Low-power television broadcasters and NAB don’t think the FCC should broadly apply online public file requirements to LPTV, said a host of reply comments filed in docket 24-147 by Monday’s deadline. LPTV commenters also called for looser relocation limits and power increase options. In addition, LPTV company Venture Technologies argued that the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling against Chevron deference means the FCC must allow more stations to convert to Class A status. “We believe that the FCC’s failure to allow virtually any new Class A stations for more than two decades is inconsistent with the principles established by the recent Supreme Court decision in Loper Bright Enterprises et al. v. Raimondo,” Venture said.
Supporters of an A-10 high-power Class A FM station designation told the FCC that spacing and interference issues with the proposal are fixable, though some engineers and broadcast groups remain skeptical. Reply comments responding to broadcaster Commander Communications' petition were due Wednesday in docket 24-183. NAB and Cumulus have said the new class would further degrade the FM noise floor (see 2407230035). “Were the Commission to approve the FM Class A-10 classification, Commander believes that hundreds of FM Class A operators would be able to realize improvements in coverage,” the broadcaster said.
The FCC’s Communications, Equity and Diversity Council may lobby for affordable connectivity program funding, according to comments at Tuesday’s CEDC meeting, the second under a new charter that lasts until 2025. The CEDC has 10 months to prepare recommendations for the FCC on implementing digital discrimination rules and getting the most for underserved communities out of federal broadband infrastructure funding, Chair Heather Gate said. “We must make recommendations to the FCC directly, but we should not be afraid to make recommendations that the FCC can communicate with other agencies,” Gate said. “We may also ask the FCC to communicate our recommendations with the White House or Congress."
The Democratic Party’s switch to Vice President Kamala Harris as its candidate for the White House is expected to provide a huge boost to broadcasters’ political advertising haul from the 2024 election, TV and radio executives said during recent Q2 earnings calls. Broadcasters also see sports returning to traditional airwaves, and Nexstar CEO Perry Sook predicted pay TV is arriving at an “inflection point” that could arrest plummeting subscriber numbers and drooping retrans dollars. Outgoing Tegna CEO Dave Lougee disagreed during what he said would be his final earnings call before retiring. “The innings of net retrans as the growth driver have certainly come to the later stages,” he said. Mike Steib will succeed Lougee next week.
The FCC unanimously approved an order Wednesday creating an alert code for missing adults and an NPRM on proposed revisions for the robocall mitigation database. At their open meeting, commissioners also voted on an item that protects consumers from AI in robocalls (see 2408070037). “We do not have a tool on par with Amber alerts to raise awareness and assist with recovery efforts of those 18 and older,” Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said of the new Missing and Endangered Persons (MEP) alert code. “I think it would make a difference if we did. Because while only one third of those who go missing are adults, they account for 70% of people who are never found.” Though originally scheduled for Wednesday morning, the meeting’s start time was pushed back nearly three hours due to flight delays that affected Rosenworcel, she said.
The FCC’s draft order that would create an additional alert code for missing and endangered adults will gain unanimous approval during Wednesday’s open meeting, agency officials told us. The item received widespread support from alerting officials, industry trade associations and indigenous groups. The final order is expected to have changed little from the draft version, an FCC official said. While the new alert code will be used for any missing person older than 17 with special needs and circumstances or who is endangered, abducted or kidnapped, it's aimed at addressing the rising problem of missing and murdered indigenous people, the FCC has said. Speaking at an indigenous women’s event Wednesday, Rosenworcel said the item will gain approval and credited Native groups for the proposal. “The action the FCC is taking next week is in direct response to a call sent out by Native communities after enduring a crisis of the missing for far too long,” she said. The code will be “a really powerful tool," said Loris Taylor, president of Native Public Media (NPM) and an advocate of the new code.
The FCC shouldn’t apply online public information file (OPIF) requirements to low-power television stations, LPTV groups, NAB, the National Religious Broadcasters, Gray Television and numerous individual broadcasters say in comments filed in docket 24-147 posted by Wednesday.
If courts rule that the U.S. Supreme Court’s SEC v Jarkesy decision means a wide swath of FCC enforcement proceedings require jury trials, the agency may not be able to pursue any enforcement without congressional authority, former FCC Office of General Counsel and Enforcement bureau veterans said Wednesday.
The FCC approved on a 3-2 party line vote an NPRM seeking comment on requiring disclosures for political ads that use AI-generated content. The proposal, which was approved July 10 on circulation but not released until Thursday, doesn’t specify the timing of an eventual order. Commissioner Brendan Carr and Federal Election Commission Chair Sean Cooksey condemned it as an attempt to interfere with the 2024 election. The FCC declined to comment on the intended timing of a final rule, or the delay in the item’s release.
Large and small broadcasters, engineers and low-power FM interests disagree about whether the FCC should create a more powerful group of Class A FM station known as A-10, according to comments posted in docket 24-183. Due Monday, the comments responded to a Commander Communications petition (see 2406200052). Many smaller broadcasters support the proposal, but Cumulus and NAB said it could increase interference at other stations. Common Frequency and REC Networks said the proposal must be paired with one allowing increased power for LPFM stations. Multiple commenters, including Commander, said the petition contains technical errors in its calculations of separation distances, but those discrepancies could be adjusted. “Commander believes that the Commission could easily correct these spacing values and that the underlying concept of the FM Class A-10 station would not be affected negatively,” Commander said in a comment filing.