NAB Deputy General Counsel Patrick McFadden has joined Sinclair as senior vice president-global public policy and communications, according to a news release from Sinclair Monday. McFadden "will be responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of Sinclair’s comprehensive legislative and regulatory strategy" and "oversee Sinclair’s strategic communications and messaging," said the release. McFadden was with NAB for 10 years, and among his most recent duties was overseeing the Future of TV Initiative, the public/private ATSC 3.0 task force that includes FCC participation. Although Sinclair participates in the task force, NAB told us NAB staff will continue to oversee the group's administration. Prior to NAB, McFadden practiced telecommunications law for Drinker Biddle.

Audacy entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings and will undergo restructuring, the radio broadcaster announced in a news release Sunday. The restructuring will reduce Audacy’s funded debt from approximately $1.9 billion to around $350 million, it said. Audacy said it doesn’t expect operational impact from the restructuring, and debt holders will receive equity in the reorganized company. “The perfect storm of sustained macroeconomic challenges over the past four years facing the traditional advertising market has led to a sharp reduction of several billion dollars in cumulative radio ad spending,” Audacy CEO David Field said in the release. “These market factors have severely impacted our financial condition and necessitated our balance sheet restructuring.” Audacy’s Chapter 11 proceedings will be held in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (docket No. 24-90004), and the company now has a restructuring website. Audacy expects the court to hold a hearing on the bankruptcy plan in February and the company to emerge from bankruptcy after receiving FCC regulatory approval, the release said.

The FCC should dismiss three counterproposals from Pacific Radio Group for allocating FM channels on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, said SSR Communications in an opposition filing posted Friday in docket 23-197. The counterproposals are defective because PRG already owns four FM facilities in that market, SSR said. SSR originally proposed allocation of three channels on the island, and PRC's counterproposals involve the same three channels but would allocate them to different communities with larger populations, the SSR filing said. In addition, PRG said it would seek construction permits to build stations for each channel: “PRG certifies that [it] will participate in a future Commission spectrum auction for a new permit at Princeville, Hawaii, and if it is the winning bidder, will build the station promptly,” said one PRG filing. As PRG already owns four full-service FMs in that market, FCC radio ownership limits would prevent it having additional stations on Kaui, SSR said. “Because PRG is not eligible to receive a construction permit for any of the channels that are the subject of the counterproposals, the counterproposals are akin to ‘strike applications’” filed to delay competitors, SSR said. PRG didn’t comment.

An ATSC 3.0 set-top receiver made by ADTH is available on Walmart’s website, a release from the Advanced Television Systems Committee’s spokesperson said Thursday. The ADTH NEXTGEN TV set-top receiver costs $89.99, according to the website. It's the cheapest ATSC receiver in the pipeline, the ATSC spokesperson told us. We searched; the cheapest 3.0 TV we found on the NextGen TV device shopping guide -- a Sony 43-inch -- carried a $599.99 price tag. The FCC and Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel have repeatedly emphasized concerns about the availability of low-cost ATSC 3.0 receivers (see 2307130057). Walmart’s website also sells a Silicon Dust 3.0 set-top receiver at $199.99, but the spokesperson said the Silicon Dust device is not currently compatible with the digital rights management encryption used by some ATSC 3.0 broadcasters. The ADTH receiver is. ADTH's is the “first certified and security verified device,” the release said. Multiple online campaigns are calling on the FCC to bar broadcasters from encrypting their 3.0 signals with digital rights management (see 2307110073) because they believe it favors certain manufacturers and runs counter to broadcasting's traditional free availability. The issue is a focus of the NAB-run, FCC-involved ATSC 3.0 task force, the Future of TV Initiative (see 2311160064). CES 2024 will include the ADTH model and several other low-cost receivers, the ATSC spokesperson told us.

The FCC Enforcement Bureau warned two Brooklyn, New York, property owners of possible forfeitures of up to $2.3 million for allegedly hosting pirate radio stations, said Enforcement Bureau letters in Thursday’s Daily Digest. The notices to property owners 70 Rockaway Parkway and RAAV 2617 LLC formally notify them of illegal broadcasting that EB field agents found. They demand proof that the transmissions have ceased and request that the unauthorized broadcasters be identified. Entities that allow third parties “to engage in so-called 'pirate radio' broadcasting on their property can face significant financial penalties,” the letters said. Property owners have 10 business days to respond.

Tegna and NBC agreed to renew station affiliation agreements for 20 Tegna markets nationwide, including in Atlanta, Seattle and Phoenix, said a Tegna news release Wednesday. The 20 include 10 of the top 25 markets for NBC and cover more than 21 million households, the release said.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit accepted the FCC’s 2018 quadrennial review order and dismissed NAB’s petition for a writ of mandamus as moot, a discharge order Tuesday said (docket 23-1120). NAB had asked the court to compel the FCC to act on the 2018 QR. Both NAB and the FCC requested the dismissal after the agency issued the 2018 QR one day before the court’s Dec. 27 deadline (see 2312280018).

Salem Media Group will voluntarily delist its Class A common stock from the Nasdaq Global Market, the radio broadcaster said Friday in a news release. Salem “anticipates significant financial savings as a result of this decision,” the release said. “In addition, delisting and deregistration provide several benefits to the Company and its stockholders, including lower operating costs and reduced management time commitment for compliance and reporting activities,” it added. Salem anticipates filing a “Form 25 (Notification of Removal of Listing)” on Jan. 8, with the delisting taking effect “no earlier than ten days thereafter,” the release said. The last trading day of its common stock on the Nasdaq “will be on or about January 18, 2024.” Salem expects its stock to be quoted and eventually tradeable “on the OTCQX or other market operated by OTC Markets Group” beginning in January, “pending approval by OTC Markets.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit should dismiss NAB’s petition for a writ of mandamus due to the FCC’s release of a 2018 quadrennial review order Tuesday, said response filings from the FCC and NAB this week (see 2309290056). The D.C. Circuit ordered the agency in September to complete the 2018 QR within 90 days or present evidence why NAB’s petition shouldn’t be granted. The FCC’s response was filed Wednesday, the end of that 90-day period. “Because NAB already has the relief it sought, the Court should dismiss the petition for mandamus as moot,” the FCC said. NAB agreed in a response filing Thursday. “NAB has reviewed the Commission’s 2018 Quadrennial Review Order, and agrees that the Commission has now concluded the 2018 Quadrennial Review.”

FM6 low-power TV stations must state their intent to continue as FM6 stations and confirm their operational parameters by Jan. 29, said an FCC Media Bureau public notice in Thursday’s Daily Digest. The deadline stems from OMB's approval of the rules from the FCC’s July FM6 order (see 2307180041). “This will ensure that FM6 LPTV stations have sufficient time to file the required notification with the Bureau and make sure all information being provided is accurate,” said the public notice.