FCC Announces 2027 FM Radio Auction

On May 11, 2026, the FCC announced an auction for certain specified FM station construction permits and scheduled it for February 2, 2027.  A public notice seeking comment on the auction procedures can be found here, with comments due June 9. A filing freeze related to the allotted FM facilities went into effect on May 11. The auction has been designated Auction 114.

A total of 132 construction permits will be included in the auction. You can review a list of the permits here, including preliminary upfront bidding amounts. Some of the permits were included in prior auctions but received no bids. The upfront bidding amounts for those permits have been lowered in the proposed rulemaking for Auction 114.

There are a few proposed tweaks to the auction bidding rules, including a proposal not to make applicant upfront bidding credit amounts public or the name of the highest bidder after each bidding round. Those changes will limit bidding activity which may be intended to block a particular applicant or make a known bidder’s effort to obtain a permit more expensive.