The U.S. broadcasting industry is expected to reach $36.47 billion in total advertising revenue in 2022, said a report from S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Kagan Tuesday. That’s an increase of 12.9% from $32.31 billion in 2021, returning to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, S&P Global said in a release. Spending in the 2022 midterm election is expected to reach $3.49 billion, an increase of 15% from the 2018 midterm elections, the report said. “Radio's lower ad cost, local audience and relatively high return on investment compared to other media will keep it relevant, although digital investments point to future growth opportunities with the spot ad market for radio expected to decline over the forecast period,” said the report.

The FCC Media Bureau approved two channel substitutions from Maine Public Broadcasting, said orders Monday. In docket 22-150, WCBB Augusta will switch from Channel 10 to 20, and in docket 22-215 WMEB-TV Orono will switch from 9 to 22.

The only way to know if merger conditions could make Standard/Tegna favorable to the public interest is for the FCC to grant public interest groups’ motion to require more information from the companies, said the Communications Workers of America's NewsGuild and National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians sectors and Common Cause in a call with Media Bureau Chief Holly Saurer and Media Bureau staff Thursday. “Without such information, neither the Commission nor objecting parties can even begin to assess how any conditions might be constructed,” said an ex parte filing in docket 22-166. The groups want additional information on how the combined company would staff and manage the purchased Tegna stations and seek “any document, such as a presentation, final agreement, e-mail or text communication” on future staffing plans “whether made to potential lenders, investors, board members, executives, or third parties.” The groups are also seeking more information about the investors funding the deal, the filing said. “Without that information, and regardless of how interests are portrayed as mere lending arrangements or passive ownership, it is not possible” to judge “whether they will be in a position to exercise ownership in ways that would require those interests to be denominated as attributable,” the filing said. The filing also asked the FCC to require submission of portions of the merger agreement that Standard/Tegna argued aren’t germane, including sections dealing with employee benefit plans, tax matters and indebtedness. Standard General didn't comment.

The FCC Enforcement Bureau issued several notices of illegal pirate radio broadcasting this week, said letters in Thursday’s Daily Digest. Letters were sent to Clearview in Bethesda, Maryland, and to Steve Tiamfook and Russell Evelyn and 100 E 92nd LLC, both in Brooklyn, New York, warning of possible forfeitures of over $2 million for “entities found to willfully and knowingly suffer (i.e., permit) a third party” to make unauthorized broadcasts on their property. The recipients have 10 days to respond to the agency, the letters said.

The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) has international support, said the News Media Alliance in a news release Thursday. Multinational organizations and groups in Canada, Australia, Europe and Latin America endorsed the proposed legislation, NMA said. “Particularly notable is the support from Australia” where similar rules were adopted “to address bargaining power imbalances between Australian publishers and Big Tech,” NMA said. The Australian law led to payouts to publishers from Facebook and Google. Canada, Europe and the U.K. are working toward passing similar laws, NMA said. In Australia, “compensation accrued to date amounts to approximately 20 percent of Australian journalists’ salaries and likely more than 20 percent of eligible publishers’ combined" EBITDA, NMA said. The JCPA is set for Senate Judiciary Committee markup in September.

“Specific and enforceable conditions” prohibiting joint retransmission consent negotiation are necessary for the Standard/Tegna deal, the American Television Association said in a call with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel Monday. “Any such conditions should last so long as Cox, Apollo, and their affiliates hold a financial interest in New TEGNA,” said an ex parte filing posted Thursday in docket 22-122. The applicants haven’t provided sufficient information for the FCC to tell whether Cox and Apollo Global Management would hold attributable interests in the new company, ATVA said.

“Given the paucity of minority-owned media,” the Asian-American ownership of would-be Tegna-buyer Standard General should “play an appropriate role in the outcome” of the FCC’s review of the deal, said Crossings TV CEO Frank Washington in a letter to the agency posted in docket 22-162. Standard's founder Soohyung Kim would head up the board of the combined company. “There are no Asian American owned networks or media holdings of significant size,” said Washington, a former FCC deputy bureau chief who was involved in the minority tax certificate’s creation and the Viacom deal that led to Congress repealing the program. “There was a time when the FCC recognized the importance of this to the programming, societal and political landscape of this country,” he said in the letter: “Given the focus in opposing comments on Apollo’s role in this, why does this seem to always be a factor when a minority is involved?” (see 2207260058).

The FCC should consider requiring Standard General and Tegna to “better explain the structure” of their proposed deal and its use of “after-acquired” and “divested” station clauses, said Altice in a call with an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel last week, according to an ex parte filing in docket 22-162. Altice is “concerned that the applicants may be engineering this transaction to raise retransmission consent prices through a complicated deployment” of such clauses, the filing said. The transaction's effect on retransmission consent negotiations has been a focus of deal opponents (see 2208090026).

A proposed sale of 18 Spanish-language radio stations from TelevisaUnivision to the Latino Media Network, is undergoing review “consistent with agency rules,” wrote FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel in a letter responding to inquiries from Democratic lawmakers about the deal. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus and others urged the FCC to approve the transaction to increase ownership diversity, but Republican lawmakers said the deal should be scrutinized due to the involvement of Lakestar Finance, which has ties to investor George Soros (see 2206090071). “This process includes a thorough review of the record to determine if the proposed assignment is in the public interest,” said Rosenworcel in nearly identical letters to Sen. Ben Ray Lujan D-N.M., Rep. Bob Menendez, D-N.Y., and others.

Marion Education Exchange’s license hearing proceeding was dismissed with prejudice and the low-power FM broadcaster will likely lose the license of station WWGH(LP) Marion, Ohio, according to an order of dismissal from FCC Administrative Law Judge Jane Halprin in docket 22-76 in Tuesday’s Daily Digest. Halprin previously warned MEE the broadcaster must secure an attorney for the hearing to proceed (see 2206240060). “MEE’s representatives have consistently evidenced an inability or unwillingness to familiarize themselves with Commission rules and procedures in a way that would allow this case to move forward,” Halprin wrote. “When a licensee that bears the burden of proof does not fully participate in a hearing, it forfeits its opportunity to show that grant of its application is in the public interest.” The MEE hearing proceeding stems from allegations the broadcaster repeatedly failed to respond to FCC inquiries and gave the agency false information about the make-up of its board, including the names of deceased board members on filings, and changing board members without informing the agency. Halprin also ordered that a July letter from station manager Shawn Craft asking the FCC to impose a fine and spare the license (see 2207270047) be stricken from the record as an improper ex parte submission. “There is no mechanism in the Commission’s hearing rules to ignore the MEE HDO and turn back the clock so that MEE can be more forthcoming with the Media Bureau,” Halprin wrote. MEE didn’t comment.