Auction 79: FM Broadcast

Summary

September 1, 2009 - September 15, 2009

Rounds:

Bidding Days:

Qualified Bidders:

Winning Bidders:

53 Bidders won 85 Permits

Licenses Held by FCC:

Gross Bids:

$6,238,100

Net Bids:

$5,253,025

Reports Files

All Bidders

General Information

No general information is available at this time.

Recent Releases
Major Releases

9/18/2009
Winning Bidders

8/19/2009
Qualified Bidders

7/22/2009
Applications to Participate

4/17/2009
Procedures

2/27/2009
Comment Sought

5/14/2013
ORDER and CONSENT DECREE (DA 13-684)
1 Ugly Enterprise, LLC Consent Decree

5/14/2013
ORDER and CONSENT DECREE (DA 13-683)
Deborah Salazar Consent Decree

9/18/2009
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 09-2063)
Auction of FM Broadcast Construction Permits Closes; Winning Bidders Announced for Auction 79

Fact Sheet

Date:

Auction 79 began on 9/1/2009 and closed on 9/15/2009.

Licenses:

122 construction permits for FM broadcast stations

Spectrum:

Various vacant allotments (88 MHz to 108 MHz) See Public Notices DA 09-810 and 47 CFR 73.202

Bandwidth:

200 kHz per construction permit

Winning Bidders:

53 Bidders won 85 Permits

Rounds:

Qualified Bidders:

Licenses Won:

Licenses Held by FCC:

Total Licenses:

122

Net Bids:

$5,253,025

Gross Bids:

$6,238,100

General information and associated licensing parameters are provided below. Public Notices provide specific information regarding this auction. This fact sheet includes:

Key Dates
Construction Permits Offered
Permissible Operations
License Period
New Entrant Bidding Credits
Licensing Rules

Key Dates

Event	Date
Pre-Auction Seminar	6/16/2009
Form 175 (Short Form) Application Filing Window Opens	6/16/2009; 12:00 noon ET
Form 175 (Short Form) Application Filing Deadline	6/25/2009; 6:00 pm ET
Upfront Payments Deadline	7/31/2009; 6:00 pm ET
Mock Auction	8/28/2009
Auction Start	9/1/2009
Auction Closed	9/15/2009

Construction Permits Offered

Auction 79 will offer 122 construction permits in the FM Broadcast service for stations in various locations throughout the United States. These construction permits are for vacant FM allotments, reflecting FM channels assigned to the FM Table of Allotments, 47 C.F.R. § 73.202(b), pursuant to the Commission’s established rulemaking procedures, and are designated for use in the indicated communities.

Pursuant to the policies established in the Broadcast Competitive Bidding First Report and Order, in this auction applicants may apply for any vacant FM allotment as specified in Public Notice DA 09-810, Attachment A; applications specifying the same FM allotment will be considered mutually exclusive, and the construction permit for that FM allotment will be awarded by competitive bidding procedures. The Commission will use a simultaneous multiple round format for this auction. Qualified bidders are permitted to bid electronically using the Internet or by telephone.

Permissible Operations

FM Broadcast - A station employing frequency modulation in the FM broadcast band and licensed primarily for the transmission of radiotelephone emissions intended to be received by the general public.

License Period

A winning bidder will be awarded a construction permit, rather than a “license.” Winning bidders will then be required, within a specified time period, to construct their facilities and file an application for a “license to cover construction permit” to obtain a license for the constructed facilities (see 47 C.F.R. § 73.3598). Licenses will be issued for an eight-year term.

