Ajit Pai, Chairman of U.S Federal Communications Commission, delivers his keynote speech at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, February 28, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted 2-1 on Thursday to reverse a 2016 decision that limits the number of television stations some broadcasters can buy.

The decision could lead to a possible acquisition by Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc of Tribune Media Co, some Democrats in Congress said.

Tribune did not discuss any tie up, but said in a statement the FCC decision “will serve the important interest of localism by enabling broadcasters to better serve their communities.”

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said he plans to take a new look at the current overall limit on companies owning stations serving no more than 39 percent of U.S. television households.

Democratic FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn called the vote a “huge gift for large broadcasters with ambitious dreams of more consolidation.” She said it “will have an immediate impact on the purchase and sale of television stations.”

Her concern was echoed by the top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, who a day earlier urged the Federal Communications Commission to cancel the vote.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi warned that the changes could be harmful to consumers, hitting their wallets and their access to an independent media voice, as she cited press reports of a possible acquisition by Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc of Tribune Media Co stations.

Clyburn

In a letter, Pelosi and Representative Frank Pallone, who is the ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, urged Pai to drop the plan, which could allow the Sinclair-Tribune tie-up.

“That would be bad news for consumers in Tribune’s markets in two ways: First, consumers would lose an independent voice in their media market; and second, consumers could see their cable bills go up because Sinclair charges cable operators more than Tribune for retransmission consent,” they wrote.

Another Democrat, Representative Anna Eshoo, wrote Pai asking him to drop the plan, saying that further consolidation “will ensure there are fewer independent news outlets serving as a counter-balance to misleading or inaccurate information.”

Meredith Corp spokesman Art Slusark said on Thursday the vote “may open up the opportunity for more acquisition opportunities … We are always interested in adding quality properties to our broadcast portfolio.”

Under rules adopted in 1985, stations with weaker over-the-air signals could be partially counted against a broadcaster’s ownership cap. But last year, the FCC under Democratic President Barack Obama said those rules were outdated after the 2009 conversion to digital broadcasting, which eliminated the differences in station signal strength. It revoked the rule in September.

There is a dispute over whether the FCC has the authority to amend the 39 percent ownership limit.

The 2016 decision did not require any company to sell existing stations, but could bar acquisitions. Twenty-First Century Fox Inc in September challenged the FCC rule in court.

Reuters reported in March that Sinclair had approached Tribune to discuss a potential combination, which would hinge on regulations being relaxed.

Pai said the FCC previously effectively tightened ownership rules and then companies previously below the national cap suddenly exceeded it. He said the FCC “did not examine whether the facts justified a more stringent cap.”

Pai, who was named by U.S. President Donald Trump to head the FCC in January, said it will begin a comprehensive review of the national cap this year. That could launch a new wave of consolidation in the broadcast television industry.

Clyburn cited comments from CBS Corp Chairman and Chief Executive Leslie Moonves in February that Pai would be “very beneficial to our business.” Moonves said the company would like to acquire more stations if the cap is lifted.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Dan Grebler)

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Communications Commission said on Monday it approved Time Warner Inc’s sale of a broadcast station in Atlanta to Meredith Corp, a transaction that could help speed Time Warner’s planned merger with AT&T Inc.

In January, AT&T said it expected to be able to bypass the FCC in its planned $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner because it would not seek to transfer any significant Time Warner licenses.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said previously he did not plan to use the proposed TV station license transfer as a way to examine the AT&T-Time Warner merger. About a dozen senators had urged him to review the deal.

The station that Time Warner is selling, WPCH-TV, for $70 million, is its only FCC-regulated broadcast station. It has other, more minor FCC licenses.

Meredith has operated WPCH-TV for Time Warner since 2011. It was previously known as WTBS. The station is no longer considered a superstation in the United States, after Turner Broadcasting System created a new national network it dubbed TBS. WTBS changed its over-the-air call letters to WPCH, rebranded as “Peachtree TV,” and is considered an independent television station airing off-network sitcoms and dramas. However, WPCH is still widely seen across Canada, where it remains a “superstation” after Canadian regulators refused to allow Canadian providers to carry Turner’s TBS network.

WPCH-TV, an independent TV station in Atlanta, dubs itself as “Peachtree TV.”

