BBC will offer two live “cutting-edge” trials of next month's World Cup from Russia, one in Ultra HD with hybrid log-gamma HDR, the other in virtual reality, said the broadcaster Wednesday. The Ultra HD trial will stream all 29 of BBC One’s World Cup matches over the BBC iPlayer, it said. The trial will be available "to watch on a first-come, first-served basis,” it said. The trial will help the BBC “and wider industry prepare for a time when delivering such large-scale events in such high quality, for larger audiences, over the open Internet is normal,” it said. It recommends a connection of at least 40 Mbps to view the matches in 4K resolution. BBC "can only confirm that each game can support tens of thousands of people," emailed spokesman David Turnbull. "The combination of the BBC and the World Cup can drive massive audiences, and right now there is limited bandwidth available to deliver live Ultra HD content to such large audiences over the open Internet," he said. "We’re making our Ultra HD trial available to as many people as possible within those limitations, while testing our systems on the largest scale yet. The experience and data we gather from performing these trials will help us to optimise and scale up UHD delivery in the future." The VR trial will be viewable through a dedicated BBC app available for free soon on Apple, Android, Gear VR, Oculus Go and PlayStation VR devices, it said. The monthlong World Cup opens June 14.

President Donald Trump lashed out on Twitter Wednesday against Disney CEO Bob Iger for not calling him to “apologize” for what the president termed “HORRIBLE statements” against him on the Disney-owned ABC network’s shows, suggesting a double standard since Iger apologized to Valerie Jarrett, ex-aide to former President Barack Obama, after a racist tweet from comedian Roseanne Barr. ABC abruptly canceled Barr’s Roseanne sitcom Tuesday after Barr's tweet. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also noted ABC’s “double standard” during a Wednesday news conference. Trump did not state which ABC statements he was referring to. Trump tweeted earlier this year in support of Sinclair’s proposed purchase of Tribune and drew criticism last year for threatening the "license" of NBC and other broadcast networks (see 1710160011, 1710170022, 1804020056 and 1804030054).

Newsmax backed some TV station owners' request that the FCC increase the national cap to 50 percent from 39 percent while nixing the "outdated" UHF discount, though the media outlet "maintains its position that Congress clearly intended to prohibit a single broadcast television licensee from reaching more than 39 percent of the national audience." If the cap is lifted, the company wants ownership above 50 percent grandfathered only if it existed before an April 21, 2017, order restoring the UHF discount and station groups not to be allowed "to evade the National Ownership Cap through contractual services agreements with a television station to which the ownership group is not a licensee." A "reasonable" cap "is essential to ensuring localism," Newsmax said Tuesday in docket 17-318. "If station groups find localism too constraining on their business plans, they can simply relinquish their spectrum rights and offer their content on any number of new and unregulated platforms or they can become national cable channels and seek carriage without the benefit of retransmission consent rights." Newsmax continues (see 1805180074) to have concerns about Sinclair buying Tribune, though the news outlet's media ownership plan isn't targeting the acquirer, said John Simpson of Capitol Resources, a consultant to Newsmax and the person who made the FCC filing. But the deal may be the only pending transaction that would be affected by the cap, he told us Wednesday. "We should set a cap, everyone should abide by that cap, and we shouldn’t let certain folks, because of when their merger was announced … have an advantage over everyone else" because the deal "was announced when the national ownership cap was in limbo," said Simpson. "If it was anybody else, I think Newsmax would have the same position." Hearst Television and others operating 306 TV stations total sought the 50 percent cap, no UHF discount and grandfathering (see 1805170033). Hearst and Sinclair declined to comment Wednesday. Separately posted to docket 17-179 Wednesday, Sinclair responded to a May 21 letter from Media Bureau Chief Michelle Carey (see 1805220063). "The responses and supporting documents submitted this afternoon contain Highly Confidential Information and were submitted under seal pursuant to the Protective Order," said a cover letter of the public filing, which contained many redactions.

Spanish Broadcasting System isn't fighting shareholders asking the FCC to hold an SBS petition for declaratory ruling in abeyance. In the 2017 petition, SBS sought a ruling that it's within the 25 percent foreign ownership benchmark or that any temporary exceeding of the benchmark is in the public interest. The shareholders, in a letter earlier this month, said even if there were a foreign ownership issue with the company, it could be addressed through a petition for declaratory ruling. The broadcaster said in a filing posted Tuesday it disagrees with most of the shareholder assertions, but the investors will either accept the company's interpretations and the petition will be moot or they will sue and a court will decide whether the shareholders' attempted buys of Series B preferred stock were void.

