The FCC should “exercise caution” in considering a...

The FCC should “exercise caution” in considering a request from broadcaster Howard Stirk Holdings asking for assurances that the commission will grant HSH a waiver of its new ownership attribution rules for joint sales agreements (JSAs), said Free Press in an ex parte filing Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1qFcERw). The waiver request is connected to Sinclair’s purchase of Allbritton, which is still awaiting commission approval. HSH is one of several sidecar companies that had been involved in the deal through JSAs. Although Sinclair said (CD March 21 p16) it will restructure the deal to come into compliance with new standards for deals involving sharing arrangements, HSH has said it can still participate in the transaction if the Media Bureau grants it a waiver of the attribution rules. Granting such a waiver would allow Sinclair “to subvert the purpose of the Commission’s ownership limits in order to expand Sinclair’s reach,” said Free Press. Since the Sinclair/Allbritton transaction is still under review, large pieces of the Free Press filing are redacted, but Free Press seems to be arguing that a waiver for HSH would still lead to Sinclair exercising control over the station’s content. “It is difficult to imagine how reaping such minuscule profits might create a path to wealth and independence, as is the Commission’s stated intent for allowing waivers of its JSA attribution standards,” said Free Press after a redacted portion, apparently concerning the financial details of the deal. “It follows that the Commission should not endorse Sinclair’s latest scheme to evade its rules,” Free Press said.