In a statement on Monday, Meredith said it was pleased the FCC approved the application and that it anticipated “moving forward expeditiously to close this deal.”

The company said in February it expected to close on the sale by June 30 and that the deal would not have a material impact on its results.

Time Warner did not immediately comment on the FCC approval.

The Justice Department has to prove a proposed deal harms competition in order to block it. The FCC has broad leeway to block a merger it deems is not in the “public interest” and can impose additional conditions.

AT&T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson told CNBC in February the Justice Department review was ongoing and he thought the deal would close by the end of the year.

“It’s a clean transaction,” he said.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Additional reporting by Stop the Cap!/Phillip Dampier.)

Two N.J. public-television stations will collect more than $330 million to turn off their transmitters.

At a time when the Trump Administration is signaling its interest in eliminating the small amount of funding still available to public broadcasting in the United States, the recent FCC Spectrum Auction brought some public stations much-needed revenue to complete station or facility upgrades and help underwrite the cost of locally produced programming. But some TV station owners will pocket tens of millions of dollars from auction proceeds earned from a license that was supposed to include a commitment to serve in the public interest.

Current – News for People in Public Media has tracked the station changes that will come to public-television stations as a result of the spectrum auction. In most cases, the public-TV stations that sold their channel position will not disappear entirely. Many will “merge into other station’s spectrum” — which means in plain English they will share space with another local station.

It won’t be a total loss for public-television in most of these cities. Many are served by “repeater” stations that essentially rebroadcast programming from another nearby station. In larger cities, multiple public-TV stations are not uncommon and losing one might not have a big impact, especially if remaining stations pick up some of the programming that will go missing when the affected station signs off. But in some states, the loss of free over the air TV stations could exacerbate the growing problem of maintaining quality coverage of local news and events.

For cord-cutters, local free television remains an essential part of the kind of TV package consumers used to pay the cable or satellite company to receive. Local stations still deliver an important public service to the community through news and public affairs programming, but that responsibility is increasingly taking a back seat to profits.

The state of New Jersey is served by two media markets – one in New York City, the other Philadelphia, neither in New Jersey.

For some states, the challenge to deliver locally focused programming in areas dominated by media markets in adjacent states has been a problem for decades. No state has faced this challenge more than New Jersey, divided in half and served by two out-of-state media Designated Market Areas (DMAs). The northern half of New Jersey is part of the New York City TV market and the southern half is part of the Philadelphia DMA. As a result, local stories about events inside New Jersey can get lost in favor of stories centered on New York or Philadelphia, even more so during today’s era of media consolidation and cutbacks in newsroom budgets.

A Free Press project is trying to address that problem by encouraging New Jersey state officials to create a public trust fund from part of the hundreds of millions earned by the state’s stations from the spectrum auction to support community-driven projects, responsive local journalism, serious investigative reporting, civic technology and essential public media outlets. The campaign seeks to remind state and local officials that the airwaves still belong to the public, and the stations collecting large sums from the auction agreed to serve their communities in return for obtaining that license to broadcast. Simply putting auction proceeds into their pockets isn’t serving the public interest.

“It’s only right that money from the sale of the state’s 20th-century media outlets be used to create a new, forward-thinking media landscape for this century that focuses on local communities and is attuned to residents’ needs,” said Mike Rispoli, Free Press Action Fund journalism campaign director and director of the News Voices: New Jersey project. “When local stations go off the air, news coverage disappears. That means people are less informed, civic participation drops and political corruption increases. Spectrum revenues must be used to support those who rely on locally produced news and information to engage with their neighbors, learn about volunteer opportunities, make decisions about voting, run for public office, get information about small businesses and support their children in local schools.”

Just two New Jersey public-television stations WNJN and WNJT together collected more than $330 million in auction revenues — two of the largest individual payouts of any noncommercial stations. Now both stations plan to go off the air. Where exactly will that money be going?

The News Voices: New Jersey project wants some of it spent on making sure New Jersey residents have a New Jersey-focused news media, particularly in a state where political scandals have not been uncommon.

