Washington Beat

Last week, the FCC proposed changes to its rules governing children’s programming. "While the proposal is not as sexy as internet regulation, it is an important and overdue step toward updating the law to reflect the realities of the modern video marketplace," says Daniel Lyons, a visiting fellow at a D.C. think tank with lots of FCC sway.

A Class A noncommercial facility with an unusual Construction Permit is in the process of being sold. Before doing so, it needed to renew the facility's license. This uncovered some serious violations of the FCC's rules. The result: A pair of hefty Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture decision handed to the licensee from the FCC's Media Bureau.

The Next Gen TV local simulcasting rules have received the approval of the Office of Management and Budget. This means that permissive voluntary use of the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard is a go — another milestone for TV operators seeking an addressable advertising solution and superior audio and visual quality.

The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) holds its 16th annual Access to Capital and Telecom Policy Conference on Thursday in Washington, D.C. Among the anticipated highlights of the event are the bestowing of the MMTC's Everett C. Parker Lifetime Achievement Award to the newest former FCC Commissioner.

To the applause of the NAB, a bipartisan pair of Senators have introduced legislation they say would ensure more people receive relevant emergency alerts across their communications devices — including radios, televisions, smartphones and even OTT platforms including Netflix and Spotify.

Six weeks after the two top Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee urged its Republican leadership to reschedule a FCC Oversight Hearing originally scheduled for February 16, action has finally been taken.

In light of yesterday’s news that FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has proposed that portions of the acquisition by Sinclair Broadcast Group of Tribune Media's TV stations would be designated for hearing, one question many have asked David Oxenford and his team of attorneys at Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP is this: "What does designation for hearing mean?" Oxenford was happy to answer.

On June 5, the Commission released a Notice of Inquiry in the matter of proposals for a new FM radio broadcast class. This would create a Class C4 radio station, in addition to modifying the requirements for designating short-spaced assignments. The FCC is now ready to receive your comments on the proposal.

Veteran D.C. communications attorney Erwin Krasnow was just as surprised as many of the brokers and attorneys RBR+TVBR contacted following the release Monday morning of a statement from FCC Chairman Ajit Pai that reveals he has "serious concerns" over Sinclair Broadcast Group's planned merger with Tribune Media. A draft hearing designation order was circulated by Pai. Is this a "deal killer?" Krasnow had some things to say about that.

Two leading Democrats in the U.S. Senate have called on the Federal Trade Commission to launch an investigation into the privacy policies and practices of "Smart TV" manufacturers. In their view, Smart TVs can track the content users are watching, but manufacturers may not provide sufficient information about their privacy practices.

The license renewal of two of Fox Television Stations' biggest properties — granted in 2007 by the Commission — was challenged by The Voice for New Jersey; and the Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, and Free Press. Did these groups stand a chance in seeking Applications for Review?

Three groups have made it known that they aren't too keen with the rapid expansion of FM translators — often coming at the expense, as they see it, of community-oriented LPFMs. As such, they've been waging a fight against the latest round of translator applications. On Friday, the FCC addressed the objectors' Petition for Reconsideration for all pending translator applications — 994 of them in total. All but one were tossed.

The FCC today took another step the agency believes will promote "American leadership in the next generation of wireless connectivity, or 5G," by adopting an Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that identifies new opportunities for flexible use in up to 500 megahertz of mid-band spectrum between 3.7 and 4.2 GHz.

While Jessica Rosenworcel offered her fair share of criticism of a NPRM that she fears will largely gut the nation's regulations on children's television programming for commercially licensed stations, she's pleased that one of her proposals has just been adopted by the FCC. It is a big one, and is part of a series of actions to bolster the reliability of the nation's emergency alerting systems and to support greater community preparedness.

The NAB on Thursday was one of the first groups to offer a comment on the party-line approval of an NPRM that will likely set in motion reforms to the FCC's "KidVid" rules. Now, NAB EVP/Legal and Regulatory Affairs Rick Kaplan has spoken up, and he's practically praised the FCC for proposed legislation that appears to have little opposition.