The “media universe” can no longer be viewed through “historic silos,” said FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn in a blog post Tuesday about attending the NAB Show last week (http://fcc.us/1eFJ4K3). “The demarcation between over-the-air, cable, internet and satellite broadcasting makes erstwhile legacy distinctions much harder to maintain,” said Clyburn. She was “pressed” at the show by network affiliates on the FCC’s recent ruling to attribute joint sales agreements, and conceded that the FCC’s delay in releasing the final text of that rulemaking meant she was unable to respond to broadcasters on the rule change. “The broadcasters were left to question our words and our wisdom pretty much unanswered,” she said. Clyburn said a walk on the show floor led to her being impressed by “Next Radio and 8K technology.” Broadcasters “play a unique and vital role in our local communities,” Clyburn said.

FCC agents and deputy U.S. marshals seized radio transmission and production equipment allegedly used by pirate radio stations. The pirate radio stations allegedly broadcast on four different FM frequencies, U.S. Attorney for Manhattan Preet Bharara said in a press release (http://bit.ly/1hIJFdY). Two complaints seeking forfeiture were unsealed Tuesday and it was revealed that the equipment was seized April 2, the press release said. FCC agents identified a commercial space in the Bronx area of New York City as the production studio for “Rika FM,” it said. The agents also identified other Manhattan locations that housed the radio transmission equipment, it said. “Rika FM” illegally broadcast programming on 94.5 MHz and 94.9 MHz, the press release said.

The FCC should “exercise caution” in considering a request from broadcaster Howard Stirk Holdings asking for assurances that the commission will grant HSH a waiver of its new ownership attribution rules for joint sales agreements (JSAs), said Free Press in an ex parte filing Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1qFcERw). The waiver request is connected to Sinclair’s purchase of Allbritton, which is still awaiting commission approval. HSH is one of several sidecar companies that had been involved in the deal through JSAs. Although Sinclair said (CD March 21 p16) it will restructure the deal to come into compliance with new standards for deals involving sharing arrangements, HSH has said it can still participate in the transaction if the Media Bureau grants it a waiver of the attribution rules. Granting such a waiver would allow Sinclair “to subvert the purpose of the Commission’s ownership limits in order to expand Sinclair’s reach,” said Free Press. Since the Sinclair/Allbritton transaction is still under review, large pieces of the Free Press filing are redacted, but Free Press seems to be arguing that a waiver for HSH would still lead to Sinclair exercising control over the station’s content. “It is difficult to imagine how reaping such minuscule profits might create a path to wealth and independence, as is the Commission’s stated intent for allowing waivers of its JSA attribution standards,” said Free Press after a redacted portion, apparently concerning the financial details of the deal. “It follows that the Commission should not endorse Sinclair’s latest scheme to evade its rules,” Free Press said.

The FCC Enforcement Bureau adopted a consent decree to settle allegations that KRXA(AM) Carmel Valley, Calif., violated sponsorship identification laws and indecency laws. The FCC investigated a complaint that the station broadcast a regularly scheduled call-in program “without disclosing that the host had paid the station to appear,” the bureau said in an order (http://bit.ly/Qm5J2g). The commission also received a complaint that indecency laws were violated based on language used by that show’s host, it said. The station is to be sold to a nonprofit broadcaster, the bureau said. Due to financial hardship, KRXA will pay $15,000 to resolve the allegations, it said. If the station isn’t sold, KRXA will implement a three-year compliance plan, the bureau said. The consent decree resolves and terminates the bureau’s investigation, it said.

What has been called a successful TV channel sharing experiment relied on technical specifications that may not work for all broadcasters, said Fletcher Heald communications attorney Steve Lovelady in a blog post Monday (http://bit.ly/1eBohXO). Though FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler suggested that broadcasters pursue channle sharing at a recent speech at the NAB Show, for the sharing experiment to be successful, “some interesting basic assumptions had to be made,” said Lovelady. “The experiment used the latest and best encoder hardware and software, producing more efficient results than the equipment at most stations,” Lovelady said. “To the extent that a positive channel-sharing experience may hinge to some degree on upgrading some pricey equipment, broadcasters should be aware of that.” The experiment also used a 720p HD format, which could mean the 1080i format is not as good in sharing situations, said Lovelady. “Whether channel-sharing might ultimately impose any new burdens on broadcasters or broadcast networks already committed to 1080i is unclear,” said the blog post. The audio stream in the experiment also used a lower bit rate than is commonly used by many broadcasters, Lovelady said. Shared channels may also require an extensive consumer education effort to help viewers find the channels, Lovelady said. “It may be that some, many, even most broadcasters won’t find the technical fine print and related testing assumptions and conditions objectionable,” Lovelady said. “But it is important that everybody know both (a) that the fine print, assumptions and conditions are there and (b) how they might affect the channel-sharing experience."

Graham Holdings and Berkshire Hathaway finalized an agreement (CD March 21 p13) for Berkshire to buy a wholly owned subsidiary of Graham Holdings that includes WPLG Miami, Berkshire shares held by Graham, and cash, in exchange for 1.6 million shares of Graham stock currently owned by Berkshire, said the media company in a news release Friday (http://bit.ly/1qJ24ai). It said the specific number of shares and cash in the deal will be determined on the closing date based on “certain factors, including the market prices of the shares of both companies at that time.” A report in The Washington Post, formerly owned by Graham Holdings, said the deal is intended to save the two companies $675 million in income taxes (http://wapo.st/1kCPVWN).