“Some ideas we’ve heard from journalists and community members on how to use these public proceeds include support for locally focused digital news startups; apps and tools to help people sift through public data and expedite Freedom of Information Act requests; robust community-engagement projects designed to lift up voices long ignored by newsrooms, in communities of color, immigrant communities, and other underserved areas; and media-literacy programs to identify and combat the spread of fake news and disinformation,” Rispoli said.

The group is asking interested members of the public to sign up for the project and help advocate for stronger newsrooms and communities. A similar effort is also getting underway in North Carolina.

As of today, here is an update on what is happening with the public-TV stations affected by the FCC Spectrum Auction.

As the wireless industry grabs a bigger chunk of the television dial, the remaining free over-the-air stations are going to be on the move starting next year. More than 900 American television stations will get new channel numbers after the move is complete, all to squeeze signals into the unchanged VHF and diminished UHF dial.

The folks at Rabbit Ears have a handy tool that will guide you through the changes, and they are enormous. Just use the drop-down box next to “Market” and find your city. Here at Stop the Cap! HQ, all but two stations in Rochester, N.Y., are getting new channel positions:

TV station reassignments as a result of the channel repack for Rochester, NY. The first two columns show the new vs. current actual channel number.

Most viewers won’t notice a big difference because the FCC is allowing stations to continue to market themselves with a virtual channel number than usually dates back to before the migration to digital TV broadcasting. But the channel changes can still be important for viewers using an antenna, especially if your local station(s) migrate into the VHF or UHF bands where they might not have been before. Two different antennas are sometimes required to get good reception from both bands. The traditional “rabbit ears” indoor telescoping antenna is usually designed for VHF reception, while small loop antennas work better for UHF. Various other antenna configurations can work for both bands, some better than others. Outdoor aerials can be designed to receive VHF, UHF or both. You may need an antenna upgrade if your antenna isn’t designed to receive the station(s) you want to see after they move.

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An unprecedented 175 free over-the-air television signals will sign off on their current channels for good in return for an average of tens of millions in compensation paid by Comcast, Dish Networks, and various wireless companies that want their frequencies to bolster their mobile networks.

The UHF dial compression comes courtesy of the latest FCC spectrum auction, which allowed bidders to entice over-the-air television stations to give up their frequencies to make room for wireless companies trying to bolster their 4G LTE networks. At least 957 stations across the country will have to move to new channels as the FCC compresses the TV dial to make room for wireless providers.

Virtually all the affected stations won’t disappear from free over-the-air TV for good, however. Of the 175 stations, 133 plan to make a deal with another local station to relaunch as a secondary digital channel, 29 will move from a UHF channel to a new VHF channel (2-13), and one channel will move from a high VHF channel to a low numbered one.

The move was very profitable to some major market stations, where the TV dial is already crowded with signals. WWTO-TV, a TBN affiliate airing Christian TV programming in LaSalle/Chicago, Ill. won the highest amount of any station in the country to put its transmitter off the air – $304 million. The biggest non-commercial auction winner was New Jersey’s Public Broadcasting Authority, which won $194 million to switch off WNJN in Montclair, N.Y.

The winners are 50 wireless bidders who want the frequencies to improve their wireless networks by increasing the amount of spectrum they can use in the coveted 600MHz band. Signals at these frequencies do a better job penetrating buildings and around natural obstacles and terrain. The result will be improved coverage and signal quality, with fewer dropped calls.

“The conclusion of the world’s first incentive auction is a major milestone in the FCC’s long history as steward of the nation’s airwaves,” said FCC chairman Ajit Pai. “Consumers are the real beneficiaries, as broadcasters invest new resources in programming and service, and additional wireless spectrum opens the way to greater competition and innovation in the mobile broadband marketplace.”

Stations can begin vacating their frequencies this year. Among the 957 stations that have to change channel numbers, the first of a series of channel changes will begin on Nov. 30, 2018. The last changes should take place just over three years from now.

Are you affected? Here is the list of channels going off the air or relocating to a different band:

Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y.

• WCDC-TV UHF Going off the air

Augusta, Ga.

• WAGT-TV UHF Going off the air

Baltimore, Md.

• WUTB-TV UHF Going off the air

Boston, Mass.

• WBIN-TV UHF Going off the air
• WDPX-TV UHF Going off the air
• WFXZ-CD UHF Going off the air
• WGBH-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
• WLVI-TV UHF Going off the air
• WMFP-TV UHF Going off the air
• WYCN-CD UHF Going off the air
• WYDN-TV UHF Going off the air

Buffalo, N.Y.

