Search results for: regulatory fees

As we noted in our weekly summary of regulatory activity of interest to broadcasters, the FCC on Friday released a number of public notices and fact sheets providing details of how broadcasters are to pay their annual regulatory fees. Included among the public notices was one setting the deadline for paying the regulatory fees as September 25th. The FCC’s filing system is open now so fees can be paid at any time prior to the September 25th deadline. The failure to pay fees by that deadline will result in a 25% penalty.  Interest will also accrue on late payments, as well as collection fees.  Thus, late payments are costly. 

Fees for each television station are set out in the FCC’s Report and Order setting those fees (in a table in Appendix F, pages 52-95 of the order – fees are established based on a station’s population coverage, so each station is assigned a specific fee).  Radio stations can look up their fees in a “look up database” that is available through a link that was set out in the Media Bureau Fact Sheet released on Friday. Broadcasters should check their fees carefully to make sure that they are paying the expected amount and are submitting payment for all of their affected facilities.  Remember, fees are based on a station’s facilities on October 1, 2024, the beginning of the last fiscal year.  For broadcasters with earth stations, those fees are set out in the Space Bureau Fact Sheet. 

Continue Reading Annual Regulatory Fees Due by September 25 – FCC Releases Public Notices and Fact Sheets on Paying Those Fees

Last Friday, the FCC released its Order adopting the regulatory fees to be paid by broadcasters and other regulated entities at some point before the October 1 start of the federal government’s new fiscal year.  The Commission slightly increased fees for TV stations by 1.2% from last year (from $0.006598 to $0.006674 per population served) after the FCC refined its fee estimates made earlier this year to account for exempt stations.  Fees for radio stations, however, generally decreased slightly from last year. 

While the Order setting the fees has now been released, the dates and procedures for making those payments will follow.  If done in the same manner as in recent years, the FCC and its respective Bureaus will soon release Public Notices and Fact Sheets detailing how and when the payments must be made, procedures for requesting waivers or deferrals of the payments, and specifics for the different industries regulated by the Commission.

While these subsequent notices should follow in the next week or so, broadcasters should start computing their fee obligations so that they are ready to make the payments when the procedures and dates are established.  The fees for TV stations are determined by the population covered by the station, with the specific fees set forth in a table in Appendix F (pages 52-95) of the Order.  There are flat fees for LPTV stations, Class A TV stations, TV translators, FM translators, and FM boosters ($275), for construction permits for new full-power TV stations ($5,200), and for new AM and FM construction permits ($585 and $1025 respectively).  The are also flat fees for transmit/receive and transmit-only earth stations ($2,060), while receive-only earth stations are exempt from fees. 

Radio fees will be paid based on the class and population coverage of the station, as set forth in the Table below:

FY 2025 RADIO STATION REGULATORY FEES
Population ServedAM Class AAM Class BAM Class CAM Class DFM Classes A, B1 & C3FM Classes B, C, C0, C1 & C2
<=10,000 $545  $395  $340  $375  $600  $685  
10,001 – 25,000$910  $655  $570  $625  $1,000  $1,140  
25,001 – 75,000$1,365  $985  $855  $940  $1,500  $1,710  
75,001 – 150,000$2,050  $1,475  $1,285  $1,405  $2,250  $2,565  
150,001 – 500,000$3,075  $2,215  $1,925  $2,115  $3,380  $3,855  
500,001 – 1,200,000$4,605  $3,315  $2,885  $3,160  $5,060  $5,770  
1,200,001 – 3,000,000$6,915  $4,980  $4,330  $4,750  $7,600  $8,665  
3,000,001 – 6,000,000$10,365  $7,460  $6,490  $7,120  $11,390  $12,985  
>6,000,000$15,550  $11,195$9,740  $10,680$17,090  $19,485  

Check out the Order for more details – and get ready to make your payments by the September deadline that will be established shortly. 

It is time for our look at September’s regulatory dates and deadlines to which broadcasters should be paying attention – and the deadline that probably is most important to all commercial broadcasters is not yet known.  That, of course, is the deadline for the payment of annual regulatory fees – which must be made before the federal government’s October 1 start of the new fiscal year.  We expect an announcement of the final decision on the amount of those fees for various broadcasters, and the deadlines for payment, in the next few days.  Keep on the alert for that announcement. 

Below is our summary of the other dates affecting broadcasters this September, including the effective date of the Emergency Alert System’s (“EAS”) new Missing and Endangered Persons event code, comment and other pleading deadlines in several FCC proceedings, the deadline for affected broadcasters to file their responses to the FCC’s August 2025 EEO Audit Letter, in addition to several political file window dates.

September 8 is the effective date of the new EAS Missing and Endangered Persons event code to be used by all EAS Participants, including broadcast stations.  In August 2024, the FCC adopted a Report and Order creating a new EAS event code for persons over the age of 17 who are missing or abducted from states, territories, or tribal communities (known as Ashanti Alerts), but delayed its effective date to provide EAS Participants with enough time to update their EAS systems to use the code.

