The FCC should scrutinize requests from restructuring radio group Audacy for expedited foreign-ownership review as part of the purchase of its stock by George Soros-affiliated entities (see 2404230054), said letters to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel from Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Nicholas Langworthy, R-N.Y., posted in docket 24-19 Friday. In nearly identical replies, Rosenworcel told the legislators that Media Bureau staff “would review the record and decide if the transfer is in the public interest.” She added, “A copy of your letter will be placed into the record of the proceeding.” Transfer of control of Audacy, the nation’s second-biggest radio group, “to a fund that itself is owned by a deeply partisan individual, could have a fundamental impact on the nature of local radio and potentially silence political viewpoints,” Langworthy wrote. “I believe that this sale is the latest in a series of moves by a partisan, progressive billionaire to consolidate control over the media and flood hundreds of local radio stations with far-left ideology and propaganda.” Roy focused on Audacy’s request for an expedited review process. “The FCC’s review of this Soros transaction will naturally draw close public scrutiny,” Roy wrote. “It is imperative that the FCC run a fair and transparent process -- one that abides by the requirements of the law -- that thoroughly reviews the concerns posed by foreign ownership of American radio stations.” Roy said Rosenworcel should “commit to not creating a Soros shortcut” by May 7. Rosenworcel’s reply didn’t mention Roy’s deadline.

The FCC Media Bureau approved a Cumulus "pro forma" request to assign several broadcast licenses from one Cumulus subsidiary to another and will seek comment on a remedial petition from the company to allow an increase in foreign ownership, said an order Friday. The foreign-ownership request is connected to a Singaporean company, Renew Group, which in January informed the SEC that it now owns approximately 9.8% of the equity and 10.01% of the voting interests in Cumulus. Under the terms of a 2020 foreign-ownership approval (see 2005290046), Cumulus must seek FCC approval for any foreign investor to own more than 5% of the voting interest in the company. Cumulus has certified that Renew’s acquisition of interests exceeding the 5% threshold “was an independent investment decision that occurred on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange and was wholly beyond Cumulus’s control, was not reasonably foreseeable to Cumulus, and was not known to Cumulus before Renew reported the acquisition to the SEC.” Friday’s order grants the internal transfers of control but imposes conditions limiting the voting rights associated with the stock Renew owned until a declaratory ruling approving the foreign ownership is issued. The conditions would also limit Renew investors from serving as officers of Cumulus, attending board of directors meetings or having any role in management of Cumulus stations or decisions to buy or sell stations until a declaratory ruling is issued, the order said. Until the ruling, dividends payable to the Renew investors will be placed in escrow, the order said.

The FCC should change a draft order on foreign-sponsored content to clarify that the rules on disclosure of foreign sponsorship and certifications that companies aren’t foreign agents apply only to leased programming, not advertisements, NAB said in meetings Tuesday with Commissioner Geoffrey Starks and aides to Commissioners Brendan Carr and Anna Gomez, according to an ex parte filing in docket 20-299 (see 2403210071. The FCC “need only make clear” that language describing “short form advertising” as exempt from the rules means all advertising, NAB said. The FCC should avoid using language that inadvertently loops in longer infomercials, political ads or public service announcements, the group said. “Trying to provide a specific definition for advertising could easily lead to more problems,” NAB said. “An overlay of new diligence and disclosure rules” on top of the existing sponsorship ID rules “would be beyond the scope of the Notice in this proceeding and otherwise violate the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the First Amendment, and the FCC’s statutory authority,” the filing said. “NAB also reminds the Commission that no one has filed in support of the FCC proposals.”

The full FCC unanimously approved proposed forfeitures of $857,775 for operators of six Boston-area pirate radio stations at the commissioners' open meeting Thursday. The FCC is a “watchdog” for airwaves, said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel after the vote. When spectrum users fail to comply with FCC rules “and cause harmful interference to others, we take action,” she said. The Boston area has had increasing problems with pirate radio users over the past decade, said Massachusetts Broadcasters Association Executive Director Jordan Walton in an interview. “It’s difficult to stay on top of them and anything the FCC can do to help our taxpaying broadcasters is welcome,” he said. According to a release, the FCC voted a $597,775 notice of apparent liability against Jean Marius, operator of unauthorized radio station Radio Tele Planet Compas in Brockton, Randolph and Mattapan. Also in Brockton, a $120,000 NAL was approved against Renold David, of pirate radio station Lotnivo FM, while Brockton FM’s Joao Vieira and Brockton Heat’s Djovany Pierre and Mario Turner all face $40,000 NALs. Robert Bellinger of TBR Radio in Contuit also faces a $40,000 NAL and Shane Kelly, operator of the pirate radio station The Test 87.9 FM in Hyannis was approved for a $20,000 NAL. All the pirate stations were discovered during a recent Enforcement Bureau sweep of the Boston area, the agency said.

