The FCC approved an NPRM on a 3-2 party line vote that prioritizes evaluation of applications from broadcasters that originate local programming. “Here, we propose to sweeten the incentives for locally-originated news and content,” said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel in a statement released with the item. “Without it, stations can just pump in programming from the largest metropolitan areas and miss opportunities for content creation in their own backyard.” The NPRM proposes to use station quarterly programming lists to evaluate whether a station originates local programming, and prioritizing review of applications from those stations. The priority review would apply only to applications that aren’t going through a “simple” review process, such as those with holds or petitions to deny, the NPRM said. The item positions the proposal as a correction of the 2017 removal of the main studio rule. In it, the agency questions “whether the Main Studio Elimination Order’s predictive judgment -- that the Commission’s action there would foster creation of more and better local content -- has actually come to pass." The order’s criticism of the elimination of the main studio rule is the basis for Commissioner Brendan Carr’s dissent, he said: “There is no basis for asserting that conclusion here, but more fundamentally there is no reason to get into that rule at all in this Notice.” Carr said the majority declined to remove the language. “How can the FCC ground its localism proposal in the FCC’s record-less conclusion that the 2017 main studio repeal was an error while simultaneously not proposing to reinstate that rule?” Carr said, adding that he hoped the disagreement was “an isolated hiccup in our otherwise good working relationship.” Commissioner Nathan Simington was similarly critical of the NPRM: “This is a collateral attack on the Commission’s elimination of the Main Studio Rule, and the item all but says so.”

The FCC Media Bureau proposed a $16,500 forfeiture for Shelby Broadcast for operating a translator station at variance from its FCC authorization and for not disclosing the unauthorized operation, according to an order and notice of apparent liability in Wednesday's Daily Digest. The proposed penalty concerns translator W252BE Tarrant, Alabama, which Shelby allegedly operated at a different height and power level than authorized since a cable was severed in 2015, the order said. Shelby didn’t renew a grant of special temporary authority for the translator, and the matter was brought to the FCC’s attention by repeated filings and interference complaints from broadcaster Marble City Media. Marble City also petitioned against the renewal of Shelby’s license, but the order authorizes the station’s renewal. “We find no evidence of violations that, when considered together, evidence a pattern of abuse,” the filing said.

The FCC unanimously ordered Cumulus to pay a $26,000 penalty for a late annual equal employment opportunity report, over the objections of the broadcaster and the NAB (see 2203300067), said a forfeiture order Tuesday. “Cumulus’s characterization of the requirement to upload an Annual Report to the station online public inspection file and website as a mere administrative task undermines the Commission’s goal of ensuring meaningful public input via public access to the Annual Report,” said the order. The third-largest U.S. radio group, Cumulus reported a Q3 net revenue of more than $200 million. Cumulus had argued that although the report was filed late, it was completed on time and the FCC should have merely admonished the radio broadcaster. The agency rejected that argument, and said failing to upload a completed annual report analyzing EEO activities on time is the same as failing to conduct the analysis altogether. Cumulus also said the FCC shouldn’t adjust the penalty upward due to Cumulus’s multiple past EEO violations, because those occurred before the company’s bankruptcy reorganization. The FCC rejected those arguments, noting that many of the same executives still lead Cumulus. The company hasn’t provided evidence that bankruptcy proceedings are “intended to absolve licensees of the consequences of pre-bankruptcy violations of the FCC’s rules,” the order said. Unusually for an enforcement proceeding, NAB informally filed comments supporting Cumulus, which the FCC dismissed. “NAB offers no legal or procedural basis for submitting its nonparty filing,” the order said. “More broadly, NAB urges the Commission to apply a more balanced and reasonable approach to proposed forfeitures going forward, claims that are more appropriately raised in a petition for declaratory ruling.” The FCC reduced Cumulus’s forfeiture from the originally proposed $32,000, conceding that in the past the agency hasn’t treated late filed EEO reports the same as failing to prepare one. “Although nothing in our case law suggests that such a failure does not also amount to a violation of our self-assessment rule, Cumulus may not have had the requisite notice” of that policy, the order said. “Going forward, Cumulus and all other licensees are on notice” that the FCC will consider the timeliness of posting EEO reports when it considers if stations are meeting their EEO obligations, the order said. The FCC is considering a draft EEO order that would require additional workforce diversity reporting from broadcasters (see 2312220061).

