Tegna confirmed it got "four unsolicited acquisition proposals in recent weeks," saying two plans led to discussions that have since ended amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Without identifying any of the would-be buyers, the TV station owner said Sunday "these two parties made their proposals shortly before the recent market dislocation due to the COVID-19 pandemic and both subsequently informed" the company "they were ceasing discussions."
FCC staff delayed deadlines on the agency "seeking to refresh the record" on net neutrality and Lifeline, it announced Wednesday afternoon. "With this 21-day extension, comments are due" April 20, replies May 20. A Feb. 19 public notice sought feedback on aspects of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit’s Mozilla v. FCC ruling.
The FCC delayed two spectrum auctions, due to COVID-19, in an announcement Wednesday.
The March 31 FCC commissioners' meeting will be livestream only and all items will be voted beforehand on circulation, agency officials said in interviews this week. The unusual format stems from the agency’s COVID-19 prevention measures, which have most staffers teleworking and headquarters closed to visitors without special permission.
The Supreme Court vacated the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overruling a lower court dismissal of a discrimination complaint against Comcast brought by Entertainment Studios Network. The decision Monday penned by Justice Neil Gorsuch rejected ESN arguments that under federal civil rights law, the plaintiff bearing only the burden of showing race was a motivating factor. SCOTUS said the court has rejected the motivating factor test in other cases.
President Donald Trump renominated FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly Wednesday to another five-year term, ending June 30, 2024.
Communications challenges posed by the novel coronavirus prompted NAB CEO Gordon Smith to seek help from other industries. He hopes for no retransmission consent blackouts of TV stations' content on MVPDs. And he wants social media platforms to work with broadcasters to combat fake news.
FCC staff waived some USF healthcare and E-rate gift rules amid COVID-19. Some stakeholders had sought these and other actions.
The FCC Incentive Auction Task Force and the Media Bureau are allowing stations in the current repack phase affected by delays related to the novel coronavirus to wait until the next phase, said a public notice Tuesday. The repack just began phase 9, scheduled to end May 1. Stations that can’t meet that deadline will be granted a waiver of that deadline and a reassignment to phase 10, May 2-July 3, the PN said.
Due to virus outbreak concerns, the majority of our staff is teleworking. We will be publishing without interruption and your subscriptions will be delivered on their normal schedule.