WASHINGTON—In a new filing, the ABC-owned stations continued their blistering critique of the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to order eight stations to undergo an early license renewal process.

In a July 29 filing, the station group blasted the agency for attempting to censor news coverage critical of the Trump administration and for being part of a larger effort by the administration to create “a media industry too fearful of official reprisal to report the news freely”

In the filing, ABC calls on the FCC to “deny the Petitions to Deny, or alternatively, dismiss these early renewal proceedings as untimely and unwarranted.”

The filing also noted widespread public support for the stations, with around 95% of 153,318 comments filed backing the stations. Those included approximately 375 community organizations supporting the license renewals, and 236 elected officials in 81 letters of support.

The lawyers signing the July 29 filing also indicated that Disney continues to bulk up its legal team as it prepares to take the issue to the courts if the FCC takes action against the stations.

Beth Wilkinson as a signatory in this filing alongside Paul Clement and Jennifer Tatel. The legal team is led by Horacio Gutierrez, senior executive vice president, chief legal and global affairs officer of The Walt Disney Company.

“For the first time in history, the Federal Communications Commission has ordered an entire group of local television stations commonly owned with a broadcast network to undergo simultaneous license renewal proceedings well before their current licenses expire,” the filing complained. “That makes these proceedings extraordinary and unprecedented. There is no question why the Commission is singling out these eight stations: Each is owned by ABC, and the Administration has openly and repeatedly called for the revocation of ABC’s licenses, because it dislikes the content and viewpoints expressed on ABC network programs.”

The filing also stressed that the “outpouring of support for the Stations has been unprecedented for a license renewal proceeding [with]...over 95% support [for] the Stations” and noted that more than 275 community organizations and advocacy groups have filed in support of ABC’s broadcast license renewals or urging the FCC to preserve the routine process, compared to around five or six groups opposing the renewals.

The filing also devoted considerable space showing that “these Stations have established deep connections with their local communities—New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, San Francisco, Raleigh-Durham [N.C.] and Fresno [Calif.]—and serve millions of viewers with award-winning original journalism, life-saving coverage during emergencies, local news stories, and locally tailored programming…Seven of the eight Stations rank first in viewership in their local markets for local news, and WABC has consistently been the most-watched local television station in the country.”

It also complained that the early license renewal is part of an effort by the FCC to crack down on content critical of the Trump Administration.

“[T]he FCC has spent the last 18 months searching for some pretext for revoking the Stations’ licenses,” it said. “The Commission has found none, because the Stations easily meet the standard for license renewal—which under the law means that the Commission cannot revoke their licenses or order a hearing on their renewal applications.”

“The retaliation against ABC is a signal to every media company in the country: accommodate the Administration’s view of what news coverage should look like or pay the price,” the filing said. “Across the government, regulatory and contracting carrots and sticks have been trained on other disfavored speakers. The tools vary; the objective does not: a media industry too fearful of official reprisal to report the news freely.”

It also stressed that denying the licenses for violations of FCC rules is an “extreme sanction.”

“Even if any violation were ever substantiated, the Commission has a graduated set of well-established remedies far short of the corporate death penalty of license non-renewal,” the stations complained. “That the agency reached first for the most extreme sanction in its arsenal, before making any finding at all, reveals its true objective: to chill not only ABC, but every broadcaster watching.”

In separate comments, Demciratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez also noted the widespread public support for the stations. As previously reported, more than 150,000 comments were received in the docket, with more than 100,000 in the last 30 days.

“When given the chance to weigh in on whether to allow the FCC to continue its campaign of censorship and control, the American public showed up in a big way, and the vast majority who spoke up delivered the same message," Gomez said. "They believe in the value of their local news, they trust those who cover their communities, and they understand that the FCC has no business deciding who is a journalist and what counts as real news. A small number of partisan voices tried to hijack this process into a referendum on a network they dislike, but the public refuses to let local stations become collateral damage in the FCC's political games. The FCC has no authority to police the ideological balance of the airwaves, and no matter what this Commission does next, the record now makes clear that this was never a genuine search for the public interest.”

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission has entered into two separate consent decrees that end investigations into Fifth Street Enterprises and Guam Educational Telecommunications Corp.

In the case of Fifth Street Enterprises, the consent decree ends an investigation by the FCC Media Bureau into “the Licensee’s compliance with (1) section 1.17 of the Commission’s rules, which requires licensees to provide accurate information to the Commission, 47 CFR § 1.17 and (2) section 73.3526(e)(11)(i) of the Rules, which requires Class A television stations to upload to their online public inspection file (OPIF) on a quarterly basis a list of programs (issues/programs lists) that have provided the station’s most significant treatment of community issues during that period.”

As part of the Consent Decree, which is available here, the FCC agreed to renew the Class A TV Stations WWAT-CD, Charleroi, Pennsylvania and WPTG-CD, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Fifth Street Enterprises agreed to make a voluntary contribution of $6,000 and implement a compliance plan to avoid further violations.

In a separate case involving Guam Educational Telecommunications, the Consent decree ended an investigation by the Media Bureau into “the Licensee’s compliance with the filing requirements contained in (1) sections 73.2080(c)(6) and 73.3527(e)(6) of the Commission’s rules (Rules), which requires NCE stations to upload their annual EEO public file report to their online public inspection file (OPIF) 47 CFR §§ 73.2080(c)(6) & 73.3527(e)(8) and (ii) section 73.3527(e)(8) of the Rules, which requires NCE stations to upload on a quarterly basis issues/programs lists to their online public inspection file. 47 CFR § 73.3527(e)(8).”

In lieu of making a voluntary contribution, Guam Educational Telecommunications agreed to a shortened license renewal for the noncommercial educational station KGTF(TV) of just two years rather than eight.

The Consent Decree is available here.

WASHINGTON—There was one less full-power TV station and 11 fewer TV translators in the most recent broadcast license count released by the Federal Communications Commission. As of March 31, 2017, there were 1,777 full-power TV licensees compared to 1,778 at the end of last year. The total was down by one VHF. There were six fewer UHF translators—2,905 compared to 2,911; and five fewer VHF translators—873 compared to 878. The number of Class A licensees remained the same.

Meanwhile, the number of radio licensees increased in the first quarter of 2017. While there were three fewer AM stations, there were eight more FM commercial stations and and 10 more FM noncoms. FM translators and boosters boomed by 200 for a most recent total of 7,453. Low-power FMs also went to town, increasing 246 for a total of 1,924.

All told, there were 32,846 active U.S. broadcast licenses as of March 31 compared to 32,397 at the end of 2016. The FCC publishes broadcast license totals quarterly.