Vol. 4, Issue 1, July 2004

The High Cost of Honesty

In a departure from past practice, the FCC is now assessing fines against radio station licensees who voluntarily disclose in their renewal applications that they did not keep their public file in perfect order through the course of the past license term. Licensees who admitted that they had not placed issues/program lists in the file on time or other transgressions that were subsequently corrected still were fined. The fine for confessing a public file deficiency on a renewal application ranged from $3,000 to $9,000.

Also, a renewal applicant that was six weeks late in filing its renewal application, was fined $3,000 even though the renewal was on file before the expiration of the license.

FM Auction Advice

I have received several phone calls from people interested in participating in the November FM auction. All of the callers wanted to know what to do next.

First, look through the list of the 290 allotments that will be up for auction in November and decide which ones interest you.
(The list is available at www.cinnamonlaw.com)

Then, remember that this is a “buyer beware” auction. The FCC does not represent or warrant anything about these allocations. Therefore, the next step I would suggest is contact your consulting engineer (if you don’t have one, I can recommend some good ones that I have had success with in the past) and ask them to do an analysis of the coverage area, the area to locate the transmitter site, and a general check to make sure the station will adequately cover the area that you want it to cover.

The schedules of the engineers I have contacted are filing up, so if you are interested in any of the allotments don’t delay in contacting someone to do your engineering analysis.

Early Deadline for FCC Regulatory Fees

Usually, FCC annual regulatory fees are due in mid-September. This year, the window for timely payment of FCC regulatory fees will be August 10 through August 19, 2004.

The fees for AM Class A and B stations stay the same as last year. All other classes of AM and FM stations rose.

As in the past, even if the payment is only one day late, a 25% late fee will be assessed.

Following the close of last year’s window, the FCC issued a large number of erroneous delinquency notices, claiming licenses had not paid fees, when in fact, the licensees had paid. If you received one of those letters, and have not resolved the issue with the FCC, you should do so before the new window opens.

As always, if you have any questions, or need assistance filing regulatory fees, please call.

Application Fees Set to Rise Again

On June 25, 2004, the FCC announced that it would be increasing application filing fees across the board. The cost of filing an assignment, transfer or minor modification application will rise from $800 to $830. Renewal applications will cost $150 instead of $145. Ownership reports will go from $50 to $55.

A future Public Notice will announce the exact date the new fees will take effect, but it should be around October 1, 2004.

This newsletter is intended to be for informational use only. Readers should not act upon the information presented here without seeking professional legal counseling to address the facts and circumstances specific to them. The transmission and/or receipt of this newsletter does not create an attorney-client relationship.

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