John Eggerton

The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit has declined to overturn the Federal Communications Commission's restoration of the UHF discount on the grounds that the parties challenging it--Free Press, Prometheus Radio--did not have standing to bring the challenge. That could be a big boost to broadcast mergers and acquisitions, though it might not be the big boost for the Sinclair-Tribune deal given the FCC's other problems with the deal. The UHF discount means that only half of a UHF TV station's audience counts towards the 39% national ownership cap.

The Senate Commerce Committee took a deep dive into various government and industry efforts to make more spectrum available for 5G. Helping focus the hearing were two bills currently working their way through Congress, the SPECTRUM NOW and AIRWAVES Act. "Identifying spectrum resources not just for the next three years, but for the next 10 years and beyond is essential if we are to retain American leadership," said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD). Craig Cowden, SVP of wireless technology for Charter, put in a plug for its Wi-Fi mobile broadband play.

The Federal Communications Commission July 24 began auctioning billions in broadband buildout subsidies to cable operators and other competitors to the incumbent telecommunication companies. The FCC gave incumbent telecommunication companies the first shot at its Connect America Fund (CAF) subsidies to deliver fixed broadband to rural communities. Now it is giving competitors a shot at those funds in round two (CAF II), though incumbents can jump back in as well. Round one of the Connect America Fund Phase II Auction (auction 903) began at 10 a.m.

Computer giant Microsoft has teamed up with RTO Wireless to provide broadband access to more than a quarter million people in rural New York state and Maine. It is the latest project in the company's Airband Initiative to connect rural areas to broadband partnerships with Internet service providers, and energy companies and others. The goal is to close the rural digital divide by July 4, 2022, including by making use of unlicensed spectrum in the so-called TV white spaces between TV channels.

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) launched another effort at massive communications deregulation, one he has been pushing for most of a decade, so far without success. Rep Scalise has reintroduced a discussion draft of his Next Generation Television Marketplace Act, which repeals must-carry and retransmission consent rules and the compulsory license. That is the license that allows broadcasters to include nonlocal programming in their retransmission deals without having to secure individual rights from national network and syndication rightsholders.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai phoned Sinclair executive vice president and general counsel Barry Faber July 18 to let the company know that just withdrawing the three TV station "sweetheart deal" sale applications was not going to head off an administrative hearing on the proposed Tribune merger. But Faber told Chairman Pai in a letter filed with the FCC that the company was not planning to cancel the deal the week of July 16, saying that would require board approval it did not have.

Four high-profile Sinclair-Tribune deal critics have gotten together to urge Tribune to pull the plug on the deal. Public Knowledge President Gene Kimmelman; Brian Hess, executive director of the Sports Fans Coalition; Gigi Sohn, distinguished fellow at the Institute for Technology Law and Policy; and Andrew Schwartzman of the Institute for Public Representation wrote a letter to Tribune board members saying, "We believe that the only reasonable and prudent action under your fiduciary duty as Tribune directors is to abandon the proposed sale to Sinclair Broadcast Group and focus entirely on

Rep Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) has reintroduced the Federal Communications Commission Transparency Act (HR 6422), which would mandate that the FCC publish the drafts of items to be considered in a public meeting 21 days ahead of that vote.

The House Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection, in the first oversight hearing for the new slate of Federal Trade Commission members, probed the commissioners on issues like data security, the Internet of Things, privacy, deceptive advertising, and more.

Sinclair Broadcasting released a lengthy statement in response to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai's move to designate the Tribune deal for hearing before the FCC's administrative law judge. Sinclair said it had misled no one, had complied with FCC rules, been transparent about what it was trying to do, and was willing to adjust the merger yet again -- it has submitted five versions so far --  to avoid the hearing and close the deal.