Washington Beat

FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel is making herself home at the Portals once again, after several months away as she awaited what ultimately became her well-expected renomination to the agency. On Wednesday, Rosenworcel named her new Chief of Staff and Senior Legal Advisor, Policy Advisor, and a Staff Assistant. A sort of homecoming will be seen for one of these individuals.

The FCC acted quickly in giving its OK to WC Docket No. 10-90, which effectively removes what would have been the first order of business at its October Open Meeting from the agenda. This immediately provides up to $76.9 million to help restore cellular and other communications services in Puerto Rico and the USVI.

The FCC's parade of Notice of Unlicensed Operations letters being sent to individuals flagged as operators of pirate FM radio stations continued Wednesday, with the issuance of two in Palm Beach County, Fla.; another two in Broward County, Fla.; and one to an individual in the City of New York borough of Queens.

A Member of the House of Representatives serving North Carolina's fourth Congressional District has taken aim at the FCC for its "UHF discount," noting during a Tuesday call with members of the press that — as many others have argued — the return of the rule by the Commission is giving Sinclair Broadcast Group an unacceptable ability to acquire Tribune Media.

A RBR+TVBR reader reached out to featured Media Information Bureau columnist Ken Benner, recalling how he inspected nearly all of Alaska's broadcast radio and TV stations as an independent Alternative FCC Compliance Certification Inspector. "It was clear from the start of our conversation that my best interests were not intended by this person," Benner says. But, he listened, as this reader inquired how Benner could "certify" a station that was recently the recipient of a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture from the FCC. Here's what Benner had to say.

The elimination of the FCC's main studio rule is one step closer from becoming a reality. The Commission on Tuesday unveiled its tentative agenda for its October Open meeting, and it confirmed that the five-member agency will consider MB Docket No. 17-106. 

The FCC on Tuesday released its Broadcast Station Totals for the first nine months of 2017. Thanks to the FCC's Spectrum Auction, there are some dips in the number of broadcast TV stations licensed to air in the U.S. Meanwhile, there are fewer commercial FM stations and several more FM translators, while the number of AMs has taken a big dip.

The Chief Counsel for Nebraska Republican Sen. Deb Fischer is shifting from Capitol Hill to the Portals. She's joining the staff of Commissioner Brendan Carr, taking the role of Chief of Staff and Legal Advisor for wireline issues.

Barring the unexpected, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai entered the day all but assured of a second term at the FCC, ensuring he will remain the leader through the end of June 2021. The U.S. Senate made it official Monday afternoon (10/2), confirming him for a second term that retroactively began July 1, 2016, in a 52-41 vote.

In an announcement made Monday by the Commission, Chairman Ajit Pai has appointed a research professor of computer science at Georgetown University to serve as the agency’s Chief Technology Officer. This individual will start work at the FCC later this month and succeeds Dr. Henning Schulzrinne, who has returned to a position at Columbia University.

The fourth quarter is here, and as we prepare to review the next batch of earnings reports from broadcast media companies, those inside the C-Suite may wish to take note of what Wilkinson Barker Knauer partner David Oxenford calls the "numerous regulatory obligations" that the next 30 days will bring. Here, we review what many TV companies will need to put on their calendars and mark, in red, today.

Three Democratic members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have once again asked FCC Chairman Ajit Pai for answers to a series of questions "he failed to address" in his response to an Aug. 14 letter sent to Pai from the legislators regarding Sinclair Broadcast Group. Among those displeased with Pai is New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's likely confirmation by the U.S. Senate, giving him a retroactive five-year term, will come late Monday after another 2 1/2 hours of debate in the upper body of Congress. What's still uncertain is the renomination of Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr for a five-year term starting next summer.

Doug Ferber of DEFcom Advisors LLC and Erwin Krasnow of Garvey Schubert Barer have created a special podcast series exclusively for RBR+TVBR members based on a series of articles centered on the topic "Broadcast Deal Myths Debunked." In this fourth episode, Ferber and Krasnow discuss the topic of cash flow multiples, "The Perfect Yardstick."

The NAB on Thursday filed an "ex parte" letter with the FCC that details a meeting held two days ago with select Commission staff. The broadcast media industry's chief advocacy group used the opportunity to discuss the Commission’s plans to reimburse expenses for stations that are involuntarily repacked as part of the broadcast spectrum incentive auction. Specifically, the NAB asked the FCC to make initial allocations as close as possible to 80% to commercial broadcast TV stations for auction repack expenses.