The FCC this week proposed an auction for the rights to construct new FM stations on 132 FM channels – the first such auction of new FM stations since 2021.  The auction is proposed for February 2027, although interested parties will need to submit “short form” applications to participate in the auction at some point prior to that date.  The proposed procedures for the auction are set out in a Public Notice – and those procedures contain new wrinkles from those of past FM auctions. The list of available channels is in a separate document here,  That document also lists the proposed minimum bids for those channels.  The FCC also issued a Press Release about the auction and a Public Notice announcing an immediate freeze on any application or rulemaking petition that would affect any of the channels listed in the auction notice.

The channels available to be auctioned comprise a mix of channels available in previous auctions that were not sold in those auctions, plus new channels that have been allotted since the last auction, and a few channels where active licenses for operating stations had been cancelled.  Following the last auction, we wrote about the number of channels that had gone unsold, and suggested that the high minimum bids might have been one reason that some channels did not sell in that auction. The Commission seemed to take the same message from the number of unsold channels in the last auction, as the opening bids in this auction are substantially lower for some of the holdover channels.

Those interested in bidding in this auction should carefully review the proposed auction procedures, as some changes from prior FM auctions are proposed.  The FCC is proposing not to reveal the channels on which applicants have indicated an intent to bid before the auction, nor will it reveal how many “bidding credits” each applicant has qualified for.  Applicants must make upfront payments sufficient to cover the minimum bids for each of the channels that the applicant expects to receive at the end of the auction.  For instance, if an applicant wants to end up with two channels, one of which has a minimum bid of $10,000 and the other has a minimum bid of $20,000, the applicant must make an upfront payment of $30,000 if it wants to have the opportunity to obtain both channels in the auction.  If they instead are willing to acquire either of the two channels (but not both), they would have to deposit only $20,000 – sufficient to cover the minimum bid for either of the channels that they were willing to acquire.  In the past, the channels and upfront payments of applicants were public, as was the high bidder in each round of the auction bidding.  The name of the high bidder in each round of the auction also will not be revealed in this auction, according to the FCC’s proposed rules. 

As in the past, after the completion of the auction, successful bidders will need to pay the remainder of the amount that they bid, and submit a “long form” application for a construction permit for the new station(s) containing all the information about their technical proposals and their legal qualifications. Once the construction permit is issued, a winning bidder will have 3 years in which to construct the new station.

If you are interested in starting a station from scratch, look through this list of channels to see if there are opportunities for a construction permit for a new station in an area of interest. If you find something that you might consider, you need to start your due diligence on each channel now, as any bidder is responsible for ensuring that the channel for which they are bidding can be built and will serve the audience that you expect. But “Buyer Beware” — if you win the auction and decide that you can’t really find a transmitter site, then you are on the hook for the full amount of the bid even if you don’t build the station during the three years allowed under the construction permit.  So talk to a consulting engineer, look at zoning issues, FAA considerations, coverage questions, site availability, and even whether technical details like those set out in the rural radio order limiting move-ins of FM stations from rural to more urban areas may limit the potential economic value of the channel in which you are interested.

The Commission asked for public comment on its proposed auction procedures. If adopted as proposed, these procedures will be used for this upcoming auction, which the FCC refers to as Auction 114.  Comments on these proposed procedures are due by June 9, 2026, with Reply Comments due by June 24.

If you are interested in starting a new radio station, this may be your chance.  Start planning now!