WASHINGTON—The FCC Media Bureau has announced that the filing window to apply for construction permits to launch 12 new noncommercial educational television stations will be open from Dec. 4-11.

As part of the announcement, the Media Bureau also laid out filing procedures and requirements for applying for the stations, to be located in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Idaho, Iowa, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas and Virginia.

The move raised questions about whether the FCC would be opening a window for new commercial TV stations, but that window remains closed.

More specifically, the FCC will be accepting applications for these communities:

• Vernon, Alabama (Channel 4)
• Anchorage, Alaska (Channel 26)
• Bethel, Arkansas (Channel 3)
• Colusa, California (Channel 2)
• Fort Bragg, California (Channel 4)
• Tulare, California (Channel 3)
• Filer, Idaho (Channel 18)
• Ames, Iowa (Channel 21)
• Alamogordo, New Mexico (Channel 4)
• Jacksonville, Oregon (Channel 4)
• Waco, Texas (Channel 20)
• Waynesboro, Virginia (Channel 12)

Complete details on the application process and requirements can be found here.

NEW YORK—In a new report explaining its decision to downgrade debt ratings for several broadcast groups in 2024, S&P Global Ratings predicts modest declines in retransmission consent and core advertising revenue for TV stations in upcoming years. That ongoing trend is likely to make stations increasingly reliant on political advertising and could make it more costly for groups to refinance their debts, per the credit agency.

“We believe the industry will become increasingly reliant on political advertising revenue in even years,” Rose Oberman, Media & Entertainment director, S&P Global Ratings, wrote in the report. “At the same time, many local TV broadcasters face refinancing upcoming debt maturities at higher interest rates in 2026 and beyond. As a result, we expect EBITDA will gradually decline and cash flow will weaken.”

The report also noted that S&P Global Ratings so far this year had downgraded some debt from several broadcasters, including Cox Media Group, Gray Media, Sinclair and E.W. Scripps.

“Of the six local TV broadcasters we rate, two have stable outlooks (Nexstar and Tegna) reflecting stronger leverage and cash flow profiles, which we believe will support debt reduction and refinancing efforts,” Oberman noted. “The remaining four have negative outlooks (Sinclair, Gray, E.W. Scripps, and CMG). These companies currently have elevated leverage and could potentially face refinancing risk if they do not use their excess cash balance and expected free operating cash flow (FOCF) toward debt repayment.”

Oberman also argued that “the industry's concentration of debt maturities beginning in 2026 increases refinancing risk given the potential for waning lender demand leading to a shortfall in willing lenders to the sector.”

Oberman stressed, though, “we don't currently envision making additional material revisions to our estimated company enterprise values” unless retransmission fees and core ad revenues decline at a faster-than-projected rate.

LOS ANGELES—Entertainment Studios, an independent producer and distributor of films and TV owned by Byron Allen, has announced an acquisition of 11 broadcast television stations from USA Television for $290 million.

The following stations will now fall under Entertainment Studios’ Allen Media Broadcasting division:

• WAAY/WAAY-D2 (ABC/ION) - Huntsville, Decatur and Florence, Ala.
• WFFT (Fox) - Ft. Wayne, Ind.
• KEZI/KEZI-D2/KEZI-D3 (ABC/ION/METV) - Eugene, Ore.
• KNVN/KNVN-DT2 (NBC/Telemundo) & KHSL/KHSL-D2/KHSL-D5 (CBS/CW/ION) - Chico and Redding, Calif.
• WTVA/WTVA-D2 (NBC/ABC) & WLOV (Fox) - Columbus, Tupelo and West Point, Miss.
• KDRV/KDRV-D2 (ABC/Antenna TV) - Medford and Klamath Falls, Ore.
• KIMT/KIMT-D2/KIMT-D3 (CBS/MYTV/ION) - Rochester, Minn., Manson City, Iowa, and Austin, Minn.
• WTHI/WTHI-D2/WTHI-D3 (CBS/Fox/MYTV/CW) - Terre Haute, Ind.
• WLFI/WLFI-D2/WLFI- D3 (CBS/CW/ION) - Lafayette, Ind.

“These stations are dedicated to their local communities and this transaction will enable them to become even stronger on both their broadcast and digital platforms,” said USA Television CEO Robert S. Prather Jr.

With these new stations and the four acquired this past July from Bayou City Broadcasting for $165 million, Allen Media Broadcasting’s group of television stations is now at 15 across 11 markets. Allen also partnered with the Sinclair Broadcast Group to acquire 21 regional sports networks from Walt Disney/Fox for $10.6 billion in August.

Allen says that his company will continue to “aggressively look” for other opportunities for growth.