Initial comments on an FCC rulemaking notice seeking input on whether to eliminate or modify network non-duplication and syndicated exclusivity rules are due May 12. Replies are due June 9, the FCC said in a Federal Register notice Thursday (http://1.usa.gov/1hlg8pH). The FCC started the proceeding last month to address changes in the video market (CD April 1 p11).

An FCC Media Bureau public notice (PN) on the increased scrutiny facing transactions involving sharing arrangements released in March violates the Administrative Procedure Act and abuses the bureau’s delegated authority, said NAB General Counsel Jane Mago in a letter to the FCC released by NAB Thursday (http://bit.ly/1hE9INr). The processing guidelines, which warned that TV deals involving both joint sales agreements (JSAs) and financial arrangements between stations such as first refusal purchase rights and one company guaranteeing the loans of another would receive “careful scrutiny,” was seen by many as a warning that any such deals would not be approved (CD March 14 p). Issued two weeks before the FCC vote to make JSAs attributable, the PN was “unreasoned, premature, and inconsistent with longstanding Commission policies, objectives, and existing regulations,” said NAB. The additional documentation and extra scrutiny mentioned in the PN “are substantive requirements that change existing law, not mere processing guidelines,” and “constitute legislative rules that can only be adopted pursuant to notice and comment,” said NAB. Since the bureau had traditionally approved transactions involving JSAs on delegated authority, changing that standard is “novel” and requires a decision at the commission level, NAB said. When the processing guidelines were issued, several attorneys told us one likely reason for the move was to make it harder to go to the courts for companies whose transactions involving JSAs stalled at the Media Bureau level, since the bureau would be able to sit on an application rather than explicitly deny it. Without an actual denial, it’s more difficult to get a court to take action, the attorneys said. That kind of “shell game” is “inappropriate and unacceptable,” NAB said. The PN also doesn’t cite enough evidence or precedent as basis for the change, making it “arbitrary and capricious,” NAB said. “We encourage the Bureau to withdraw the Public Notice and eliminate the improper pressure on -- and de facto rule against -- the broadcast transactions at issue,” said NAB.

Details were scarce at our deadline about the outcome of the multi-group meeting Thursday in Las Vegas that organizers had convened to get the ball rolling on talks to standardize high-dynamic-range (HDR) content and displays. Word of the meeting involving delegates from the Advanced Television Systems Committee, CEA, NCTA, and the Society of Motion Picture and TV Engineers was disclosed by a senior executive at Harmonic, who described the lack of HDR standards as perhaps Ultra HD’s “biggest roadblock.” Of the groups we canvassed for comment on the meeting and the lack of HDR standardization that brought it about, only ATSC President Mark Richer responded with a statement that addressed the HDR issue, if only in the most general terms. “HDR is one of the many issues being considered in the development of ATSC 3.0,” Richer said. “The industry recognizes that there are many technical parameters in addition to total pixel count that determines perceived quality. Since ATSC is focused on the standardization of the transmission to the home, a lot will depend on the plans of the production and consumer electronics industries.” At the NAB Show, the chairwoman of the ATSC’s “S34” specialist group responsible for ATSC 3.0’s audio and video codecs, closed captioning and its other “applications and presentations” said her group would “definitely” study HDR, but she said little more on the subject (CD April 8 p11). Brian Markwalter, CEA senior vice president-research and standards, declined comment on HDR standards. Recently, he said there was much industry “discussion” taking place about getting together this year and devising more up-to-date Ultra HD definitions, logos and certifications than was possible when CEA adopted its Ultra HD nomenclature in fall 2012, but whether that update effort would involve studying HDR standards remains to be seen. At NCTA, “we don’t really have any comment on the HDR standards issue as it is early on with this topic,” said a spokeswoman by email.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s suggestion in a NAB Show speech that broadcasters shift their focus to an over-the-top (OTT) model focused on offering local news (CD April 9 p1) is “off target,” said NAB Executive Vice President-Strategic Planning Rick Kaplan in a blog post Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1g8ZHvE). “A future that gives even more power to the incredibly consolidated and exceedingly powerful cable and wireless industries -- one that puts them as our gatekeepers -- sounds like a future that ultimately only disrupts broadcasters.” Wheeler should have focused on broadcasting’s “superior transmission system” as the way to disrupt multichannel video programming distributors, said Kaplan. “The chairman does not see, as many broadcasters do, a game-changing value in our one-to-many architecture,” he said. “It is not lost on many broadcasters that the chairman’s vision happens to fit nicely into two of his three highest priorities: the spectrum incentive auction and the open Internet.” Wheeler said the potential of a shift to OTT means broadcasters should support an open Internet to keep ISPs from blocking their signals, and suggested the incentive auction as a useful source of capital to fund the pivot to over the top. “To what degree the chairman’s vision is truly comprehensive or instead a clever way of convincing broadcasters to support his legacy items is anyone’s guess,” Kaplan said. Although Wheeler characterized the incentive auction as a one-time opportunity that’s unlikely to be repeated, broadcasters don’t believe the value of their spectrum will decrease “anytime soon,” Kaplan said. Broadcasting’s “unique and spectrally efficient delivery system” should be a focus of the National Broadcast Plan advocated at the NAB Show by NAB CEO Gordon Smith, Kaplan said. That plan shouldn’t “shrink broadcasting into a mere Web service,” Kaplan said. “For a chairman whose watchwords are ‘competition, competition, competition,’ his remarks conspicuously overlooked meaningful intermodal competition in the delivery of video content."