The FCC should deny radio station transfers of control associated with broadcaster Audacy’s bankruptcy reorganization because the company has asked for a temporary waiver of the agency's foreign ownership requirements, the Media Research Center, a "media watchdog," said in a petition filed Monday. MRC's website describes it as leading "the conservative movement in combatting the left’s efforts to manipulate the electoral process, silence opposing voices online, and undermine American values." The petition highlights the involvement of billionaire George Soros's involvement in Audacy. The Soros-associated Fund for Policy Reform would have an attributable ownership interest in Audacy after the bankruptcy. In addition, MCR said Soros Fund Management took steps to become Audacy’s largest shareholder. Widely seen as funding progressive causes and politicians, Soros is a frequent target of right-wing ire. “The Communications Act does not contain a special Soros shortcut,” said MRC’s petition. “And the FCC should not countenance this request for one.” Audacy’s application says the reorganized company will exceed the FCC’s 25 percent foreign ownership limit. It seeks a waiver allowing it to either use a “special warrant” stock issuance process to avoid exceeding the threshold or petition for a declaratory ruling permitting foreign ownership over the limit after it emerges from bankruptcy. “The Soros filings fail to demonstrate that in this case any interest in the reasonably efficient emergence from bankruptcy cannot be accommodated while also assessing the foreign ownership interests at the same time,” MCR said. Though MCR says the waiver of foreign ownership requirements would be “special treatment,” the FCC has granted similar waivers to other large broadcasters emerging from bankruptcy, such as Alpha Media (see 2309280073) and iHeartRadio (see 2103290057). Broadcast attorneys told us they aren’t aware of a request from any broadcaster to be foreign-owned over 25% that the FCC has denied since the process was streamlined in 2016. But, said MCR, “The Soros group’s interest in expediency does not give the FCC a basis for ignoring the legally required process." Audacy and the Fund for Policy Reform didn’t comment.

NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt agreed to a contract extension until 2029, said an NAB news release Tuesday. LeGeyt has headed NAB since January 2022, taking over from former U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith, who held the post for 12 years. The terms of the deal weren't released. “NAB and its members are thrilled to have Curtis LeGeyt leading our advocacy efforts in Washington and delighted about his contract extension,” said Nexstar CEO and NAB Joint Board Chair Perry Sook in the release. “I am grateful for the faith placed in me by the NAB Board of Directors and our members, and I am committed to an innovation agenda that allows local TV and radio to thrive well into the future for the betterment of our communities," said LeGeyt. Prior to taking the lead role, LeGeyt was executive vice president-government relations at the trade group for nearly a decade, and a former chief counsel to Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

Scripps will end its CW affiliation in the seven Scripps markets that carry CW programming, a Scripps spokesperson told us Friday. The markets are Detroit; Miami; Norfolk, Virginia; Tucson, Arizona; Corpus Christi, Texas; Lafayette, Louisiana; and San Luis Obispo, California. The move will be effective Sept. 1, and opens the door to "bring[ing] Scripps’ excellent local and national programming ... to even more audiences across the country," she said. "We are still in the process of determining exactly what the new programming will look like in each affected market." CW majority owner Nexstar emailed that it doesn't intend to renew its affiliation agreement with the Scripps-owned stations and that the CW affiliations in Norfolk and Lafayette will move to Nexstar-owned stations Sept. 1. A Nexstar spokesperson emailed that it has interest from other station groups in the five remaining markets. "We are prepared for this transition and confident that The CW will continue to reach 100% of US television households without interruption," he said.

Comments are due May 16, replies June 17, regarding issues related to geotargeted content origination on FM booster stations, the FCC Media Bureau said Tuesday in docket 20-401. The commissioners unanimously approved a geotargeted radio content order earlier this month (see 2404020078 and the accompanying Further NPRM asks questions regarding a number of processing, licensing and service items.

FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington on Monday condemned the agency’s extension of the top-four prohibition in the 2018 quadrennial review order. Instead of “dusting off” older regulations and “breathing new life into them through interpretive maximalism," the FCC should keep them locked in “a curio cabinet,” Simington said in remarks at NAB Show 2024. The rule change makes existing broadcast assets less marketable and hurts independent operators, he said. The FCC's attack on broadcast assets is particularly egregious at a time when “the literal Chinese Communist Party is pulling more eyeballs then broadcasters are,” said Simington, apparently referring to TikTok. Simington also criticized recent enforcement actions against broadcasters, which he said involved disproportionate penalties for violations that were inadvertent or insignificant. Unlike off-shore robocallers that repeatedly violate FCC rules and rarely pay fines, broadcasters seek to follow the rules and reliably pay their penalties, Simington said. He said he looks forward to the day when the FCC is “less adversarial” to broadcasters and ceases treating them like “problem children.”

Broadcasters should use AI to improve news broadcasts and free up newsroom staff from processing tasks to focus on journalism, said AI company Futuri CEO Daniel Anstandig in a keynote presentation at the NAB Show 2024 in Las Vegas featuring an AI-powered humanoid robot interjecting occasional quips. A Futuri study shows that audiences believe AI could improve news reporting as long as broadcasters clearly disclose when it's being used. Calling AI a “media revolution,” Anstandig urged broadcasters to be the first to “step up to the ledge and jump off.” Broadcasting “will rise and fall based on the people in this room,” he said. Anstandig discussed using AI voices to handle routine sponsorship reads or to serve as late-night DJs, and said that audiences are largely unable to distinguish AI audio from real voices. Futuri’s audience survey found that AI video avatars were “not ready for prime time,” but AI could also be used to help newsrooms decide what topics to cover, do sales research and take over routine tasks to allow more resources to be devoted to reporting. Asked by NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt about AI leading to employees being replaced, Anstandig said that “job rotation” is normal in industry, arguing that the invention of the calculator didn’t wipe out the profession of mathematician but instead led to the discipline of data science. “New jobs will be created,” he said. In a Q&A session preceding the AI segment, LeGeyt said that the resource constraints imposed on broadcasters by regulation and competition with tech companies disadvantage local journalism. “The practical reality of Washington’s inaction on these issues is that every day a local reporter’s ability” to tell local stories “is undermined,” he said. LeGeyt pledged onstage that NAB would serve as a “convener” to push greater awareness and action on the U.S. opioid crisis and called on broadcasters to “step up” to preserve American faith in electoral processes. “We would have different prognostications on what November looks like, but we all need to trust that what happens is the outcome that was warranted,” he said. LeGeyt said November’s presidential election is “the most consequential of our lifetimes.”