Updated at 6pm Eastern
The FCC has adopted a Consent Decree that terminates an investigation into the monitoring practices of some 11 television towers by a company that no longer exists.
The publicly traded entity that now owns this defunct operator’s holdings agreed to the settlement. In doing so, it’s forking over more than million dollars to the U.S. Treasury, with reimbursement from that company that’s now in the annals of TV history.
In an Order released Monday (1/13) by Rosemary Harold, FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief, The E.W. Scripps Co. agreed to the implementation of a compliance plan designed to prevent problems associated with the TV towers’ lighting systems inspection schedule.
In doing so, Scripps also agreed to pay a civil penalty in the amount of $1.13 million.
Yet, Scripps didn’t do anything wrong. The problems are tied to stations Scripps agreed to acquire in October 2018 from Cordillera Communications. The entity, led by Terry Hurley, sold every one of its properties except for KVOA-4 in Tucson to Scripps for $521 million. The deal closed in April 2019.
Specifically, the stations — under Cordillera ownership and management — failed to conduct required daily inspections of the lighting systems of 10 of the aforementioned antenna structures. Cordillera also failed to completely log 12 lighting failures at seven
antenna structures, and did not timely notify the Commission of its acquisition of two antenna structures.
While it is not specified in the Consent Decree, a Scripps spokesperson told RBR+TVBR late Monday that Cordillera has agreed to reimburse Scripps for all penalities and costs.
The Cordillera deal gave Scripps the following properties:
- WLEX-18, the NBC affiliate in Lexington, Ky. Cordillera-affiliated Evening Post Publishing (its parent company) acquired WLEX in 1999.
- KOAA-5, the NBC affiliate serving Colorado Springs licensed to Pueblo, Co. It has unofficially been connected to Cordillera since 1977, when operations for the Evening Post Publishing Co. were based in Charleston, S.C. Cordillera obtained the station’s license following its 1986 creation.
- KATC-3, the ABC affiliate in Lafayette, La., acquired in 1995
- KSBY-6, the NBC affiliate in Santa Barbara-San Luis Obispo, Calif., that in August 2018 ignited talk that Cordillera was seeking a buyer for the Central Coast station and perhaps other properties. Cordillera has been the owner of KSBY since 2004.
- KRIS-6, the NBC affiliate, and K47DF-D, a low-power Telemundo affiliate, in Corpus Christi, Tex. Cordillera bought KRIS in 1998.
- KPAX-8 and simulcast partner KAJJ-CD 18, CBS affiliates in Missoula and Kalispell, Mont. It has been a part of Cordillera since 1986.
- KTVQ-2, a CBS affiliate in Billings, Mont., acquired in 1994 by Cordillera.
- KXLF-4 and semi-satellite KBZK-7, the CBS affiliates in Butte and Bozeman, Mont. These stations were acquired in 1986 in the same deal involving KPAX-8.
- KRTV-3, the CBS affiliate, and KTGF-LD 50, the NBC affiliate, in Great Falls, Mont. KRTV also obtained by Cordillera in the 1986 deal involving other Montana properties. KTGF was added in 2015.
- KTVH-12, the NBC affiliate, and KXLH-LD 3, the CBS affiliate, in Helena, Mont.
Of those properties, those in Lexington, Ky.; Great Falls, Bozeman and Billings, Mont.; KATC-3’s Kaplan, La., tower; KRIS-6’s Robstown, Tex., tower; LPTVs in Bishop and Blanconia, Tex., and Branch, La.; and in San Luis Obispo, Calif., were in violation of the Commission’s rules tied to the monitoring of lights on the television towers.
“This action will help promote aviation safety near antenna structures,” Harold said in the Order.
CONSENT CATALYST: A RADIO TOWER MISHAP
The million-dollar-plus civil penalty paid by Scripps with Cordillera’s cash is the direct result of an Enforcement Bureau investigation launched following an Aug. 31, 2018, incident in which a small airplane crashed into a Cordillera-owned TV tower in Kaplan, La.
According to KPLC-7 in Lafayette, La., two people died in the accident. While Cordillera’s KATC-3 owned the tower, it was no longer in use by the station. However, it was being used by Agape Broadcasters’ Contemporary Christian KAJN-FM 102.9. The plane crash destroyed the tower, knocking KAJN off the air.
The Bureau joined the FAA and other federal and local agencies in an investigation into the crash. The Enforcement Bureau ultimately found no evidence connecting the collision to a violation of the Part 17 Rules by Cordillera. However, in autumn 2018 the Bureau found “irregularities” in Cordillera’s compliance with the Part 17 Rules that warranted an
expansion of the investigation.
In acquiring Cordillera, Scripps agreed to remain responsible in the FCC’s eyes for any enforcement actions arising out of the Bureau’s investigation; it was aware of the investigation while it worked to close the transaction in 2019.
“In the agreement, Scripps Media … agreed to accept liability with respect to the investigation and to toll the applicable statute of limitations for a period of two years,” Harold said in the Order.
With the Consent Decree, Cordillera may be ultimately paying the price in the form of a U.S. Treasury check. But, a senior corporate manager at Scripps will be selected within 30 days to serve as the compliance officer of the terms set forth in the agreement.
“The person designated as the Compliance Officer shall be responsible for developing, implementing, and administering the Compliance Plan and ensuring that Scripps complies with the terms and conditions of the Compliance Plan and this Consent Decree,” the Order reads. “In addition to the general knowledge of the Communications Laws necessary to discharge his or her duties under this Consent Decree, the Compliance Officer shall have specific knowledge of the Part 17 Rules prior to assuming his/her duties.”
The Compliance Plan lasts for two years.
In April 2019, KSBY-6 installed a new electrical lighting system for its transmitter atop Cuesta Grade, north of San Luis Obispo via U.S. 101.