• WIVB-TV UHF Going off the air
• WNYB-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
• WVTT-CD UHF Moving to High VHF Channel

Burlington, Vt.-Plattsburgh, N.Y.

• WNNE-TV UHF Going off the air
• WVTA-TV UHF Going off the air

Charleston-Huntington, W.V.

• WPBO-TV UHF Going off the air
• WTSF-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel

Charlotte, N.C.

• WLNN-CD UHF Going off the air
• WMYT-TV UHF Going off the air
• WTBL-CD UHF Going off the air

Charlottesville, Va.

• WVIR-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel

Chattanooga, Tenn.

• WNGH-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
• WTNB-CD UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel

Chicago, Ill.

• WOCH-CD UHF Going off the air
• WPWR-TV UHF Going off the air
• WSNS-TV UHF Going off the air
• WWTO-TV High VHF Channel Going off the air
• WXFT-TV UHF Going off the air
• WYCC-TV UHF Going off the air

Cincinnati, Oh.

• WOTH-CD UHF Going off the air

Cleveland-Akron, Oh.

• WAOH-CD UHF Going off the air
• WDLI-TV UHF Going off the air
• WGGN-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
• WRLM-TV UHF Going off the air
• WUAB-TV UHF Going off the air

Columbus, Ga.

• WJSP-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel

Columbus, Oh.

• WOUC-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
• WSFJ-TV UHF Going off the air

Dallas-Ft. Worth, Tex.

• KATA-CD UHF Going off the air

Dayton, Oh.

• WBDT-TV UHF Going off the air
• WKOI-TV UHF Going off the air

Flint-Saginaw-Bay City, Mich.

• WCMZ-TV UHF Going off the air

Greensboro-High Point-Winston, N.C.

• WCWG-TV UHF Going off the air
• WLXI-TV UHF Going off the air

Greenville-New Bern-Washington, N.C.

• WFXI-TV High VHF Channel Going off the air

Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.

• WGGS-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
• WRET-TV UHF Going off the air
• WYCW-TV UHF Going off the air

Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York, Pa.

• WGCB-TV UHF Going off the air
• WLYH-TV UHF Going off the air
• WPMT-TV UHF Going off the air

Harrisonburg, Va.

• WAZH-CD UHF Going off the air
• WVPY-TV UHF Going off the air

Hartford-New Haven, Conn.

• WCTX-TV UHF Going off the air
• WEDY-TV UHF Going off the air
• WRDM-CD UHF Going off the air
• WUVN-TV UHF Going off the air

Huntsville-Decatur-Florence, Ala.

• WHDF-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel

Indianapolis, Ind.

• WCLJ-TV UHF Going off the air
• WHMB-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel
• WNDY-TV UHF Going off the air

Johnstown-Altoona, Pa.

• WKBS-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel

Knoxville, Tenn.

• WAGV-TV UHF Going off the air

Lansing, Mich.

• WHTV-TV UHF Going off the air
• WLNS-TV UHF Going off the air

Lima, Oh.

• WTLW-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel

Los Angeles, Calif.

• KAZA-TV UHF Going off the air
• KBEH-TV UHF Going off the air
• KDOC-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel
• KILM-TV UHF Going off the air
• KJLA-TV UHF Going off the air
• KLCS-TV UHF Going off the air
• KNET-CD UHF Going off the air
• KOCE-TV UHF Going off the air
• KRCA-TV UHF Going off the air
• KSFV-CD UHF Going off the air
• KVCR-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
• KWHY-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel

Louisville, Ky.

• WBKI-TV UHF Going off the air
• WWJS-CD UHF Going off the air

Madison, Wisc.

• WISC-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel

Memphis, Tenn.

• WWTW-TV UHF Going off the air

Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

• WDLP-CD UHF Going off the air
• WIMP-CD UHF Going off the air
• WLPH-CD UHF Going off the air

Milwaukee, Wisc.

• WCGV-TV UHF Going off the air
• WMLW-TV UHF Going off the air
• WMVT-TV UHF Going off the air
• WVCY-TV UHF Going off the air

Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.

