Stations Seek Recon of Retrans Violation Fines

FCC fines against Sinclair-affiliated stations over violations of good faith negotiation rules in retransmission consent negotiations with AT&T and its then-DirecTV affiliate (see 2107280068) violated their Fifth Amendment due process rights, the stations said in a docket 19-168 reconsideration petition posted Monday. Station owner Second Generation of Iowa (SGI), in a supplemental recon petition, said if the FCC doesn't grant superseding relief sought in the joint petition, the forfeiture amount imposed on SGI should be reduced. The stations said the order didn't give fair notice of the imposition and size of the penalty and adopted a new interpretation of permissible joint negotiation. They said they "acted reasonably" in their joint negotiations with AT&T, and now "cannot lawfully be punished for failing to divine the agency’s unprecedented interpretation of its rules." SGI said the $512,228 fine against it should be reduced to $30,000 because of its inability to pay the larger amount, similar to how the FCC reduced the fine on another of the stations involved in the retrans talks with AT&T. The FCC didn't comment.