“Attribution in a security incident is complicated and can be speculative,” emailed a Sinclair spokesperson in response to a report that the company’s recent hack (see 2110180063) was the work of a Russian-based gang of cybercriminals called “Evil Corp.” “Our focus remains on continuing to work closely with a third-party cybersecurity firm, other incident response professionals, law enforcement and governmental agencies as part of our investigation,” the spokesperson said. The company is making progress at restoring systems after the attack, Sinclair said. “All of our stations and Regional Sports Networks (RSNs) are currently on the air and broadcasting,” and “a large portion of other programming has and is airing as scheduled,” said the spokesperson. “We are still working to return to our complete regular programming schedule and to resolve all programming issues that may arise.”

Audacy bought “an exclusive, perpetual license” to use WideOrbit’s digital audio streaming technology WO Streaming, said a release Wednesday. Audacy said this lets it deliver enhanced consumer-facing streaming features. Audacy will operate the service under the name AmperWave, and the WO Streaming team has joined Audacy. Audacy didn't comment on the purchase price. See also the personals section of this issue.

The Parents Television Council wants KREM Spokane, Washington, and owner Tegna to investigate how a clip of pornographic material aired for about 10 seconds during a weather segment on the station’s evening news broadcast Sunday. “Let there be no suggestion that the airing of the pornographic content might have been an ‘accident’ or a ‘mistake,’ said PTC President Tim Winter in a release Wednesday. “Someone with the wherewithal to pass that content through the control room did so intentionally. If it were not aired by someone’s design, why is it always porn that gets aired ‘by accident’ instead of innocuous content?” “We have apologized to our viewers and are diligently working to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again,” emailed a Tegna spokesperson. In 2016, then-Schurz-owned WDBJ Roanoke, Virginia, paid a $325,000 FCC forfeiture after it aired an image that contained pornography during a news story about a firefighter’s adult film career (see 1604040057). Schurz appealed the amount but eventually paid in order to close its sale to Gray Television. Schurz’s then-attorney, Jack Goodman, said in an interview Wednesday that FCC authority to fine stations over airing pornographic content remains “constitutionally dubious.”

Clarify rules for broadcasters hosting ATSC 3.0 multicast streams as part of the transition to the new standard, asked NAB in calls with an aide to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr last week, said a filing posted Monday in docket 16-142. A draft item addressing NAB’s petition on the matter was recently circulated (see 2110130061). “NAB’s proposed changes are intended to ensure that the Commission has a consistent regulatory framework as the Next Gen TV rollout continues,” the group said.

The FCC will hold a hearing on the fitness of a Pennsylvania broadcaster to hold a license after he admitted to using a hidden camera and a cellphone in an attempt to have a woman he knew raped, said a hearing designation order released Tuesday in docket 21-401. Roger Wahl, licensee of WQZS(FM) Meyersdale, pleaded guilty in July 2020 to the felony crime of criminal use of a communications facility and four misdemeanors involving the incident, said the HDO. Wahl’s convictions “raise the question” whether “he possesses the requisite character qualifications to remain a Commission licensee,” the HDO said. Wahl admitted in court to creating a fake dating profile of the woman, using a camera hidden in her bathroom to take and then send nude photos of the victim, and soliciting a man who responded to the profile to have sex with the victim without consent, the HDO said. Reportedly, at least some of these acts were carried out from WQZS facilities. He also deleted the evidence from his phone after learning of the investigation, the HDO said. “Even though Wahl’s attempt to inflict physical harm on the victim failed, he did inflict substantial emotional harm,” the HDO said. Wahl had sought to transfer the station to his daughter Wendy Sipple, which the bureau granted, but in July 2020 the decision was rescinded. Wahl’s application to transfer the station remains pending. Wahl and WQZS didn’t comment.

Triveni Digital will host a virtual ATSC 3.0 event Nov. 3 that will include a keynote by ATSC President Madeleine Noland and live sessions with 3.0 broadcasters and developers, including Ark Multicasting, said the company Monday. The event, called the Triveni Digital LIVE Forum, “will be vastly different than mainstream virtual events; we'll swap out pre-recorded webinars with engaging and interactive live discussions,” said Triveni. “With the cancellation of the 2021 NAB Show, the broadcast industry is missing out on the opportunity to interact and engage.”

Fifteen attorneys general called for legislation that provides tax credits to benefit local journalism operations, including TV and radio, said a letter and news release Friday from Massachusetts' Maura Healey (D). The Local Journalism Sustainability Act would provide up to $5,000 in tax credits for local businesses that buy radio, TV and newspaper ads, and up to $25,000 for local news organizations to hire journalists. The other AGs who signed the letter were from Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington, Washington, D.C., and Guam.

Final briefs in broadcasters’ legal challenge of FCC rules on foreign-sponsored content disclosures are due Feb.22, said a schedule from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Wednesday (see 2108130074). NAB, the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters, and Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council argued the disclosure rules are overly broad, burdensome, and outside FCC authority. Initial briefs from the broadcasters are due Nov. 22, the FCC response Dec. 22 and the broadcaster reply Jan. 12.

The FCC should let iHeartMedia be up to 49.99% foreign-owned, said iHeart investor Global Media & Entertainment Investments in an Oct. 8 call with Media Bureau Audio Division Chief Albert Shuldiner, said a filing posted Thursday in docket 21-141. IHeart asked to be approved as only 14.99% foreign-owned (see 2105250041), and told the FCC GMEI has no standing to seek additional permission. The FCC “can best uphold its foreign ownership rules and policies by exercising its clear authority to grant the level of advance approval proposed by GMEI,” said the filing.

Relax ownership caps on AMs, narrowly define radio’s market as local radio, and don't authorize geotargeted radio broadcasts, asked iHeartMedia in virtual meetings earlier this week with an aide to acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and an aide to Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, per filings posted Thursday in docket 18-349. “Relaxation of the FM ownership limits would exacerbate an already perilous competitive disadvantage that AM stations have in relation to FM.” A broader definition of the radio market as “encompassing virtually all audio services and digital media” is “wholly inconsistent with the views expressed by” DOJ and FTC antitrust lawsuits against Google and Facebook, iHeart said. “Zonecasting” would “completely overturn the radio industry’s core business model, offering illusory promised benefits and disproportionately harming smaller and minority-owned stations,” said the company. Zonecasting proponent GeoBroadcast Solutions spoke with Rosenworcel’s aide to tout the technology’s benefits to minorities Tuesday, said a filing posted Thursday in docket 20-401