Washington Beat

With FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's beloved Kansas City Chiefs set to defend their Super Bowl Champion title as the new NFL season bows this weekend, there was plenty of football chatter in a preview of the Commission's September Open Meeting he offered today. This explains why fantasy league rules were tied to talk on two Modernization of Media Regulation initiatives.

ACA Connects has urged a federal court to block the Federal Communications Commission from requiring earth station owners to make a key decision by Sept. 14 with respect to clearing a segment of the C-Band airwaves for future use by 5G wireless communications providers.

Wilkinson Barker Knauer attorney David Oxenford says the Commission may have just made its last step before it opens a window for applications for new stations in the FM reserved band (below 92 FM) — something that has not happened in a decade.

The "dominant marketplace power" of a handful of digital technology platforms puts local broadcast stations at a competitive disadvantage for advertising revenue. And, the NAB claims, it "impedes broadcasters’ ability to effectively monetize their own content online." Those comments appear verbatim in a Congressional filing submitted by Gordon Smith.

The biggest lobbying voice in Washington for broadcast media reiterated its call to freeze the fees, putting any halt to an increase in the dollars collected from radio and TV stations — especially given the COVID-19 pandemic. The eight-page filing from Rick Kaplan, the NAB’s top legal counsel, has failed to sway the Commission.

At least one LPTV company is ready to go with “Broadcast Internet” service, whatever that may ultimately turn out to be. Here's what Spectrum Evolution has to say on the data side benefits of ATSC 3.0, which is powering NEXTGEN TV, courtesy of a longtime D.C. communications attorney who has formally announced his retirement.

Fees for filing formal consumer complaints at the FCC could be skyrocketing, if a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking gets an affirmative nod from the Commissioners. Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel is doing whatever she can to stop that from happening, and is taking her ire out at Chairman Ajit Pai for agreeing to such a rate hike.

"Important changes," in the words of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, have come to the Commission's data team. These changes, he says, will aid the Commission’s work in bridging the digital divide and improve the quality and reliability of the data on which the Commission bases its actions.

The NAB has flipped the switch on its all-new Broadcast Resource Hub, a comprehensive one-stop-shop for resources, tools and information on the most relevant issues impacting local radio and television stations. The online portal provides access to various resources created by NAB and the NAB Leadership Foundation (NABLF).

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has announced an additional $61,000 grant funding the continuation of the Public Media Journalists Association (PMJA) Editor Corps, which provides crucial editing assistance to public media newsrooms, including small and rural newsrooms.

The NAB late Wednesday submitted a reply brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in regard to the FCC's appeal of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals' remand of the Commission's 2016 quadrennial review order -- a move the broadcasting industry's biggest lobbying groups says "attempted to institute modest reforms" to broadcast media ownership regulations.

A website dedicated to helping media companies and industry professionals create and sustain a diverse and inclusive workplace is now live. It comes courtesy of the National Association of Broadcasters' Leadership Foundation.

In this Media Information Bureau observation, former FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate discusses the importance of local media during times of emergency. He expresses support for the Local News and Emergency Information Act, which would allow many broadcasters and newspapers to access forgivable federal loans that will help them stay on the air.

The owner of Circle City Broadcasting, a participant in RBR+TVBR's August 19 Black Media Symposium; and the EVP/General Counsel for HC2 Broadcasting; are the newest members of the NAB Television Board Of Directors. The two leaders were appointed to the board of the broadcast media industry's biggest lobbying voice by NAB TV Board Chair Emily Barr.

Interested in how not to let compliance be your media properties' greatest liability? Here's a Media Information Bureau column that's timely and insightful, from Kelly Orchard.