FCC foreign-sponsored content identification rules build incrementally on existing sponsorship ID rules and are designed to be minimally burdensome, the agency told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in a response brief posted Friday in docket 21-1171. The rules require “a simple name search” of entities seeking to lease air time and a narrower rule would either be ineffective or raise First Amendment issues, the agency said: A rule that required broadcasters to verify a lessor’s status only when they had reason to be suspicious or based on content would be “open to discriminatory application.” A “standard relying on broadcaster’s subjective belief regarding the risk of foreign governmental sponsorship would be ineffectual and unenforceable.” The rules respond to incidents where foreign governments were leasing large chunks of airtime, the filing said: The requirements aren't “fruitless make-work” but “a reasonably targeted means” for making the public aware of when a foreign government is behind a broadcast.

Two FCC Media Bureau channel moves took effect Friday, said that day’s Federal Register. KVVU-TV Henderson, Nevada’s shift from Channel 9 to 24 took effect Friday along with the allotment of Channel *4 for Fort Bragg, California, to One Ministries. Channels designated with an asterisk are reserved for noncommercial educational stations.

Full-power and Class A TV stations assigned to the latter half of the repacking must submit all remaining reimbursement invoices by March 22, said the FCC's Incentive Auction Task Force and the Media Bureau in a reminder public notice in docket 16-306 Friday. “Extensions of the assigned invoice submission deadlines should not be required,” said the PN. “Close-out procedures were announced” in February 2019. The agency will consider an extension to Sept. 6 if entities can provide evidence of extenuating circumstances outside the entity's control. The agency won’t grant extensions that don’t provide staff with enough time to complete close-out procedures, and any money remaining in the reimbursement fund will be rescinded to the U.S. Treasury in July 2023. Failing to make the deadline “could preclude that entity from receiving full reimbursement,” the PN said.

The FCC Media Bureau granted Univision’s request (see 2110050053) for permission to be more than 25% foreign owned, said a declaratory ruling in Friday’s Daily Digest. “It is in the public interest to grant Univision’s request to permit foreign investors to own up to 100% in the aggregate of Univision’s equity and voting interests.” Univision had sought the approval to allow investors SoftBank and Liberty Global to have voting interests above 5%. There were no comments on the request, and the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications Services Sector signed off last month (see 2112270049).

Alabama Educational Television wants the FCC Media Bureau to allot it noncommercial educational channel *4 in Vernon as the area’s first local TV station, said an NPRM in docket 22-30 Thursday. Channels designated with an asterisk are reserved for NCE stations. Comments are due 30 days after Federal Register publication, replies 45 days after. Gray Television’s request to swap KNOE-TV Monroe, Louisiana, from Channel 8 to 24 is effective Thursday, said that day’s FR.

IHeart Media allows its advertisers to target specific markets while advocating against the smaller scale geotargeting technology proposal from GeoBroadcast Solutions (see 2112030052), GBS said in a letter to the FCC posted Thursday in docket 20-401. “The FCC should enable all broadcasters -- not just those with a huge number of radio stations -- to offer geo-targeted content to advertisers and also to their audiences.” IHeart declined to comment. Advertisers on iHeart stations are offered a service called iHeart AdBuilder, allowing them to choose from iHeart's many markets specific cities where their ads will be aired, GBS said. That’s different from the GBS proposal, which would use FM boosters to broadcast specific ads to specific portions of a station’s market, it wrote. “The same economic benefits that iHeart may gain by geo-targeting content apply just the same to a smaller broadcaster’s targeting of content to a zone within their market.”

Consumer "acceptance" of ATSC 3.0 is “rapid,” said Pearl TV representatives, including Managing Director Anne Schelle, on a Jan. 14 call with an aide to FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington about the progress in deploying the new standard, according to a filing posted Wednesday in docket 16-142. ATSC 3.0 services are in “over 46 markets” and 35 more will launch in 2022, said Pearl: "In less than two years, nearly 3 million NextGen TV receivers have been sold, and it is projected that 4.5 million sets will be sold this year as more consumers upgrade to smart TVs. This rapid acceptance of the technology is one of the fastest penetration rates for a new consumer technology."

Comments are due March 21 on a host of requests by AM and FM stations to change their community of license, says Tuesday’s Federal Register.

Sinclair renewed its market and digital distribution rights agreement with the NBA, the broadcaster said Thursday. This lets Sinclair subsidiary Diamond Sports Group’s Bally Sports regional networks to deliver streaming NBA content and live games in the territories of 16 NBA teams on Sinclair’s planned direct-to-consumer offering. The DTC platform is to launch in 2022 (see 2111050063). The teams involved in the agreement are the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs.

The FCC Enforcement Bureau issued a notice of violation Thursday to a California low-power FM station for violating rules on monitoring emergency alert system sources. Dream Ahead the Empowerment Initiative’s station KLDI-LP Lodi was found to be monitoring only one AM station for possible EAS alerts after the station’s EAS logs were reviewed, the notice said. “KLDI-LP was not monitoring two required EAS sources and was not monitoring the correct EAS sources.” Dream Ahead couldn’t be reached for comment.