Washington Beat

Since stepping down as FCC Chairman on Inauguration Day in January, Tom Wheeler has been relatively mum on what's transpiring at his ol' stomping grounds since becoming a senior fellow at Washington, D.C. think tank The Aspen Institute. Wheeler broke his silence on what the Commission is plotting following his exit in a big way last week, by way of a "Techtank" column appearing at the Brookings Institution's website.

Looking for insight on radio’s regulatory and economic future? Make plans to be in Austin, Tex., on Sept. 6 for the 2017 Radio Show, produced by the NAB and the RAB. Leading financial forecasters and radio group executives will provide insight on where radio stations are from a "dollars to D.C." perspective in a session led by Scott Flick, a partner at the Pillsbury law firm.

The FCC's Incentive Auction Task Force this morning calculated the aggregate amount of the estimated costs of reimbursement-eligible TV stations and MVPDs faced with new post-incentive auction channel assignments. The figure is upward of $2.1 billion.

Being late for school can send you to detention. A school being late with the FCC? That's a financial penalty, and a college in South Carolina just got a Notice of Apparent Liability for failing to meet an important due date.

Four 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.

Is your company participating in the filing of "Auction 99" applications for new cross-service FM translators? An online tutorial is being provided by the FCC to help you in this process.

Garvey Schubert Barer (GSB) has expanded its Communications, Telecom & Media practice in the Washington, D.C., office by adding two individuals who are formerly partners in the firm Schwartz, Woods & Miller.

Davis Wright Tremaine, known for its communications and cable practice groups, has expanded with the addition of a lawyer with two decades’ experience in government, in-house, and private practice.

Starting in July 2018, broadcasters and pay-TV providers carrying one of the top networks must provide 87.5 hours of described programming per calendar quarter. This averages out to roughly one hour per day of description on each included network.

A March 8 House Communications and Technology Subcommittee oversight hearing of the FCC was scrubbed, as it was scheduled just hours after a similar hearing conducted by the Senate Commerce Committee. It has yet to be rescheduled, despite assurances it would be held by the end of July. Now, Democratic leaders are pressing hard for a date.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) will convene a nomination hearing at 10am on Wednesday, July 19, for FCC Commissioner nominees Jessica Rosenworcel and Brendan Carr.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has looked under a Black Rock to find his Press Secretary at the Commission. This PR pro has previously worked for the likes of Sen. John Cornyn and in Brussels for Weber Shandwick.

Last week RBR+TVBR reported on a proposal from computing giant Microsoft to use TV white space to provide wireless broadband services in rural areas. Specifically, Microsoft wants the FCC to reserve a vacant UHF white space channel in every market nationwide, following the post-auction repack of broadcast television stations. The NAB is less than thrilled, and issued a statement on the matter Tuesday. We also have some thoughts on the matter, via a RBR+TVBR OBSERVATION.

Connoisseur Media chief Jeff Warshaw wants changes to the embedded market rule that affects New York and Washington, DC. He’s addressing the issue to the FCC, including a July 5 letter to the Commission. The NAB is backing the move. Warshaw has been championing the cause for several years, seeing it as being against the public interest and competition, and another example of the radio industry laboring under outdated, pre-Internet regulations.

The FCC has received a bounty of comments regarding its proposal to do away with the main studio rule. Leading the way was the NAB, which had this to say ...