New Entrant Bidding Credits

A New Entrant Bidding Credit will be available for this auction. Eligibility and application requirements for the New Entrant Bidding Credit are specified in Public Notice DA 09-810. Applicants that qualify for the New Entrant Bidding Credit are eligible for a bidding credit that represents the amount by which a bidder’s winning bid is discounted. The size of a New Entrant Bidding Credit depends on the number of ownership interests in other media of mass communications that are attributable to the applicant and its attributable interest holders:

A 35 percent bidding credit will be given to a winning bidder if it, and/or any individual or entity with an attributable interest in the winning bidder, has no attributable interest in any other media of mass communications, as defined in 47 C.F.R. § 73.5008;
A 25 percent bidding credit will be given to a winning bidder if it, and/or any individual or entity with an attributable interest in the winning bidder, has an attributable interest in no more than three mass media facilities, as defined in 47 C.F.R. § 73.5008;
No bidding credit will be given if any of the commonly owned mass media facilities serve the same area as the broadcast station proposed in the auction, as defined in 47 C.F.R. § 73.5007(b), or if the winning bidder, and/or any individual or entity with an attributable interest in the winning bidder, has attributable interests in more than three mass media facilities.

Bidders intending to divest a media interest or make any other ownership changes, such as resignation of positional interests, in order to avoid attribution for purposes of qualifying for the New Entrant Bidding Credit must have consummated such divestment transactions or have completed such ownership changes by no later than the short-form application filing deadline (see “Key Dates”). Prospective bidders are reminded, however, that events occurring after the short-form application filing deadline, such as the acquisition of attributable interests in media of mass communications, may cause diminishment or loss of the bidding credit.

Licensing Rules

47 C.F.R. Part 73

Releases P

9/18/2009
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 09-2063)
Auction of FM Broadcast Construction Permits Closes; Winning Bidders Announced for Auction 79
The WTB provides details concerning winning bidders, filing requirements and licensing matters for Auction 79.

8/19/2009
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 09-1818)
Auction of FM Broadcast Construction Permits; 77 Bidders Qualified to Participate in Auction 79
The Wireless Telecommunications and Media Bureaus identify 77 applicants found to be qualified to bid in the upcoming auction of FM broadcast construction permits (Auction 79).

7/22/2009
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 09-1548)
Auction of FM Broadcast Construction Permits; Status of Short-Form Applications to Participate in Auction 79
The Media Bureau and WTB announce the status of 121 FCC Form 175 applications to participate in Auction 79, the auction of 122 FM broadcast construction permits scheduled to begin on September 1, 2009.

5/29/2009
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 09-1152)
Auction of FM Broadcast Construction Permits Scheduled for September 1, 2009; Reminder: Pre-Auction Seminar June 16, 2009

4/17/2009
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 09-810)
Auction of FM Broadcast Construction Permits Scheduled for September 1, 2009; Notice and Filing Requirements, Minimum Opening Bids, Upfront Payments, and Other Procedures for Auction 79
The WTB and the Media Bureau announce the procedures and minimum opening bid amounts for the upcoming auction of certain FM broadcast construction permits.

4/17/2009
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 09-849)
Auction 79 Freezes Announced for FM Minor Change Applications and Certain Rulemaking Filings

2/27/2009
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 09-422)
Auction of FM Broadcast Construction Permits Scheduled for September 1, 2009; Comment Sought on Competitive Bidding Procedures for Auction 79
The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and the Media Bureau announce the auction of certain FM Broadcast construction permits scheduled to commence on September 1, 2009.
Copies of comments and reply comments filed in response to this public notice may be found by using the search function of ECFS under proceeding 09-21.

Releases L

7/23/2009
LETTER (DA 09-1578)
Hye C. Kim
Denied the Request for Waiver of Section 1.2106(a) of the Commission's Rules for Auction 79 (FM Broadcast).

Releases O

5/14/2013
ORDER and CONSENT DECREE (DA 13-684)
1 Ugly Enterprise, LLC Consent Decree
Adopts a consent decree and terminates an investigation into possible violations of section 1.2105(c) of the Commission's rules, relating to prohibited contacts and communications and the non-disclosure of such contacts and communications in an auction.

5/14/2013
ORDER and CONSENT DECREE (DA 13-683)
Deborah Salazar Consent Decree
Adopts a consent decree and terminates an investigation into possible violations of section 1.2105(c) of the Commission's rules, relating to prohibited contacts and communications and the non-disclosure of such contacts and communications in an auction.