The FCC Enforcement Bureau warned property owners in Newark, New Jersey, and Brooklyn, New York, of possible forfeitures for allegedly hosting pirate radio stations, said letters Tuesday. Property owners Phalaine Vital in Newark and Royalty Realty in Brooklyn could each face a forfeiture of up to $2.3 million, the letters said. The letters demand proof that the unauthorized transmissions EB field agents found have ceased and that the unauthorized broadcasters be identified. The property owners have 10 business days to respond, the letters said.

The 2018 quadrennial review order supports Gray Television's arguments against the FCC’s $518,000 enforcement action over a 2020 transaction involving an Anchorage station, Gray told the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a response letter Thursday. Gray was responding to an FCC letter last week giving the court notice of the QR order, which was released in December. Gray has argued that the agency created a requirement for what data is used to determine station rankings without notice when it issued the forfeiture in 2022 (see 2307240065). Ratings data from the time of the transaction showed Gray already owned two of the top-four stations in the market, which the broadcaster has argued means the Anchorage deal didn’t result in a new top-four combination -- instead an existing top-four combination added another station. The FCC has argued that this ratings data wasn’t available to Gray when it made the deal and so is invalid. The QR order changes the ranking methodology to use “available data over a 12-month period immediately preceding the date of application,” Gray told the court Thursday. The inclusion of the word “available” in the QR order “underscores its prior absence, and it highlights the FCC’s failure to provide Gray with fair notice of such a requirement which the FCC invented to justify penalizing Gray,” said the broadcaster. The QR order also doesn’t show that applying the agency’s rule against affiliation swaps to Gray’s purchase of a station’s network affiliation “furthered an interest in competition, as the First Amendment requires,” Gray told the court. “Thus, nothing the FCC said in the 2023 Order cures the fatal defect in the Forfeiture Order.” Oral argument in the case is set for March.

The FCC warned a New York realty company of the possible forfeiture of up to $2.3 million for allegedly hosting a pirate radio station, said an Enforcement Bureau letter in Thursday’s Daily Digest. The notice to Matovu Realty concerned a building at 3349 Decatur Ave., Bronx, and identified Matovu as the owner. The letter demands proof that unauthorized transmissions found by EB field agents have ceased and requests that the unauthorized broadcasters be identified. Matovu has 10 business days to respond. The company didn't comment.

The FCC is awaiting Paperwork Reduction Act approval for its order implementing the Low-Power Protection Act, so the opening date of the Class A window hasn't been determined (see 2401090072.

Streaming music company Roxi is partnering with Sinclair on an offer of interactive music channels broadcast over ATSC 3.0 in U.S. homes starting this year, said a Sinclair news release Tuesday. The initial Roxi music, karaoke and games channels will “feature the interactivity and capabilities of a music app, without having to download or launch an app,” the release said. “Our viewers will be able to pause, play and skip on broadcast TV for the first time,” said Roxi CEO Rob Lewis in the release. The Roxi Music Video Channel will feature “curated collections of the very best high-quality music videos from the biggest names in music” and allow viewers to pay for an ad-free version. The Roxi Music Games Channel features interactive music games, and the Roxi Music Video Karaoke Channel will feature karaoke tracks with original music videos and scrolling lyrics, the release said. “We’re confident this partnership will help accelerate the adoption of NextGen TV by delivering entertainment features that consumers will increasingly come to demand on their televisions,” said Skip Flenniken, Sinclair vice president-general manager, technology business development.

Consumer sales of ATSC 3.0 products are expected to increase by 45% in 2024 and TCL has joined the ranks of manufacturers building ATSC 3.0 TVs, the Advanced Television Systems Committee said in a news release from CES 2024 Monday. “We’re projecting that NEXTGEN TV will cross the 75% household reach milestone in February -- a significant achievement that also will mark 75 Nielsen broadcast markets with service,” ATSC President Madeleine Noland said in the release. ATSC 3.0 is expected to launch in Chicago, San Diego, and Tucson in 2024, Noland said. The number of accessory receiver models, such as ADTH’s device (see 2401040048), is expected to double in 2024, the release said. ADTH, Stavix, ZapperBox and Zinwell are displaying the devices at CES, the release said.

The FCC’s one-year window for certain low-power TV stations to apply for Class A status will open Feb.9, according to a notice for Wednesday’s Federal Register. The window stems from the FCC’s implementation of the Low-Power Protection Act in December (see 2312080043), and is open only to LPTV stations that broadcast a minimum of 18 hours a day, carry three hours per week of local programming and are located in markets of 95,000 households or fewer.