Washington Beat

Nearly five years ago, a resident of North Miami, Fla., was handed a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture of $25,000 for his efforts designed "to evade detection" of an unlicensed radio operation. Today, the FCC still hasn't silenced the pirate radio operation serving the area's sizable Haitian population. A proposed maximum fine nearly six times that 2012 financial penalty seeks to squelch the broadcasting buccaneer once and for all.

In the first 5-0 unanimous vote of the new FCC led by Chairman Ajit Pai, the Commission has given the green light to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would eliminate rules requiring TV stations, along with cable entities and FM translators, to keep paper copies of FCC rules. Commissioner Mignon Clyburn was no longer skeptical of the proposal, while newly arrived Republican Brendan Carr was quite vocal of the need to modernize the FCC.

Five Members of the House of Representatives and one Senator have joined as co-sponsors of a bipartisan resolution that opposes "any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge" on local broadcast radio stations. With a bill that would impose royalty payments on airplay of copyrighted recorded works flailing in the House, it's looking ever-less likely that the recording industry will be victorious in its latest efforts to stem a tremendous profit slide.

The NAB on Monday filed an ex parte letter with the FCC that it says refutes filings by several wireless interests regarding the alleged difficulty of complying with any Next Gen tuner mandate in mobile devices. "NAB nor any of our fellow Next Gen TV petitioners have never sought such a mandate, and in fact have expressly stated several times that we do not seek such a mandate," the broadcast media industry's chief lobbying organization asserts.

In a late Friday notice, the FCC gave its unanimous consent to a report and order that loosens FM translator tower placement rules, giving the "revitalization of the AM radio service" another key boost. It's of particular interest to stations that must power down -- or sign off the air -- during nighttime hours.

Any Certificate of FCC Regulatory Compliance is not worth the paper it’s printed on without the conditions upon which it was issued. Media Information Bureau featured columnist Ken Benner addressed this premise with the first such certificate he issued following a station inspection when the “mock” inspection program was initiated. "So how do we document a legitimate certificate of compliance that is required to be posted in the station’s reception lobby so as to be readily visible should an official FCC inspector visit your station?," he asks. That's the subject of this column.

With the end of the FCC's incentive auction, the Commission initiated a transition period during which the facilities of broadcast television stations that received new channel assignments in the post-incentive auction repacking process will be reauthorized and relicensed. The second filing window for eligible full power and Class A stations to file for alternate channels and expanded facilities has now been set to start a week from Tuesday.

Is 2018 shaping up to be a banner year for political advertising? That's the good word from Steve Passwaiter, the VP/GM, Political at Kantar Media. In an essay appearing Friday (9/22) at The Cook Political Report, Passwaiter declares, "Even though the last two years have seen lots of bungled predictions, in the realm of TV ad spending, we are undeterred, and predict that TV will win out in 2018 as well."

A "TV on Wall Street" conference held during NAB Show New York, a platform for media tech companies, ad agencies and digital platforms, is set to give attendees "a clear picture of the investment implications for video services and the revenues/profit multichannel and content providers can expect over the coming years." Top Wall Street analysts and financiers from a range of industry areas, as well as leading companies in the space, are on tap for the mini-confab produced in partnership with S&P Global Market Intelligence and Summit Ridge Group.

On Tuesday, we reported on FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s response to a House Energy & Commerce letter regarding possible favorable treatment of Sinclair Broadcast Group and its planned merger with Tribune Media. But that’s just one of several angles to this deal.

Doug Ferber of DEFcom Advisors LLC and Erwin Krasnow of Garvey Schubert Barer are featured in this third exclusive RBR+TVBR podcast on the myths of broadcast media transactions. Today's topic: "You Can Rely Solely on Comparable Sales To Establish Value"

It's that time of year again. According to Wilkinson Barker Knauer attorney David Oxenford, the fourth quarter is traditionally when some broadcast media air personalities contemplate their future. This may not mean jumping to a competitor, or earning the "Leap o' The Week" with a move from Augusta to Atlanta. Rather, it may mean a run for public office. What does this mean for a radio or TV station? Oxenford shares his thoughts.

What should a broadcasting company do in reaction to a controversial social media post made by one of their big personalities on their show's social media account? For CBS Radio's Las Vegas cluster, there was no reprimand or strong warning handed to Heidi Harris after she went on Facebook to criticize same-sex adoptions. She was fired. Did CBS Radio go too far? RBR+TVBR turned to the D.C. legal community for their view on the matter.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.)'s Deputy Chief of Staff is moving from the Hart Senate Office Building to the Portals. That's because this individual has just been selected to serve as Chief of Staff, Media Advisor and Press Contact for the FCC Commissioner.

There are moving boxes heading in both directions in the office of Democratic FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. That's because a senior legal advisor is returning after an 18 month absence, while another legal advisor is exiting.