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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.”
The FCC Media Bureau approved a petition to allow Border International Broadcasting, which owns WLYK(FM) Cape Vincent, New York, to be up to 100% foreign owned, said a declaratory ruling Tuesday. The petition is connected to Border International’s transfer to the Canadian-controlled 1234567 Corp. The petition didn’t draw any objections.
Gray Television has reached an agreement with NBCUniversal to extend and renew all of Gray’s NBC network affiliations, which were set to expire at year’s end, said a release Wednesday. Gray owns NBC-affiliated television stations in 56 markets, the release said.
FCC Administrative Law Judge Jane Halprin granted an extension until Jan. 8 in a hearing proceeding over allegedly false transfers of control by the owners of several low-power radio and television stations, said an order posted Wednesday in docket 23-267 (see 2308110063). Accused of transferring stations to his niece to avoid including them in a bankruptcy filing, Antonio Guel, due to filing deadlines falling during the holidays, requested the extension so he could reply to an FCC Enforcement Bureau motion to enlarge the case. “The Presiding Judge agrees that there is good cause to afford Mr. Guel more time to file a response,” the order said.