TV services, including streaming apps, but are now rethinking their decision based on missing programming choices and inferior viewing experiences,” it said. The Bolt “helps these customers regain a premium TV experience without needing to re-subscribe to a pay-TV service that charges them for channels they don’t want, or requires them to rent set-top boxes,” it said. The product becomes available for sale Friday at $249, plus a $6.99 monthly or $69.99 annual service fee. "The new device and plan provides consumers with significant hardware and performance updates, including 4K, dual and mobile streams plus popular, fan-favorite TiVo features like SkipMode and OnePass," emailed a TiVo spokeswoman Thursday when we asked what consumers get for their monthly or yearly service fees.

The FCC and Congress should consider competition from companies outside the radio industry, said numerous broadcast comments Monday in docket 18-227, responding to the FCC call for information on the state of audio competition. The Media Bureau should “root out” the “increasingly dangerous myth that radio broadcasting constitutes a separate market for economic competition,” Sun Broadcasting and WBOC said. “The increasing share of local advertising revenues earned by online and mobile outlets, including the digital giants, has squeezed radio stations’ share of local ad revenues,” said NAB. “No longer are there silos, where radio stations compete only with each other for advertising revenue and listeners,” filed Connoisseur Media, Townsquare Media, Mid-West Family Broadcasting, Midwest Communications and the Frandsen family stations. MusicFIRST Coalition and the Future of Music Coalition said radio broadcasters enjoy a competitive advantage, and limits on ownership should remain. “History has made clear” relaxing ownership rules would “substantially reduce competition among AM/FM radio stations,” they said,