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.

The FCC Media Bureau granted a channel substitution request from KVVU Broadcasting to switch KVVU-TV Henderson, Nevada, from Channel 9 to 24, said an order in docket 21-124 Wednesday. The bureau also granted a substitution for KPTV-KPDX Broadcasting for KPTV Portland, Oregon, to switch from 12 to 21, said an order in docket 21-130.

Any relocations of low-power TV stations or future applications for new ones should be “scrutinized carefully for compliance” with FCC rules protecting land mobile operations, said the Land Mobile Communications Council in a letter to the Media Bureau Tuesday. It responded to comments from the Advanced Television Broadcasting Alliance in Communications Daily anticipating more flexibility for LPTV station moves (see 2112280050). LMCC said it doesn’t object to flexibility for LPTV but is concerned about possible interference: “A number of adjacent channel DTV stations on the current list of broadcast stations requiring protection from land mobile systems are closer than permitted” and “were granted without waiver.”

A Thursday status conference on the license of a broadcaster convicted of attempting to have a woman raped (see 2112100056) was canceled after Roger Wahl, licensee of WQZS(FM) Meyersdale, Pennsylvania, said he couldn’t attend due to a medical procedure. Wahl said in a Monday filing that he was to have major surgery Wednesday and then would be in medical facilities recovering and undergoing physical therapy. He didn't comment. “Dates and deadlines established throughout this proceeding are not suggestions,” wrote FCC Administrative Law Judge Jane Halprin in an order posted Wednesday. Wahl received notice over a month before and didn’t submit anything saying he couldn’t attend before this week, and didn’t initially respond to attempts to contact him, Halprin said. “He has wasted the time of the Presiding Judge and her staff, the Enforcement Bureau, and the court reporting service that was engaged to prepare a transcript of the conference.” Parties that ignore court deadlines are “in significant danger of being held in default,” Halprin said: “A decision regarding the ongoing consideration of this hearing proceeding will be issued" later.