First off, on this matter too, the FCC says one thing and does exactly the
opposite. They couldn't care less about seeking "comment." It's all a charade.
Then there are unsubstantiated, illogical comments like this one:
"However, in his comments before the vote, Pai asserted that the cap and the
UHF discount are inextricably linked. 'Any review of one, must include a review
of the other,' he said."
Completely false. It's trivially easy to address the question of a national
cap, without overloading the proceeding with an archaic rule that has no
technical credibility anymore. And by the way, without further stacking the
deck, to prove how corrupt he is, by also gutting the local caps.
But there's equal politically correct pretense/delusion going on from the
Chairman and the dissenting Commissioners, on this point:
"Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel, who dissented, both
expressed that eliminating or modifying the cap would be detrimental to the
values of localism, diversity and competition."
From the Chairman's point of view, his pronouncements are purely politically
correct PRETENSE, just reciting formula phrases that might put everyone to
sleep. He went so far as to recite examples that had nothing at all to do with
"localism," while he was trying to appease an audience some months back. All of
his examples of the wonders of "localism" had to do with national programming,
nothing local. What a phony.
From the Dem Commissioners, no one gives a crap about localism, as the cable TV
model and the popularity of OTT sites and online "radio stations" demonstrate
so thoroughly. So on this subject, the two Democratic Commissioners are
deluded, and the Chairman is, again, a phony. Say one thing, do exactly the
opposite.
And the gall:
"'It is amusing then to hear such vociferous objections from this bench,' he
said. Pai pointed out that in 2013 the FCC adopted an NPRM which eliminated the
UHF discount. It has since been restored by this Commission."
He's flaunting what kind of a hypocrite he is, restoring an archaic rule that
is way more obsolete that what he claims Title II to be. He has no shame. He
really needs to go.
Courts, do the right thing.
Bert
-------------------------------------
http://www.tvtechnology.com/news/0002/fcc-seeks-comment-on-national-reach-cap/282434
FCC Seeks Comment On National Reach Cap
An NPRM adopted today asks for comments on the FCC's 39 percent national reach
cap and UHF discount
December 14, 2017
By Phil Kurz
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission today adopted a Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking to review its National Television Multiple Ownership Rule
by a 3-2 vote along party lines.
The vote came after the agency's open monthly meeting was interrupted as FCC
Chairman Ajit Pai was speaking before the commissioners vote to repeal
Obama-era net neutrality rules.
"On advice of security, we need to take a brief break," Pai said before the
livestream of the event went to a slide of the FCC logo.
A CBS News report said the room was cleared. A Tweet from Dave Lee, BBC's North
American technology reporter, said sniffer dogs searched the meeting room after
it was evacuated. The meeting and the livestream resumed a few minutes later.
In the NPRM on its National Television Multiple Ownership Rule, the agency is
seeking comments on its cap on national television audience reach and its UHF
discount rule. Currently, entities owning or controlling TV stations are
prohibited from more than 39 percent of the TV households in the country. The
UHF discount, which provides for a 50 percent reduction in the size of UHF
audiences for the purpose of calculating compliance with the 39 percent rule,
is also part of the rulemaking.
The NPRM is aimed at assessing the national audience reach cap in an era of
increased options for consumers to access video programming from a variety of
new platforms.
The notice seeks comment on several questions, including:
* Whether or not the agency has authority to modify or eliminate its national
audience reach cap;
* If so, should it retain the cap;
* How marketplace changes and other factors should be considered in the context
of modifying or eliminating the dap;
* At what level should the cap be set;
* How should compliance with the cap be calculated;
* Whether or not the UHF discount should be modified or eliminated; and
* Whether the existing cap is still needed to promote localism.
Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel, who dissented, both
expressed that eliminating or modifying the cap would be detrimental to the
values of localism, diversity and competition.
"Today, the FCC seeks to dismantle these values," said Rosenworcel. "At the
direction of Congress in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2004, the FCC
is statutorily prohibited from allowing a single company from acquiring
stations that reach 39 percent of the national television audience."
However, in his comments before the vote, Pai asserted that the cap and the UHF
discount are inextricably linked. "Any review of one, must include a review of
the other," he said. There are no tentative conclusions about whether or not
the FCC has authority to eliminate or adjust the cap nor any about the UHF
discount in the notice, said Pai.
"It is amusing then to hear such vociferous objections from this bench," he
said. Pai pointed out that in 2013 the FCC adopted an NPRM which eliminated the
UHF discount. It has since been restored by this Commission.
Quoting that NPRM, Pai said: "We believe the Commission retains the authority
both to modify the national audience reach restriction and the UHF discount
provided such action is undertaken in a rulemaking proceeding separate from the
Commission's quadrennial review of the broadcast ownership rules."
"Today's minority expressed nary a doubt about that belief back then," he said.
The FCC today also added an optional EAS alert code for use in situations
involving the death or injury of police officers. Called a Blue Alert, the
"BLU" code can be used by state and local emergency agencies to alert the
public to threats to law enforcement personnel and to help apprehend suspects.
Use of the new EAS alert code by emergency agencies and broadcasters is
voluntary. The FCC is providing 12 months to implement Blue Alerts to be
delivered over the Emergency Alert System and 18 months for delivery via the
Wireless Emergency Alert system.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways:
- Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at
FreeLists.org
- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word
unsubscribe in the subject line.