FCC Releases Incubator Program Compliance Guide

The FCC has now released a compliance guide for its Incubator Program adopted in 2018.

The program is designed to enable an established broadcaster (i.e., the incubating entity) to provide a small, aspiring or struggling station owner (i.e., the incubated entity) with the training, financing, and access to resources that would be otherwise unavailable to the incubated entity. The requirements for the program are quite detailed, and include certain restrictions on incubated station operations during the incubation period.

If an established broadcaster successfully incubates a small, aspiring or struggling broadcaster as part of the incubator program, it will be eligible to receive a waiver of the Local Radio Ownership Rule following the successful conclusion of the incubation relationship. The waiver must be used in the same market as the incubated station or a comparable market as discussed in the Order.