Broadcasters want the FCC to distinguish between “next-generation EAS” (emergency alert system) and enhanced alerting through ATSC 3.0, said replies posted Friday in docket 15-94. “Conflating the two platforms threatens to encourage the migration of the rules and requirements that govern EAS (which have accrued from the 1950’s to this proceeding) to ATSC 3.0 emergency messaging,” said the Advanced Warning and Response Network Alliance and ATSC. The 3.0 “optional, value-added urgent news information service” is called “Advanced Emergency Information” and is a valuable supplement for EAS alerts but isn’t the same thing, NAB said. “Refrain from regulating such an optional ATSC 3.0 content service because it is unrelated to the vital service provided by the EAS system and doing so could hinder innovation.” AWARN and ATSC urged the FCC not to impose alerting regulations on streaming media. NAB reiterated (see 2110200065) that an FCC proposal for persistent EAS alerts isn’t feasible.
The FCC unanimously approved an NPRM Monday seeking comment on allowing use of computer models to show FM directional antenna patterns for applications. The item had been set for Thursday’s commissioners’ meeting, and wasn’t expected to be controversial -- no outside parties submitted filings to docket 21-422. The final version appeared little changed from the draft. Allowing broadcasters to use computer simulations instead of the full-size and scale models currently required will save money, broadcast engineers told us. “The requirements can be quite expensive,” said du Treil Lundin President Bob du Treil. “We tentatively conclude that requiring" FM and low-power FM "applicants to provide physical measurements as the only means to verify directional antenna patterns is outdated,” the NPRM said. It stems from a June petition by Dielectric, Jampro Antennas, Shively Labs, Radio Frequency Systems and the Educational Media Foundation. Petitioners argued that computer models are cheaper and may have improved accuracy over the model method. AM and TV antennas already can use computer modeling to demonstrate their patterns for applications, and the current rule puts FM applicants “on an unequal footing with their AM and DTV counterparts,” the NPRM said. A deletion notice Tuesday removed the item from the meeting agenda.
The FCC and National Treasury Employees Union agreed on reentry plans, per a signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) and an agency email obtained by Communications Daily. The NTEU confirmed that the sides completed collective bargaining over the multiphase reentry plan Friday. They agreed to further evaluate “the post-pandemic workplace environment” after the start of the reentry plan’s final phase, according to the MOU provided to staff Monday.
The FCC approved Gray Television’s $2.7 billion purchase of 17 TV stations from Meredith, said a letter from the Media Bureau's Video Division posted Friday. “The Transaction serves the public interest, convenience, and necessity.” Approval was expected and Gray executives recently said it would come soon (see 2111050063). The deal involves one overlapping market that Gray addressed by divesting WJRT-TV Flint, Michigan, to Allen Media (see 2107150003), and drew no formal objections. The transaction will make Gray the No. 2 U.S. broadcaster by revenue, and give it an audience reach of 25% of households, well under the 39% cap. Two informal objections, including a late-filed one from a Las Vegas-area broadcast antenna installer who said Meredith had a policy against carrying ads that encourage cord cutting, were rejected. “We cannot conclude, as Mr. Antenna suggests, that such a policy exists, or ever existed, at Gray or Meredith,” staff said: The deal would create public interest benefits for viewers because of Gray’s Washington bureau and the advantages of greater scale. Once the sale is consummated, Meredith will separate into two companies, one consisting of the broadcast properties and owned by Gray, and the other -- Meredith’s print, content and digital businesses -- will become a subsidiary of Dotdash Media (see 2111100051). The deal is expected to close Dec.1, Meredith has said.
Broadcasters and their attorneys don’t expect the FCC to complete the 2018 quadrennial review before 2022, and said a substantive order is unlikely even if something is voted on before year’s end.
Broadcasters should never be partisan, should focus on “the counterpunch” and shouldn't be afraid to negotiate, said outgoing NAB CEO Gordon Smith in a livestreamed “state of the industry” address before NAB’s Marconi Awards presentation Wednesday. Smith steps down at year-end and will be replaced by current NAB Chief Operating Officer Curtis LeGeyt (see 2104070045). The speech had been planned for the since-canceled NAB Show 2021. Smith has headed NAB for 12 years, after a two-term stint in the U.S. Senate. LeGeyt is “the right person at the right time for this job,” Smith said Wednesday. The outgoing CEO praised NAB’s role in securing COVID-19 pandemic relief for broadcasters and “standing up to the tech giants,” and said broadcasting has never been more important as an institution than over the past 20 months. Smith advised advocates for broadcasting to prioritize issues with practical consequences, hire “the best, not the most,” and not “punch” until they have assessed the likely response from their opponent. “Some things have to ripen, and you want to calibrate your punch when it’s most impactful,” Smith said. He will continue to work for NAB as an adviser starting in January.
The FCC unanimously approved a Further NPRM seeking comment on proposals from NAB’s petition on ATSC 3.0 multicasting. The FNPRM released Friday tentatively concludes that the agency should let 3.0 stations license multicast streams that are hosted by other stations (see 2110280064). It proposes allowing stations broadcasting in 3.0 on their own channels to license ATSC 1.0 multicast streams hosted by other stations without simulcasting that stream in 3.0 themselves. Licensing multicast streams would make clear what station is responsible for FCC violations on a given stream, the FNPRM said. It would also address concerns about noncommercial educational stations hosting the streams of commercial broadcasters, the FNPRM said. FCC rules prohibit airing broadcast ads over NCE spectrum. The proposals could help address broadcaster capacity concerns “by facilitating the participation of stations uncomfortable with a purely contractual approach and making the participation of NCE stations legally permissible,” the FNPRM said. The FCC declined to seek comment on an NAB proposal for broadcasters to host multicast streams even without broadcasting in 3.0 but asked about allowing 3.0 broadcasters to host their primary and multicast streams on different stations to prevent service loss. “Is there any reason to treat ‘simulcast’ multicast streams differently than ‘simulcast’ primary streams?” the FCC asked. The FNPRM seeks comment on how to prevent broadcasters from taking advantage of the rule changes “to aggregate programming or broadcast spectrum on multiple stations in a market in a manner that would not otherwise be possible or permitted.”
A drop in automotive advertising caused by supply chain woes remains a drag on TV and radio advertising, according to Q3 reports delivered in calls last week. Last year's revenue was strongly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic’s slowdown on commercials but buoyed by political spots from the presidential election, several companies noted.
The FCC’s new Communications Equity and Diversity Council will meet more often and act more quickly than preceding diversity committees, said Chair Heather Gate at the CEDC's first virtual meeting. Previous diversity committees voted on most recommendations at the end of their terms, but the new group should aim at being “part of the solution as things are happening right now," said Gate, the Connected Nation vice president-digital inclusion: "Waiting until 2023 to drop all of our recommendations, we may miss a window that is open right now.”
The FCC is planning to allow employees to return to working at the agency’s headquarters starting Dec.1, according to a memo emailed to FCC staff by the agency’s HR department Monday and obtained by Communications Daily. The agency will shift from “mandatory telework” to “maximum telework,” allowing employees to come in if they choose. “We want to assure everyone that you should not be hesitant to take advantage of the maximum telework flexibility, doing so will not be seen in a negative light, and employees should do what they think is best given their individual circumstances,” said the memo.