Continue Reading September 2025 Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – FCC Regulatory Fees, Political Windows, EAS Event Code, Rulemaking Comment Deadlines, and more

The FCC yesterday released a Public Notice announcing that its CORES system, through which regulatory fees are submitted, has been updated and the incorrect regulatory fee amounts for radio stations have been corrected.  As we wrote last week, the FCC asked that radio broadcasters suspend their fee filings when it became apparent that many radio fees had been miscomputed and CORES reported those fees to be much higher than they were supposed to be.  The Public Notice says that problems that caused the misstated fees have been corrected, and that radio operators can now submit their fees. 

The Public Notice says that fees are still due by September 26 at 11:59 PM EDT.  No extension of time appears to have been granted.  The Public Notice also says that the FCC will “reconcile” with radio broadcasters who paid an incorrect amount before the issue with CORES was discovered -seemingly indicating that refunds will be provided to those who paid more than was due.  The FCC says that they will be reaching out to those broadcasters who paid incorrect amounts before the CORES problem was discovered. 

Continue Reading FCC Announces Filing of Radio Regulatory Fees is Back On – Due Date Still September 26

Update – 9/13/2024 – We are hearing that fee increases being reported by many radio stations may not have resulted, as we speculate below, on the use of new census data, but instead from incorrect FCC calculations. If your fees went up unexpectedly, you may want to investigate further to see if the population covered by your station was properly computed.

Further Update – 9/13/2024, 5:30 PM EDT – The FCC has acknowledged issues with its computation of fees for radio stations. As we note in a new article that we just posted, the FCC has asked that broadcasters wait to submit their fees until the issue has been resolved. The FCC has not yet extended the due date for the fees, and we expect that the FCC will work quickly to update their CORES fee filing system to correct the fee amounts.

As we noted this past weekend in our weekly update of regulatory actions, the FCC last Friday released its Order setting the regulatory fees due from broadcasters and other FCC regulated entities – fees that the FCC is required to collect each year the start of the federal government’s new fiscal year which begins in October.  This week, the FCC released a series of public notices detailing filing procedures.  First was a Public Notice setting the deadline for payment of the fees as 11:59 PM Eastern Time on September 26.  That Notice also stated that fees must be paid through the FCC’s CORES database, which is now open for such payments. That initial Notice promised a series of other public notices which followed, each addressing particular aspects of the fee filing process.  However, even with all the notices about procedures, there already have been issues reported and questions about some of the payments and processes.

The follow-up public notices included a Fact Sheet – “What You Owe” – from the Media Bureau setting out specific fee filing procedures for broadcasters.  That Fact Sheet, in addition to reiterating the requirement that fees be paid through the CORES system, notes that there is also a Media Services webpage from which broadcasters can view their fee obligations and get other information about the fee filing process.  It has been reported that this webpage has, in some cases, been providing information different than that contained in the CORES system – including different information about the amounts of the fees that are owed for specific stations.  We understand that the FCC is looking at these discrepancies and have been told that the CORES data should be the correct information.  But if this issue comes up for one of your stations, we suggest an inquiry to confirm which payment amount is correct.

Continue Reading FCC Regulatory Fees Due September 26  – FCC CORES Database Available for Payment, Some Filing Glitches Reported

It is time for our update on the coming month’s regulatory dates and deadlines to which broadcasters should be paying attention – and the deadline that probably is most important to all commercial broadcasters is not yet known.  That, of course, is the deadline for the payment of annual regulatory fees – which must be made before the federal government’s October 1 start of the new fiscal year.  We expect an announcement of the final decision on the amount of those fees for various broadcasters, and the deadlines for payment, in the next few days.  Keep on the alert for that announcement.

A second big date for all commercial broadcasters is September 6, when the lowest unit rate period for political candidate advertising – the “political window” – opens for the November 5 general election.  During this 60-day period prior to the general election, legally qualified candidates buying advertising on a broadcast station get the lowest rate for a spot that is then running on the station within the same class of advertising time and in the same daypart (see our article here on the basics of computing LUR).  Candidates also get the benefit of all volume discounts without having to buy in volume – i.e., the candidate gets the same rate for buying one spot as the station’s most favored advertiser gets for buying hundreds of spots of the same class.  For a deeper dive on how to prepare for the November general election, see our post, here, which also includes a link to our comprehensive Political Broadcasting Guide. 

Continue Reading September 2024 Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – FCC Regulatory Fees, LUC Window for the General Election, Comment Deadlines on AI in Political Advertising and More

The FCC issued its Public Notice announcing that Annual Regulatory Fees must be paid by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on September 20, 2023.  As we noted two weeks ago, the FCC earlier this month released its Report and Order setting the amount of the annual regulatory fees that broadcasters must pay, but the Commission had not, until yesterday, followed up on that Order by issuing a Public Notice setting the dates for payment.  Yesterday’s Public Notice, and a set of other Public Notices and Fact Sheets issued yesterday, establishes the payment deadline and announces other procedures for payment. Unlike in past years when the payment window was a limited period, the Public Notice announced that the FCC’s CORES database, through which the fees must be paid, is now available for this payment. 

