The FCC has granted the license renewals of Raycoms KHNL(TV) and KGMB (TV), both Honolulu, Hawaii, and HITVs KFVE (TV) Honolulu, denying a license challenge by Media Council Hawai'i and putting a final nail in the groups long-standing complaint that Raycom and KITV had run afoul of local ownership rules.
The issue had been that Raycom had traded affiliations with HITVs KFVE back in 2009 so that Raycom got the CBS affiliation for KGMB and KFVE became the MyNetWork TV affiliate.
That meant that after that affiliation switch, Raycom owned two of the top-four stations in a market, which violated the FCC duopoly rule prohibition on owning two of the top four stations at the time it has since been changed to a presumption that such combos are not in the public interest, but it is a rebuttable presumption.
Related: DOJ is OK With Raycom-Gray Deal with Spin-offs
Media Counsel also said that affiliation swap had been "tantamount to an outright purchase." Media Council also said Raycom controlled KFVE as well as via sharing arrangements and should have to divest one of its two owned stations in Honolulu.
The FCCs Media Bureau at the time, in initially denying the complaint, pointed out that the FCC rules did not prevent affiliation switches that resulted in owning two of the top four. The Media Bureau this week pointed out that though that changed in 2016 to counting such affiliation switches, existing ones like that in Hawaii was grandfathered. Thus, the earlier complaint was mooted by the fact that the rules at the time did not prevent it, and the more recent license challenge was denied in part because the combo was grandfathered and in part because other issues Media Council raised did not rise to the level of misrepresentation of lack of candor.
The FCC this week concluded in resolving Media Councils appeal of that earlier complaint and its newer challenge to the license renewals on the same grounds, that the Media Bureau had been right to deny the complaint in the first place and that there was also no reason to deny the license renewals.
"We affirm the Bureau's determination that the duopoly rule did not bar the affiliation swap at issue here," said the FCCs Media Bureau. It also said Raycoms shared services agreements with KFVE following the affiliation swap also does not constitute de facto control in violation of duopoly rules.
The Media Council, in contesting the renewals, said Raycom and HITV had lacked candor in asserting that there were no character issues in pending station license applications when there was an outstanding issue with KFVEs application, that Raycom had falsely stated that Common Cause Hawaiis executive director had expressed regret for supporting the Media Council petition, as well as an outstanding notice of apparent liability over public filing rule violations by HITV, and an HITV news sharing arrangement with Honolulus only daily newspaper.
The bureau said that there was no pattern of abuse in the public file violations, which it called "not serious," that calls into question the stations public service, that failing to note the character issues pending with KFVE and the characterization of the Common Cause execs comments was "simple miscommunication," rather than deceptive intent.
As to the news sharing agreement and the content of the news that Media Council criticized, the FCC could have been addressing the issues raised by Sinclair-Tribune deal critics about the conservative slant of Sinclair news.
"As for the Stations' choice of programming, the Commission is prohibited by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Section 326 of the Act from censoring programs or from interfering with freedom of expression in broadcasting," the Bureau said. "The choice of what is or is not to be covered in the presentation of broadcast news is a matter committed to the licensee's good faith discretion, and it is well-settled law that the Commission does not substitute its own editorial judgment for that of a licensee. Those seeking to demonstrate that a licensee has abused its editorial discretion carry a heavy burden," it said, a burden not met in the case of Raycom and HITV.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
26/03/2026
Extron and Audio-Technica have announced that their Design Solutions devices, Ce...
26/03/2026
SPORTEL Asia took place March 24-25 at the Orchard Hotel Singapore, drawing 370 participants representing more than 220 companies from 35 countries. Approximate...
26/03/2026
LTN will demonstrate satellite-to-IP migration solutions for broadcasters, cable networks, MVPDs, and station groups at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2100).
The C-Ban...
26/03/2026
The Seattle Mariners have partnered with Daktronics to install an upgraded outfi...
26/03/2026
The Esports Foundation (EF) has awarded National Team Partner status to organizations and individuals across more than 100 countries and territories for the Esp...
26/03/2026
Telestream has announced expanded integration between its Vantage workflow platf...
26/03/2026
FOR-A Corporation has announced a partnership with Nippon TV and NVIDIA to distr...
26/03/2026
CBS Sports and the WNBA have expanded their partnership through a new long-term, multiplatform rights agreement. CBS Sports will feature up to 20 regular-season...