• KCCO-TV High VHF Channel Going off the air

Monterey-Salinas, Calif.

• KSMS-TV UHF Going off the air

Myrtle Beach-Florence, S.C.

• WGSI-CD High VHF Channel Going off the air

New York, N.Y.

• WEBR-CD UHF Going off the air
• WMBQ-CD UHF Going off the air
• WMUN-CD UHF Going off the air
• WNBC-TV UHF Going off the air
• WNJN-TV UHF Going off the air
• WNYJ-TV UHF Going off the air
• WRNN-TV UHF Going off the air
• WTBY-TV UHF Going off the air
• WXTV-TV UHF Going off the air
• WZME-TV UHF Going off the air

Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, Fla.

• WACX-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel
• WTGL-TV UHF Going off the air

Philadelphia, Pa.

• WFMZ-TV UHF Going off the air
• WGTW-TV UHF Going off the air
• WLVT-TV UHF Going off the air
• WMCN-TV UHF Going off the air
• WNJT-TV UHF Going off the air
• WTSD-CD UHF Going off the air
• WTVE-TV UHF Going off the air
• WUVP-TV UHF Going off the air
• WWSI-TV UHF Going off the air
• WYBE-TV UHF Going off the air

Pittsburgh, Pa.

• WBOA-CD UHF Going off the air
• WEMW-CD UHF Going off the air
• WEPA-CD UHF Going off the air
• WNNB-CD UHF Going off the air
• WPCP-CD UHF Going off the air
• WQED-TV High VHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
• WQVC-CD UHF Going off the air
• WVTX-CD UHF Going off the air

Providence, R.I.-New Bedford, Mass.

• WLWC-TV UHF Going off the air
• WRIW-CD UHF Going off the air
• WSBE-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel

Puerto Rico

• WDWL-TV UHF Going off the air
• WELU-TV UHF Going off the air
• WIRS-TV UHF Going off the air
• WKPV-TV UHF Going off the air
• WMEI-TV UHF Going off the air
• WSJU-TV UHF Going off the air
• WTCV-TV UHF Going off the air

Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

• WFPX-TV UHF Going off the air
• WHFL-CD UHF Moving to High VHF Channel
• WNCN-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel
• WRAY-TV UHF Going off the air
• WZGS-CD UHF Going off the air

Richmond-Petersburg, Va.

• WUPV-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel

Roanoke-Lynchburg, Va.

• WFFP-TV UHF Going off the air

Rockford, Ill.

• WIFR-TV UHF Going off the air

San Diego, Calif.

• K35DG-TV UHF Going off the air
• KSEX-CD UHF Going off the air

San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, Calif.

• KEMO-TV UHF Going off the air
• KEXT-CD UHF Going off the air
• KMPT-TV UHF Going off the air
• KOFY-TV UHF Going off the air
• KQEH-TV UHF Going off the air
• KRCB-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
• KRON-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel
• KTLN-TV UHF Going off the air
• KTNC-TV UHF Going off the air
• KTSF-TV UHF Going off the air

Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-San Caballero, Calif.

• KMMA-CD UHF Going off the air

Springfield, Mo.

• KSPR-TV UHF Going off the air

Springfield-Holyoke, Mass.

• WGBY-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel

Syracuse, N.Y.

• WNYI-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Sarasota, Fla.

• WUSF-TV UHF Going off the air
• WTTA-TV UHF Going off the air

Tri-Cities, Tenn.

• WAPG-CD UHF Going off the air
• WMSY-TV UHF Going off the air
• WSBN-TV UHF Going off the air

Tyler-Longview, Tex.

• KCEB-TV UHF Going off the air

Washington, D.C.

• WAZF-CD UHF Going off the air
• WDCA-TV UHF Going off the air
• WDCW-TV UHF Going off the air
• WJAL-TV UHF Going off the air
• WMDO-CD UHF Going off the air
• WNVC-TV UHF Going off the air
• WNVT-TV UHF Going off the air
• WZDC-CD UHF Going off the air

West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce, Fla.

• WFGC-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel
• WXEL-TV UHF Going off the air

Wilkes Barre-Scranton, Pa.

• WKBN-TV UHF Going off the air
• WVIA-TV UHF Going off the air