Auction 93: FM Broadcast

Event	Date
Comments Due	10/7/2011
Reply Comments Due	10/17/2011
Auction Tutorial Available (via Internet)	1/3/2012
Form 175 (Short Form) Application Filing Window Opens	1/3/2012; 12:00 noon ET
Form 175 (Short Form) Application Filing Deadline	1/12/2012; prior to 6:00 p.m. ET
Upfront Payments Deadline	2/22/2012; 6:00 p.m. ET
Mock Auction	3/23/2012
Auction Start	3/27/2012
Auction Closed	4/5/2012

Construction Permits Offered

Auction 93 will offer 119 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 11-1845 (pdf), Attachment A (pdf); applications specifying the same FM allotment will be considered mutually exclusive, and, the construction permit for that FM allotment must 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 11-1845 (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

4/17/2012
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 12-600)
Auction of FM Broadcast Construction Permits Closes; Winning Bidders Announced for Auction 93

3/14/2012
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 12-374)
Auction of FM Broadcast Construction Permits; 109 Bidders Qualified to Participate in Auction 93
The Wireless Telecommunications and Media Bureaus identify 109 applicants found to be qualified to bid in the upcoming auction of 119 construction permits in the FM broadcast service.

2/9/2012
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 12-148)
Auction of FM Broadcast Construction Permits; Status of Short-Form Applications to Participate in Auction 93
The Wireless Telecommunications and Media Bureaus announce the status of the 145 short-form applications received for Auction 93.

12/21/2011
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 11-2046)
Auction of FM Broadcast Construction Permits Revised Construction Permit Number in Auction 93
The Wireless Telecommunications and Media Bureaus announce a change to the construction permit number for one FM broadcast construction permits being offered in Auction 93.

11/8/2011
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 11-1845)
Auction of FM Broadcast Construction Permits Scheduled for March 27, 2012; Notice and Filing Requirements, Minimum Opening Bids, Upfront Payments, and Other Procedures for Auction 93

11/8/2011
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 11-1866)
Auction 93 Freeze Announced for FM Minor Change Applications

10/24/2011
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 11-1770)
Auction 93 Freeze Announced for Certain FM Applications and Rulemaking Filings

9/12/2011
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 11-1513)
Auction of FM Broadcast Construction Permits Scheduled for March 27, 2012; Comment Sought on Competitive Bidding Procedures for Auction 93
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 11-146 or through the FCC Reference Information Center, which is located at the Commission's Headquarters.