The Democratic Party’s switch to Vice President Kamala Harris as its candidate for the White House is expected to provide a huge boost to broadcasters’ political advertising haul from the 2024 election, TV and radio executives said during recent Q2 earnings calls. Broadcasters also see sports returning to traditional airwaves, and Nexstar CEO Perry Sook predicted pay TV is arriving at an “inflection point” that could arrest plummeting subscriber numbers and drooping retrans dollars. Outgoing Tegna CEO Dave Lougee disagreed during what he said would be his final earnings call before retiring. “The innings of net retrans as the growth driver have certainly come to the later stages,” he said. Mike Steib will succeed Lougee next week.

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr is maintaining a constant drumbeat about what he calls the slow tempo of the broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program rollout. On July 29, he posted on X that it's 987 days since BEAD was enacted and "0 Americans have been connected, 0 Shovels worth of dirt turned." On Aug. 4, it was 993 days. "While there’s time to course correct, the trend line is not good," he posted Aug. 6. In his posts, he frequently lays the blame at the feet of Vice President Kamala Harris. His tweets repeatedly say that in 2021 Harris "agreed to lead a $42 billion plan to expand Internet service," and "no one has been connected."

Some states emphasize Buy American preference requirements more than others in their broadband equity, access and deployment plans, we found in our analysis of NTIA-approved BEAD volume 2 initial proposals. Whether Buy American provisions in state BEAD plans mean all the fiber optics and other materials used will be solely American-made is unclear. NTIA has signed off on 34 BEAD volume 2 plans so far, including Wyoming's on Thursday (see 2408080054).

New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez (D) is working with state lawmakers on legislation aimed at holding social media platforms more accountable for disseminating deepfake porn, he told us Wednesday.

The rise of Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democrats' presidential nominee should have few implications for FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, industry observers agree. If anything, Rosenworcel’s ties to Harris are likely stronger than they are to President Joe Biden, they said. Biden waited until October 2021, more than nine months after his inauguration, to designate Rosenworcel as the first woman to chair the agency on a permanent basis (see 2110260001).

FCC commissioners on Wednesday unanimously approved an NPRM aimed at reducing unwanted AI robocalls, as expected (see 2408050029). Commissioner Nathan Simington raised concerns about part of the notice, with which he would only concur. Responding to concerns that Incompas and Cloud Communications Alliance raised, officials said some questions were moved to a notice of inquiry. Commissioners during their open meeting approved 5-0 a pair of other items (see 2408070047).

DENVER -- NTIA won’t abandon projects that experience construction delays in the broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program, program leader Evan Feinman told the Mountain Connect conference on Wednesday. Many state broadband directors at the event reported progress meeting BEAD requirements as they prepare to distribute $42.5 billion across the U.S. next year (see 2408060048).

Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.

The FCC unanimously approved an order Wednesday creating an alert code for missing adults and an NPRM on proposed revisions for the robocall mitigation database. At their open meeting, commissioners also voted on an item that protects consumers from AI in robocalls (see 2408070037). “We do not have a tool on par with Amber alerts to raise awareness and assist with recovery efforts of those 18 and older,” Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said of the new Missing and Endangered Persons (MEP) alert code. “I think it would make a difference if we did. Because while only one third of those who go missing are adults, they account for 70% of people who are never found.” Though originally scheduled for Wednesday morning, the meeting’s start time was pushed back nearly three hours due to flight delays that affected Rosenworcel, she said.

The FCC defended the Wireline Bureau's decision denying LTD Broadband's long-form application for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. LTD, which was the largest winning bidder, sought a reversal of the decision, claiming the FCC improperly denied its entire application. In a Monday reply brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (docket 24-1017), the commission said it "repeatedly stated that the bureau would perform an in-depth review of long-form applications" to consider the technical and financial information of winning bidders (see 2405090056).