Washington Beat

The deadline for the last window was 11/15/13. That window opened 10/15/13, and since some 2,800 applications were filed. 1,900 were deemed

FCC denies stay of auction start for LPTVs.

In the midst of a high-tech revolution, broadcast radio continues to thrive, says FCC Chairman Ajit Pai

"While we need to look at raising the overall ownership caps within a market, there is little reason to maintain the subcaps." Those words were among the biggest delivered Tuesday afternoon by Republican FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly, who opened the Hispanic Radio Conference with a declaration that the ownership of eight FMs in a market is something he's willing to allow.

The FCC unanimously approved its April Open Meeting Consent Agenda on Thursday. Up for consideration were an item involving a now-defunct low power TV station and a CP for an FM in Washington State.

A winning bidder for an FM construction permit in the FCC's Auction 98 has just seen its long-form application for the permit dismissed. The action comes after the bidder failed to make a required downpayment for the permit, and sought a waiver for the deadline. This request was denied, thanks (in part) to Connoisseur Media. Now, the bidder has no new station. And, the company has been assessed an interim default payment.

Less than 24 hours after the Recording Academy revealed that it has gained additional bipartisan support in the House of Representatives for its "Fair Pay Fair Play Act," the NAB-supported "Local Radio Freedom Act" has attracted two more backers in the lower body of Congress.

Tuesday may be Independence Day, but that doesn't give any ol' person the independence to become an unlicensed radio station operator. Just in time for the Fourth of July, the FCC on Thursday issued no less than five Notice of Unlicensed Operations to a half-dozen buccaneers of broadcasting. Three involve Boston-area pirates. The other two are tied to fake FMs in South Florida.

Rep. Marsha Blackburn has emerged as a leader on communications and technology issues in the House of Representatives, primarily through her role as Chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee's Subcommittee devoted to those two business areas. That's why her thoughts on key issues such as net neutrality carry strong sway with Congress. She was vocal on the end of Title II reclassification, while also taking a swipe at the leadership of former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler.

The Broadcasters Foundation of America is encouraging broadcasters who have been hit by Hurricane Harvey to find out if they qualify for emergency aid by completing an emergency grant request form on the non-profit organization's website.

That's the conclusion from a newly released report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) that addresses actions the Commission has taken since 2012 to update its enforcement program. What does the GAO recommend? Click here for the details.

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.

Just in time for Halloween, a "zombie" has surfaced in Washington. And, the Commission is comfortable enough with this creature living on an island off the coast of Los Angeles that it's treating it unlike Godzilla. That's because the FCC has given its approval to the first-ever transaction involving a channel-sharing agreement, a so-called "zombie" station resulting from the Commission's incentive auction, before the channel-sharing has even commenced.

Led by Democratic Senators Maria Cantwell of Washington and Tom Udall of New Mexico, 15 Senators are looking for a last-minute blockade of a vote set for tomorrow's November Open Meeting that is expected to pass by a 3-2 margin. This vote, the GOP-led Commission, argues, "updates the Commission's broadcast ownership and attribution rules to reflect the current media marketplace." Democrats say otherwise, and believe the FCC is assisting Sinclair in its planned merger with Tribune Media. That's why they want a recusal, and the NAB says no way.