Posted on August 10, 2010 by David Oxenford

Details of FCC Regulatory Fee Filing Obligations - Get Ready for August 31 Deadline

The FCC now has sent notices to broadcast stations about their obligation to pay regulatory fees by August 31.  Last week, it issued three public notices about the fees - one simply announcing that the fees are due by that date, one setting out the procedures for filing the regulatory fees, and a third reminding all filers that they need to pay using the FCC's on-line Fee Filer system.   The FCC's website is operational, and broadcasters can begin the process of completing the necessary filings.  Davis Wright Tremaine has summarized all the filing obligations in an advisory on the FCC's regulatory fee filing obligations sent out last week, and available here.  To avoid delays in processing applications, and to avoid fees and penalties, be sure to pay your fees on time.  And, as set forth in the DWT Advisory, don't forget to figure out the fees due for your broadcast auxiliary stations (e.g. your STLs and Remote Pick-ups), as these licenses are not contained in the fee notice sent to you by the FCC.  So be prepared for the August 31 deadline. 

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Posted on July 11, 2010 by David Oxenford

FCC Sets Regulatory Fees - Payment Date Not Yet Set

The FCC has released its order setting this year's Regulatory Fees to be paid by broadcast stations.  While has not yet set the deadline for paying those fees, that deadline should fall sometime in August or September.  In setting this year's fees, the Commission made some decisions about fees for broadcasters that may not make sense to some - but it promised to review the decisions in the future when determining the amounts of fees in future years.  Perhaps the most controversial issue will be the fees that it set for television stations - which retain the distinction between UHF and VHF stations, and retain the requirement that VHF stations pay significantly higher fees - even though such stations are often disadvantaged (and certainly not advantaged) in the digital world.  Fees for television stations range from $81,550 for VHF stations in the Top 10 markets (versus $32,275 in those markets for UHF stations), to $6125 for VHF stations in the smallest markets versus $3050 for UHF stations.  The many stations now operating digitally on UHF channels that had previously operated on VHF channels in analog will receive some big savings, while some stations forced to operate on VHF channels for the first time may well be in for a surprise as to the reg fees that they will be paying.

The Commission also rejected requests to decrease the amount paid by AM stations in comparison to FMs, though it promised to revisit that issue in the future.  Other proposals to base payment directly on population served by a station were also rejected.  For TV translators and LPTV stations, if an entity is operating both an analog and digital station while in the process of its digital conversion, fees will have to be paid on both stations.  Full-power television stations will have to pay on their digital operations, even if they were operating with STA facilities on October 1, 2009, the beginning of the fiscal year for which these fees are paid.  All fees are based on the facilities of a station as of that date.  Specific fees for broadcasters are set out below.

The FCC fees for broadcast services are set forth below.  The FCC will be mailing to each station a notice of the amount that it believes due from that station, to be sent to the station's mailing address on file at the FCC.  Note that if your official mailing address is not accurate at the FCC, you will not get the notice, and not getting the notice is not an excuse for late payment.  So watch for the announcement of the filing deadline, and if you don't receive a notice soon thereafter, ask or risk facing a penalty for late payments (and risk holding up the processing of any applications that are due until unpaid fees and penalties are resolved). 

The Schedule of annual regulatory fees and filing addresses for broadcast services are set forth below.

 

Radio [AM and FM] (47 CFR, Part 73)                  Fee Amount             Address

1.      AM Class A

         <=25,000 population                                        $675                     FCC, Radio

         25,001-75,000 population                               $1,350                  P.O. Box 979084

         75,001-150,000 population                             $2,025                  St. Louis, MO

         150,001-500,000 population                           $3,050                      63197-9000

         500,001-1,200,000 population                        $4,400

         1,200,001-3,000,000 population                     $6,750

         >3,000,000 population                                     $8,100

 

2.      AM Class B

         <=25,000 population                                         $550                     FCC, Radio

         25,001-75,000 population                                $1,075                  P.O. Box 979084

         75,001-150,000 population                             $1,350                   St. Louis, MO

         150,001-500,000 population                           $2,300                      63197-9000

         500,001-1,200,000 population                        $3,500

         1,200,001-3,000,000 population                     $5,400

         >3,000,000 population                                    $6,475

 

3.      AM Class C

         <=25,000 population                                        $500                      FCC, Radio

         25,001-75,000 population                               $750                      P.O. Box 979084

         75,001-150,000 population                             $1,000                   St. Louis, MO

         150,001-500,000 population                           $1,500                      63197-9000

         500,001-1,200,000 population                        $2,500

         1,200,001-3,000,000 population                     $3,750

         >3,000,000 population                                       $4,750

 