The parent of CBS and Viacom struck back at the broadcaster, challenging in court the TV network's plan (see 1805180054) to, in the investor's words, "unilaterally dilute the voting rights of its controlling stockholder." The CBS board's plan is "unprecedented under Delaware law," violates the broadcaster's bylaws and charter, was based on the recommendation of a special committee with five directors "acting far beyond its authority" and breaks the board's fiduciary duties. So said National Amusements Inc. Tuesday in Delaware Chancery Court, which NAI said has jurisdiction over the dispute. The investor affiliated with Redstone family members like CBS Chairman Emeritus Sumner Redstone and current Vice Chair Shari Redstone said the TV company's contentions NAI wanted to "cram down a CBS/Viacom merger" is false. NAI's "reactive complaint" comes after CBS and its special committee detailed how "NAI misused its power to the detriment of CBS shareholders," the broadcaster said. "We continue to believe firmly in our position.”

With NAB and its Association for Maximum Service TV having withdrawn their 2008 petition for reconsideration of the FCC's Digital Television Distributed Transmission System Technologies order, the petition is dismissed, the Media Bureau said in a docket 05-312 order Thursday. NAB/MSTV had sought a variable desired-to-undesired signal protection ratio in its rules governing distributed transmission system technology.

Down payments from Auction 99 winners are due June 11, with final payments due June 25, said a public notice Friday. The FCC said the bidding that concluded May 18 in the auction of cross-service FM translator construction permits raised $227,650. It said 11 bidders won a total of 11 construction permits. It said the Form 349 long-form application filing window is June 1 through July 2.

Saying it generally backs creation of a new FM Class C4, iHeart officials told FCC Media Bureau staffers it worries about establishing a triggering system where an under-maximum station would be reduced to the more-limited contour protections of FCC rules, changing the allocation scheme for the non-reserved FM band. In an RM-11727 ex parte filing Thursday, iHeart said if a station is triggered, can't maximize facilities and is forced into such contour protection, it would have limited ability to relocate its transmitter site, which is problematic due to the pressures on tower relocations from the changing TV repack environment. It said an evaluation of its own transmitter sites, compared with a similar evaluation a year ago, indicated a 30 percent increase in radio sites that will be affected by TV repacking, with some iHeart sites needing to be moved. IHeart suggested a notice of inquiry to seek input on issues including the downsides of a trigger system for under-maximum radio stations subject to relocation pressures.

The FCC should require Sinclair to provide more information about its relationships with the companies it's divesting in connection with the deal to buy Tribune, said the American Cable Association in a letter to the FCC filed in docket 17-179 Thursday. ACA opposes Sinclair/Tribune. The letter accuses Sinclair of withholding more than 250 documents about continuing agreements and disclosures connected with its divestitures. “At least some of those documents appear to contemplate an ongoing commercial relationship between Sinclair and the divested station’s new owner or to give Sinclair rights to purchase certain stations in the future,” ACA said. The FCC shouldn't let Sinclair “hide the ball in this manner,” ACA said. “No one knows what arrangements have been reached in any of these documents, and Sinclair has unilaterally decided the Commission need not review them.” The FCC can't allow the merger to proceed without examining the documents because of its unprecedented size, ACA said. The agency already has gone to “extraordinary lengths” to “defend itself from charges of partiality,” ACA said, citing a recent blog post by Commissioner Mike O'Rielly (see 1805220034). If Sinclair's arrangements with divestiture partners allow for joint retransmission consent negotiations “they would increase the already considerable harm the transaction will cause,” ACA said.

Class A licensee L4 Media agreed to a $50,000 settlement with the FCC Media Bureau over public file violations going back 16 quarters, said an order and consent decree released Wednesday. The violations, which included failing to keep and file quarterly issues/program lists and children’s TV reports, occurred at L4’s Class A KBXS-CD Shreveport, Louisiana. The station also initially failed to respond to bureau queries about the missing filings, the order said. Under the consent decree, KBXS’s license will be renewed until 2021.