Auction 91: FM Broadcast

Event	Date
Auction Tutorial Available (via Internet)	1/31/2011
Form 175 (Short Form) Application Filing Window Opens	1/31/2011; 12:00 noon ET
Form 175 (Short Form) Application Filing Deadline	2/10/2011; 6:00 p.m. ET
Upfront Payments Deadline	3/21/2011; 6:00 p.m. ET
Mock Auction	4/25/2011
Auction Start	4/27/2011
Auction Closed	5/11/2011

Construction Permits Offered

Auction 91 will offer 144 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 10-2253 (pdf), Attachment A (pdf); 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 Credit

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 10-2253 (pdf). 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”). 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

5/23/2011
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 11-891)
Auction of FM Broadcast Construction Permits Closes; Winning Bidders Announced for Auction 91
Media and Wireless Telecommunications Bureaus Provide Details Concerning Auction 91 Winning Bidders, Payments, Filing Requirements and Licensing Matters. Down Payments Due: 06/07/2011, Final Payments Due: 06/21/2011, FCC Form 301 Due: 06/30/2011.

4/13/2011
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 11-634)
Auction of FM Broadcast Construction Permits; 117 Bidders Qualified to Participate in Auction 91
Wireless Telecommunications and Media Bureaus Identify Applicants that are Qualified to Bid in Auction 91.

3/10/2011
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 11-435)
Auction of FM Broadcast Construction Permits; Status of Short-Form Applications to Participate in Auction 91
The Wireless Telecommunications and Media Bureaus Announce the Status of the 161 Short-Form Applications Received for Auction 91.

12/3/2010
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 10-2253)
Auction of FM Broadcast Construction Permits Rescheduled for April 27, 2011; Notice and Filing Requirements, Minimum Opening Bids, Upfront Payments, and other Procedures For Auction 91
The Wireless Telecommunications and Media Bureaus announce a new start date and pre-auction deadlines for the upcoming auction of 144 FM broadcast construction permits and establish the procedures and minimum opening bid amounts for the auction.

12/3/2010
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 10-2286)
Auction 91 Freezes Announced for FM Minor Change Applications and Certain Rulemaking Filings

9/21/2010
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 10-1711)
Auction of FM Broadcast Construction Permits Scheduled for March 29, 2011; Comment Sought on Competitive Bidding Procedures for Auction 91
The Wireless Telecommunications and Media Bureaus announce an auction of certain FM Broadcast Construction Permits.
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 10-183 or through the FCC Reference Information Center, which is located at the Commission's Headquarters.