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