License Renewal Tidbits

With the radio license renewal cycle six months old, we’re beginning to get some perspective on how the Media Bureau is deciding license renewal fines. We know that the FCC drops the hammer on stations that have never completed and not uploaded issues/programs lists, fining them thousands and granting only 2-year renewals with reporting conditions. We’ve seen that at least twice so far.

We now have some perspective on how much stations have to pay for filing their license renewal applications late — $3,000 for an FM station filing nearly three months late, $1,500 for an FM translator renewal application filed three months late, and $1,500 for a low power FM license renewal application filed nearly four months late.

The FCC recently made clear to NAB that staff members are carefully reviewing online public files for missing and late items, and still have several hundred stations that have not yet established on online file. We expect heavy fines for such violations.