Sinclair Hasn't Received Special Treatment, Pai Tells House Democrats

Sinclair’s proposed buy of Tribune didn’t get special FCC treatment, said Chairman Ajit Pai in a letter released Tuesday responding to correspondence from House Commerce ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Mike Doyle, D-Pa., and House Commerce Oversight Subcommittee ranking member Diana DeGette, D-Colo. (see 1708140058). “My actions have been motivated by my belief that a strong over the air broadcast service advances the public interest," Pai said. “They have not been fueled by a desire to help any particular company.”

“Neither Sinclair nor Tribune nor anyone acting on behalf of either company informed me or my office of a possible transaction involving these companies before the Commission voted to reinstate the UHF discount,” Pai said. Sinclair didn't comment.

Under his leadership, the FCC has changed its formerly “hostile” approach to broadcasting, Pai said. He said FCC independence was “restored.” Decisions “are being guided by facts and the law, not by political pressure applied by the White House,” he said. Pai has met with now-President Donald Trump twice since the election, and pending FCC proceedings weren’t discussed, Pai said. He doesn’t recall Sinclair being mentioned during either meeting, or in any discussions with other White House officials. Former Chairman Tom Wheeler didn’t comment.

"Wheeler's meeting with the head of OMB on Net Neutrality is no less appropriate than Pai's meetings with Sinclair," emailed Georgetown Law Institute for Public Representation Senior Counselor Andrew Schwartzman, about the Office of Management and Budget. "It isn't unusual for the executive branch to make ex parte presentations and, when the Administration weighed in on Network Neutrality, it duly filed a notice."

Pai also described his Nov. 16 speech at a gathering of Sinclair general managers, and noted it was arranged before Election Day. The event involved Pai giving a presentation on FCC issues and taking questions on a wide variety of topics, and a lunch with some Sinclair executives, the letter said. Subsequent meetings with Sinclair officials that included discussion of FCC proceedings are captured in ex parte filings, Pai said. Pai Chief of Staff Matthew Berry met with Sinclair’s One Media Executive Vice President Jerald Fritz -- a former FCC chief of staff -- on Jan. 31, but Pai said he was told no pending FCC matters were discussed, and the meeting concerned advice on being CoS.

Pai attached correspondence between his office and Sinclair Senior Vice President-Strategy and Policy Rebecca Hanson that has been the subject of Freedom of Information Act requests. It consisted of emails between his staff and Hanson around the scheduling of Pai's visit to the gathering of Sinclair general managers, and Hanson's recommendation to Pai and NAB CEO Gordon Smith that they see the cyber-warfare documentary Zero Days. Hanson pointed out that then-President Barack Obama pardoned former Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chairman James Cartwright for leaks associated with the subject of the documentary. "We would love to come in at some point after Thanksgiving to walk you through all that we are doing in the area of drones and cybersecurity," Hanson said.

The Sinclair/Tribune pleading cycle is of comparable length to Nexstar/Media General, and that deal is a more suitable analogue than AT&T/DirecTV, Pai said. “The pleading cycle for this transaction is consistent with precedent and is not expedited.” Sinclair hasn’t requested an expedited review, he said. In a recent filing, Sinclair asked that the commission vote on new ownership rules before ruling on the proposed deal. Pai also said Media Bureau’s approval of Sinclair/Bonten Media wasn’t unusually quick. ”Assignment/transfer of control applications are frequently granted in similar or less time,” Pai said. Commissioner Mignon Clyburn complained at the time that the Bonten deal was approved without any communication with her office (see 1707050042) during what she termed a “FridayNewsDump.”

Pai touted the potential of Sinclair-backed ATSC 3.0, and restated the FCC proposal to require that broadcasters simulcast in both the new standard and the current one. The agency also is considering whether to impose service area coverage requirements to minimize losses of service, Pai said. Viewer privacy under the new standard will be protected by broadcasters anonymizing consumer data, Pai said. ATSC 3.0 broadcasters that don’t protect consumer data could face FTC enforcement action, he said. The FCC also will “closely monitor” the transition and could take action if it threatens consumer privacy, he said.

Pai also commented on possible future proceedings involving a quadrennial review reconsideration order and a rulemaking on the national ownership cap. Since recon petitions were filed against the 2010 and 2014 quadrennial reviews, the FCC is “obligated to rule on those petitions at some point.” Broadcasters said they don’t expect action on the recon orders until Pai is reconfirmed as chairman (see 1709110068). Pai repeated that he plans to “commence consideration” of the cap and the possible fate of the UHF discount through an NPRM “by the end of the year.”