Auction 90: VHF Commercial Television

Auction 90 will include two digital very high frequency (“VHF”) commercial digital television station construction permits. A list of the construction permits and their descriptions is provided in Attachment A to the Procedures Public Notice, DA 10-2008 (pdf).

A winning bidder will be awarded a construction permit, rather than a “license.” Each construction permit for the construction of a new VHF commercial digital television station specifies a period of three years within which construction must be completed and a license application filed. See 47 C.F.R. § 73.3598. Broadcast station licenses are issued for eight year terms. See 47 C.F.R. § 73.1020(a).

A New Entrant Bidding Credit will be available for this auction. See 47 C.F.R. § 73.5007(a). Eligibility and application requirements for the New Entrant Bidding Credit are specified in Public Notice DA 10-2008 (pdf) and Section 73.5007 of the Commission’s Rules. Applicants that qualify for the New Entrant Bidding Credit are eligible for a bidding credit that represents the amount by which a bidder’s winning bid is discounted. The size of a New Entrant Bidding Credit depends on the number of ownership interests in other media of mass communications that are attributable to the applicant and its attributable interest holders:

• A 35 percent bidding credit will be given to a winning bidder if it, and/or any individual or entity with an attributable interest in the winning bidder, has no attributable interest in any other media of mass communications, as defined in 47 C.F.R. § 73.5008;
• A 25 percent bidding credit will be given to a winning bidder if it, and/or any individual or entity with an attributable interest in the winning bidder, has an attributable interest in no more than three mass media facilities, as defined in 47 C.F.R. § 73.5008;
• No bidding credit will be given if any of the commonly owned mass media facilities serve the same area as the broadcast station proposed in the auction, as defined in 47 C.F.R. § 73.5007(b), or if the winning bidder, and/or any individual or entity with an attributable interest in the winning bidder, has attributable interests in more than three mass media facilities.

Applicants intending to divest a media interest or make any other ownership changes, such as resignation of positional interests, in order to avoid attribution for purposes of qualifying for the New Entrant Bidding Credit must have consummated such divestment transactions or have completed such ownership changes by no later than the short-form application filing deadline - December 15, 2010; 6:00 p.m. ET. Events occurring after the short-form application filing deadline, such as the acquisition of attributable interests in media of mass communications, may cause diminishment or loss of the bidding credit.

For more information, refer to Due Diligence in the Auction 90 Procedures Public Notice (DA 10-2008 (pdf)), released November 1, 2010.

47 C.F.R. Part 73.