This one is for FM construction permits, officially on the books as FCC Auction 98. The CP-fest will kick off in just over a month, and the Commission is in the process of confirming who will be invited to the party.
On the auction block: CPs for 131 baby FM stations.
The gavel will bring the auction to order on Thursday, 7/23/15.
As of now, the FCC has received 112 short form applications to participate.
One was rejected. The FCC explained that if a non-commercial entity applies for an allotment that is mutually exclusive with a commercial proposal, it cannot be accepted, causing the single noncom application to be discarded from the deck.
87 applications are complete. They are now required to submit their required upfront payment by 6/29/15. The long form application will only be required of winning bidders.
24 applications were returned to the sender as incomplete. They have until 6/29/15 to cure deficiencies and get their upfront payment in.
RBR+TVBR observation: If there is any soul-searching to be done regarding a bidder’s commitment to following through with the construction and operation of a station won, now is the time to do it.
More specifically, if there is any prospect for financial trouble, it should be identified in advance.
From time to time, we still see tales of winning come that are subsequently abandoned, and are never matched by another bidder. The unfortunate auction participant who does this is on the hook for the full amount (less the amount of a lower winning bid if there is one), and in return is likely to get nothing.
The purpose of the rule is to prevent gaming the auction.
We are sure that most who abandon a winning bid are usually forced to do so for reasons beyond their control. So the only answer is to be as certain of the ability to see the auction through to ultimate construction of the station to the extent possible.
