The FCC unanimously approved a Further NPRM Tuesday seeking comment on all aspects of ATSC 3.0, including the possible sunset of the substantially similar requirement, and whether 3.0-essential patents are being licensed on fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms. The NPRM also seeks comment on the availability of 3.0 devices to consumers. “While broadcasters have incentives to provide the programming their viewers want, after making significant investments in ATSC 3.0 technology they may also have incentives to favor their ATSC 3.0 offerings,” said the NPRM. As expected (see 2205310047), the item is broad and doesn’t appear to contain tentative conclusions but seeks comment on the proliferation of 3.0, MVPD carriage, whether the ATSC A/322 standard should be allowed to sunset, and whether broadcasters have begun offering the high-quality viewer experiences 3.0 was supposed to provide. “Without the substantially similar rule, how can the Commission ensure that 1.0 viewers are able to keep watching the same programming they watch today, as well as any new programming offerings on a broadcaster’s primary channel?” asks the NPRM. The item also seeks comment on how long the transition is expected to take, and asks about the availability of cheaper converters. “We are not aware of any low-cost set-top boxes or converters (e.g., external tuners or dongles), or any converter devices that can be purchased offline in a ‘brick and mortar’ location,” said the FNPRM. Comments will be due 30 days after it's published in the Federal Register.

The FCC Media Bureau proposed a $6,000 penalty for a Zanesville, Ohio, TV station over violations of the agency’s public file rules, said a notice of apparent liability Friday. WHIZ-TV uploaded one quarterly issues/programs list more than a year late, and seven more under a year late. “The Licensee did not provide any explanation for its failure to upload these issues/programs lists in a timely manner,” the filing said.

Standard Media CEO Deb McDermott told Tegna employees the company doesn't plan to lay off journalists from Tegna stations after they're acquired by Standard, according to a Thursday email from McDermott to Tegna staff obtained by Communications Daily. Standard and McDermott “have never had the intention of reducing news or news staff at TEGNA stations,” the email said. Standard’s recent response to the FCC makes similar statements (see 2206140068) but also says in a footnote the company could seek to eliminate some corporate positions. “In light of Standard General’s focus on shifting more management authority and responsibility from TEGNA corporate headquarters to TEGNA’s local stations, staffing reductions at TEGNA corporate headquarters are expected,” the response said. McDermott’s email also touts the company’s record of increasing newsroom staff and investing in stations. “We expect to compete vigorously in all markets, which will require continued investment in local journalism and newsgathering operations,” the email said. If Standard truly plans not to reduce newsroom staff, it should consent to an FCC merger condition that says so and includes a monetary penalty for violations, said Jon Schleuss, president of the Newsguild sector of the Communications Workers of America, which represents journalists and has vocally opposed Standard/Tegna. The language in McDermott's letter focuses on the company's intentions rather than an outright statement that workers won't be laid off, he said in an interview.

FCC Administrative Law Judge Jane Halprin granted an extension of filing deadlines requested by the Enforcement Bureau in the hearing on broadcaster Arm & Rage until July 8, said an order posted in docket 22-122 Friday (see 2206060060). The EB requested the extension after Arm & Rage filed a motion seeking to include constitutional issues in the proceeding, arguing revocation of WJBE (AM) Powell, Tennessee’s license could violate the First Amendment or the Equal Protection Clause. The EB had requested an extension until July 16, while Arm & Rage pushed for less time, until June 29. “While Arm & Rage is correct that the Bureau isn't being asked to analyze these complex constitutional issues but merely to address whether they should be added to the case, that evaluation necessarily involves some research and thoughtful consideration,” the order said.

Comments on the FCC’s NPRM on FM6 stations are due July 18, replies Aug. 1, in docket 03-185, said a notice prepared for Friday’s Federal Register. The NPRM sought comment on rules for allowing FM6 stations to broadcast their analog audio signals as an ancillary service and allowing FM stations to use Channel 6 spectrum (see 2206020061).

The FCC Enforcement Bureau sent warnings to two property owners allegedly hosting pirate radio broadcasters, threatening penalties of up to $2 million, according to two “Notices of Illegal Pirate Radio Broadcasting” listed in Thursday’s Daily Digest. One was sent to Monel Meriland of Burlington. Vermont, for illegal broadcasts on 90.9 MHz in Newark, New Jersey in March, and another to R & T Realty Associates in Freehold, New Jersey, for broadcasts on 105.5 MHz in Queens, New York. “You are hereby notified and warned that the FCC may issue a fine of up to $2,000,000 if, following the response period set forth below, we determine that you have continued to permit any individual or entity to engage in pirate radio broadcasting,” the notices said.

Geo-targeted radio ads would have “devastating impact” on the radio industry, NAB President Curtis LeGeyt told FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr in a call Friday, said an ex parte filing posted Wednesday in docket 20-401. “That the technology is pitched as ‘voluntary’ does nothing to assuage industry fears,” said the filing, arguing even if only some stations use the tech, it will bring ad rates down for all. “There are no anti-competitive or consumer harms that would result from dismissing GBS’s [GeoBroadcast Solutions] proposal,” LeGeyt told Carr. “The only interest truly in support of the rule change is a private one -- GBS -- while the public stands to lose considerably if the FCC grants GBS’s petition.” Radio personality Hugh Hewitt recently also wrote Carr condemning the geo-targeted radio proposal (see 2206020064). GBS didn’t comment.

Cable groups should support an NAB proposal that would require broadcasters using ATSC 3.0 multicasting and channel hosting to submit a showing to the FCC that they could transmit all hosted programming on a single 1.0 facility if there’s a complaint, NAB told the Media Bureau in a call Friday, according to an ex parte filing posted Wednesday. ATVA said its members shouldn’t be responsible for policing broadcasters and filing complaints, but NAB argued in the filing that cable companies would be the ones most affected by capacity abuse. “NAB is puzzled by ATVA’s apparent assertion that cable companies will suffer severe injury from abuse of the rule but also that the injury will be so subtle as to escape notice,” the filing said. “That is an abundantly reasonable proposal to address a situation that will never actually arise in practice,” NAB said. Though the filing gives the date of the call as May 10, NAB confirmed it occurred Friday.

The FCC Media Bureau denied an FM translator’s request to be allowed to remain silent and rescinded its license after learning the broadcaster, Powell Meredith Communications, didn’t construct the station in the authorized location and didn’t fulfill the conditions of its license, said a letter in Tuesday’s Daily Digest. PMC built its station on a ham radio tower in a recreational vehicle park rather than at the authorized tower site 30 yards away, the letter said. PMC argued the FCC was discriminating against the station because the company's sole principal is a minority, and said the agency was acting outside its authority. "There is nothing about the License Condition or LOI [letter of inquiry] that is disparate, discriminatory, or beyond the Bureau’s authority," the letter said. "The constructed facilities were not licensable because PMC provided false information in the License Application by stating that it had completed construction at the authorized location,” the letter said. That construction also violated FCC rules because of its “temporary nature,” said the bureau.

The FCC Media Bureau proposed a $6,500 penalty for a Methow Valley, Washington, TV translator for failing to file a license to cover on time and operating without authorization after its incentive auction displacement construction permit expired, said a notice of apparent liability in Monday’s Daily Digest. K44EN-D submitted documentation that it had constructed its displacement facilities and was operating from them, but it didn't do so until three years after completing them and six months after the permit expired, the NAL said. “It is well settled that administrative oversight is not an excuse for failure to comply with the Commission’s rules,” said the NAL.