26/03/2026
Zac Brown Band will star in the Sunday Night Baseball show open on NBC and Peacock, NBC Sports announced. The open was filmed at American Family Field, home of ...
26/03/2026
Major League Baseball opens the 2026 season with nationally televised games across multiple media partners. Fans can visit MLB.com/Watch for a complete schedule...
26/03/2026
DIRECTV has announced an agreement to carry nine new MLB-operated team channels, covering the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers (Detroit SportsNet), Kansas City R...
26/03/2026
Nationals.TV, the Washington Nationals' local broadcast channel, is now avai...
26/03/2026
Starting Thursday, March 26, MLB.TV will be available on the ESPN App, giving fans access to more than 2,000 out-of-market regular season games. Fans can also r...
26/03/2026
Spotify's partnership with NAVER, Korea's leading digital platform, is built around one simple goal: making it easier for listeners in Korea to discover...
26/03/2026
Exclusive to ComposerCloud for first month
Sample library and virtual instrument gurus EastWest have announced the upcoming release of a new virtual drum i...
26/03/2026
Friday 27 March
Friday 27 March will mark Dynamic Range Day 2026, the annual day of online activity that was started in 2010 by mastering engineer Ian Sheph...
26/03/2026
Includes four separate instruments
Max Richter's SRM Sounds venture have just announced their fifth release, ASMR Choir. Captured at the main live room ...
26/03/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC), has been tasked with administering the Sixth Presi...
26/03/2026
By Matt Klein
Hello to everyone reading this - whether you're a current YEP, HPA member, or just YEP-curious. I'm Matt Klein, one of the co-chairs of t...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
28 participating companies, from start-ups to blue-chips, lead the UK Group as part of the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland presence across all the Halls at N...
26/03/2026
Arkona Unveils BLADE//planner and Major Usability Enhancements at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton March 26, 2026
0 Comments
New graphical configuration tool and...
26/03/2026
Bitfocus showcases complete control at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton March 26, 2026
0 Comments
Continuing development drives advances in security, availa...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Nevion introduces powerful new Panel Builder to enhance VideoIPath broadcast con...
26/03/2026
2026 Oscar Nominated Films Powered by Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton March 25, 2026
0 Comments
DaVinci Resolve Studio used on 27 of this year's no...
26/03/2026
Leader to present full suite of advanced Test & Measurement solutions at NAB Sho...
26/03/2026
Boston Conservatory to Present New England and Collegiate Premiere of Groundbrea...
26/03/2026
Thursday 26 March 2026
HBO Max included for Sky and NOW customers from 26 March...
26/03/2026
Thursday 26 March 2026
Sky Sets Iconic Costumes Dancing Together Like Never Before' in Brand CampaignTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy o...
26/03/2026
Wuppertal March 26, 2026
CS live Builds Future-Ready OB Van With Riedel MediorNet and hi Control SystemRiedel Communications today announced that Czech-based ...
26/03/2026
Back to All News
Have a Wish Worth Dying For? Netflix's First Korean YA Hor...
26/03/2026
Back to All News
The Truthers, Starring Jose Coronado and St phanie Magnin, Pre...
26/03/2026
Enhancements to Harmonic's Sports Streaming Solution Introduce Server-Side Multiview, Contextual Metadata-Driven Advertising, Dynamic In-Stream Ads and Robu...
26/03/2026
Open the report
Our 2025 report brings together results from 79 business magazine titles across 22 market sectors, published by 49 media owners. Over the year,...
26/03/2026
Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on ...
26/03/2026
RT Commercial today announced Fiat as sponsor of The Louise Duffy Show on RT Radio 1, Weekdays 3pm 4pm.
The Louise Duffy Show is the home of daytime music...
26/03/2026
That gaming backlog won't clear itself - GeForce NOW is here to help. Stream the latest titles straight from the cloud across a variety of devices.
This we...
26/03/2026
Wayne, N.J., March 26, 2026 Phantom High-Speed announces the latest product li...
The FCC has granted the license renewals of Raycoms KHNL(TV) and KGMB (TV), both Honolulu, Hawaii, and HITVs KFVE (TV) Honolulu, denying a license challenge by Media Council Hawai'i and putting a final nail in the groups long-standing complaint that Raycom and KITV had run afoul of local ownership rules.