4.      AM Class D

         <=25,000 population                                       $575                       FCC, Radio

         25,001-75,000 population                              $875                       P.O. Box 979084

         75,001-150,000 population                            $1,450                   St. Louis, MO

         150,001-500,000 population                          $1,725                      63197-9000

         500,001-1,200,000 population                       $2,875

         1,200,001-3,000,000 population                    $4,600

         >3,000,000 population                                    $5,750

 

5.      AM Construction Permit                                  $390                        FCC, Radio

                                                                                                                      P.O. Box 979084

                                                                                                                      St. Louis, MO

                                                                                                                          63197-9000

 

6.      FM Classes A, B1 and C3

         <=25,000 population                                        $650                         FCC, Radio

         25,001-75,000 population                               $1,325                      P.O. Box 979084

         75,001-150,000 population                             $1,825                      St. Louis, MO

         150,001-500,000 population                           $2,800                      63197-9000

         500,001-1,200,000 population                        $4,450

         1,200,001-3,000,000 population                     $7,250

         >3,000,000 population                                      $9,250

 

7.      FM Classes B, C, C0, C1 and C2

         <=25,000 population                                         $825                          FCC, Radio

         25,001-75,000 population                                $1,450                      P.O. Box 979084

         75,001-150,000 population                              $2,725                      St. Louis, MO

         150,001-500,000 population                            $3,550                          63197-9000

         500,001-1,200,000 population                         $5,225

         1,200,001-3,000,000 population                      $8,350

         >3,000,000 population                                        $10,850

8.      FM Construction Permits                                    $675                     FCC, Radio

                                                                                                                         P.O. Box 979084

                                                                                                                         St. Louis, MO

                                                                                                                             63197-9000

 

 

TV (47 CFR, Part 73)

VHF Commercial

1.      Markets 1 thru 10                                         $81,550                   FCC, TV Branch

2.      Markets 11 thru 25                                       $63,275                   P.O. Box 979084

3.      Markets 26 thru 50                                       $42,550                   St. Louis, MO

4.      Markets 51 thru 100                                     $23,750                    63197-9000

5.      Remaining Markets                                      $ 6,125

6.      Construction Permits                                  $ 6,125

 

 

UHF Commercial

1.      Markets 1 thru 10                                         $32,275                    FCC,UHF Commercial

2.      Markets 11 thru 25                                       $30,075                   P.O. Box 979084

3.      Markets 26 thru 50                                       $18,900                   St. Louis, MO

4.      Markets 51 thru 100                                     $11,550                    63197-9000

5.      Remaining Markets                                       $3,050                     

6.      Construction Permits                                   $3,050

 

 

Satellite UHF/VHF Commercial

1.      All Markets                                                  $1,300                      FCC Satellite TV

2.      Construction Permits                               $   675                      P.O. Box 979084

                                                                                                                  St. Louis, MO 63197-9000

 

Low Power TV, Class A TV, TV/FM                 $ 415                    FCC, Low Power

Translator, & TV/FM Booster                                                         P.O. Box 979084

(47 CFR Part 74)                                                                                St. Louis, MO 63197-9000

 

Broadcast Auxiliary                                            $    10               FCC, Auxiliary

                                                                                                            P.O. Box 979084

                                                                                                            St. Louis, MO 63197-9000
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Posted on August 12, 2009 by David Oxenford

FCC Regulatory Fees Are Due By September 22, 2009

The FCC has announced the due date for their Annual Regulatory Fees - September 22.  We wrote about the amount of those fees here, and have just published an advisory summarizing some of the filing details.  Our Davis Wright Tremaine Advisory on these fees is available here.  Being even one day late with the payment of these fees can result in a penalty late fee of 25% of the amount due - a stiff penalty for being even a little late.  So read the advisory, review the FCC's instructions in the notices that the Commission is now sending to broadcasters, and check out to the links that the FCC's website information that are available through the advisory - and then pay what you owe on time!

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Posted on September 3, 2008 by David Oxenford

FCC Issues Warning on Fake FCC Fee Filing Sites

The FCC has released a Public Notice, warning regulated entities that there are websites that pretend to be the site on which FCC regulatory fees are to be electronically filed.  These so-called "phishing" sites are apparently out to obtain from broadcasters and other entities regulated by the FCC information about their financial accounts.  The Public Notice reminds broadcasters that the site on which fees are to be paid is www.fcc.gov/feefiler.  If you see some other URL address, beware.  Make sure that you are in fact on the FCC's website before revealing any private financial information.  More on the FCC filing fees can be found in the Davis Wright Tremaine Advisory on the fees, and in our prior posts, here and here. 

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