The FCC issued additional notices detailing various aspects of the fee filing process.  One Public Notice sets out the general filing procedures for making the fee payments.  That Notice makes clear all fees must be paid through CORES.  No checks, money orders, or other forms of payment will be allowed.  Payment must be made either by wire transfers, ACH electronic payments or by credit card.  Credit card payments are limited to $24,999.99.  The Notice tells broadcasters that they will receive an email confirming that they have submitted something through the CORES system – but that email does not confirm that the payment has actually been received by the FCC or debited to a broadcaster’s account.  Broadcasters need to confirm with their banks that the FCC has in fact debited their accounts for the fees. Pay early to make sure that you have time to confirm that the FCC has in fact received the fees by the deadline.

Continue Reading FCC Annual Regulatory Fees are Due September 20 – Flurry of FCC Notices and Fact Sheets Detailing Payment Procedures

On the surface, September appears to have few scheduled regulatory filing dates and deadlines.  But it is period in which many broadcasters will be busy with deadlines that occur in early October and into the rest of the Fall.  TV stations should be finishing their decision-making on must-carry/retransmission consent elections, which need to be in their public files by October 2 (as the 1st is a holiday).  In preparation for the early November filing window for new LPFM stations (see our article here), potential applicants should be determining if a station can technically “fit” in their area without prohibited shortspacings to other stations; if one can be located in their area, they need to locate a transmitter site; and they need to take all the steps other steps needed to be ready to file their application in the early November window.  One of the first regulatory dates of note in September is the freeze on FM translator modification applications that goes into effect on September 1 in anticipation of the LPFM window.  The freeze will be in effect at least through the end of the LPFM filing window on November 8. 

September will also bring the date for the filing of annual regulatory fees by commercial stations.  We recently noted that the FCC earlier this month released its Report and Order setting the amount of the annual regulatory fees that broadcasters must pay, but the Commission has not yet followed up on that Order by issuing a Public Notice setting the dates for payment.  As these payments must be made before the federal government’s October 1 start of the new fiscal year, we expect that Public Notice any day.  We also expect that, as in the past, the FCC’s Media Bureau will release a fee filing guide for the broadcast services.  Licensees should continue to monitor this item closely so that they are ready to pay those fees in a window that will open in September, as the failure to timely pay regulatory fees will result in substantial penalties.

Continue Reading September Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – Regulatory Fees, HD Radio Power Increase Comments, EAS Filings, and Preparation for Many October Deadlines  

This week, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking containing its proposal for the annual regulatory fees to be paid by broadcasters in September of this year.  The annual fees are paid by all entities that the FCC regulates to reimburse the government for the cost of FCC operations.  The FCC decides how much each industry pays based on the percentage of the FCC’s workforce which is dedicated to regulating that industry.  In recent years, there has been significant debate over the amount of fees paid by broadcasters, with broadcast interests arguing that the FCC’s allocation of its workforce overestimated the number of employees working on broadcast matters.  In the proposal released this week, the FCC appeared to agree, allocating to other industries the work done by certain employees who were at least partially counted against broadcasters in the past.  This resulted in a proposal for the total fees to be paid by broadcast interests to decrease from the $62.07 million paid in 2022 to $55.68 million for 2023. 

The Commission will take comments on the proposed allocations and come up with final numbers late in the summer.  In recent years, the final order setting the fees has been released right around the Labor Day weekend.  Fees are typically paid in mid to late September (because they must be paid before the new fiscal year begins on October 1).

Continue Reading FCC Seeks Comments on Proposed Annual Regulatory Fees – Proposal Includes a Decrease in Fees To Be Paid By Broadcasters

As we wrote in several of our recent weekly summaries of regulatory issues for broadcasters, the FCC released a Public Notice the week before last announcing that regulatory fees must be submitted by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on September 28. This public notice set the deadline for the payment of fees established in the FCC’s Report and Order released just before Labor Day, which resolved objections to the higher fees that had been proposed for broadcasters by reducing those proposed fees somewhat (while still raising broadcaster’s fees on average about 8% over fees paid in prior years).  Since the Public Notice setting the fee payment deadline, the FCC has been busy issuing numerous notices, providing guides, and launching web pages with information about the fees and the procedures for paying those fees.

A notice that should be reviewed by all broadcasters owing fees is one issued on Friday when the FCC released another Public Notice setting the specifics for payment of the fees.  This notice details the payment process and requires that all payments be made through the FCC’s CORES database.  The notice also states that payments can only be made by credit cards, VISA or Mastercard debit cards, ACH transfers or wire transfers.  No cash or checks will be accepted. Continue Reading More on FCC Regulatory Fees Due on September 28 – Public Notices on Payment Procedures, Deadlines, Amounts, and Waivers