Urban One Broadcasting Network has been fighting the FCC in order to build a new FM in Florida. Did the broadcaster prevail? Read what happened next.
Urban One had a construction permit to build a new FM in Cross City, Florida. Two months before the CP was to expire, the owner filed an application to modify its application and propose a new tower site.
The FCC sat on the application for 30 days to give the company time to change the paperwork so it complied with the agency’s environmental rules. The commission also warned Urban One that didn’t extend its CP.
Then Urban One asked for Special Temporary Authority to operate the FM at the new site.
But the Media Bureau decided Urban One’s CP had automatically expired and was forfeit, regardless of the pending STA request. The company appealed, arguing that it was treated differently than other applicants, including Radio Goldfield “a pirate operator.” The loss of its tower site was an “extraordinary circumstance” warranting temporary operations, according to Urban One.
The FCC rejected all the arguments — twice, and said Urban One shouldn’t have tried to introduce new arguments now, saying the latest arguments could have been presented earlier. The agency rejected the appeal.
