Auction 90: VHF Commercial Television

Summary

February 15, 2011 - February 17, 2011
Rounds:
14
Bidding Days:
3
Qualified Bidders:
3
Winning Bidders:
1 Bidder won 2 Permits
Gross Bids:
$4,048,000
Net Bids:
$2,631,200
General Information
No general information is available at this time.

3/1/2011
Winning Bidders

2/4/2011
Qualified Bidders

1/12/2011
Applications to Participate

11/1/2010
Procedures

9/8/2010
Comment Sought

Fact Sheet

Date:

Auction 90 began on 2/15/2011 and closed on 2/17/2011.
(See Auction 90 Procedures Public Notice DA 10-2008)

Licenses:

Channel DTV 4 – Atlantic City, NJ (“MM-DTV012-4”)
Channel DTV 5 – Seaford, DE (“MM-DTV013-5”)

Spectrum:

Two vacant allotments (6 MHz) See Public Notice DA 10-2008 and 47 CFR § 73.622

Bandwidth:

6 MHz per construction permit

Winning Bidders:
1 Bidder won 2 Permits
Rounds:
14
Qualified Bidders:
3
Licenses Won:
2
Total Licenses:
2
Net Bids:
$2,631,200
Gross Bids:
$4,048,000
 
General information and associated licensing parameters are provided below. Public notices provide specific information regarding this auction. This fact sheet includes:
 

Key Dates

EventDate
Comments Due
9/30/2010
Reply Comments Due
10/15/2010
Auction Tutorial Available (via Internet)
12/8/2010
Form 175 (Short Form) Application Filing Window Opens
12/8/2010; 12:00 noon ET
Form 175 (Short Form) Application Filing Deadline
12/15/2010; prior to 6:00 p.m. ET
Upfront Payments Deadline
1/21/2011; 6:00 p.m. ET
Mock Auction
2/11/2011
Auction Start
2/15/2011
Auction Closed
2/17/2011

Construction Permits Offered

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.
 

Permissible Operations

A station in the television broadcast band transmitting simultaneous visual and aural digital signals intended to be received by the general public.
 

License Period and Construction Requirements

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).
 

New Entrant Bidding Credit

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 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.
 

Due Diligence

Potential applicants are reminded that they are solely responsible for investigating and evaluating all technical and marketplace factors that may have a bearing on the value of the construction permits for broadcast facilities they are seeking in this auction. Bidders are responsible for assuring themselves that, if they win a construction permit, they will be able to build and operate facilities in accordance with the Commission’s rules. The FCC makes no representations or warranties about the use of this spectrum for particular services. Applicants should be aware that an FCC auction represents an opportunity to become an FCC construction permittee in a broadcast service, subject to certain conditions and regulations. An FCC auction does not constitute an endorsement by the FCC of any particular service, technology, or product, nor does an FCC construction permit or license constitute a guarantee of business success.
For more information, refer to Due Diligence in the Auction 90 Procedures Public Notice (DA 10-2008), released November 1, 2010.
 

Licensing Rules

47 C.F.R. Part 73
Releases P

3/1/2011
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 11-312)
Auction of VHF Commercial Television Station Construction Permits Closes; Winning Bidder Announced for Auction 90
Media and Wireless Telecommunications Bureaus provide details concerning the winning bidder, filing requirements and licensing matters for Auction 90.

2/4/2011
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 11-136)
Auction of VHF Commercial Television Station Construction Permits; Three Bidders Qualified to Participate in Auction 90
The Wireless Telecommunications and Media Bureaus identify three applicants found qualified to bid in the upcoming auction of construction permits for two VHF commercial television stations.

1/12/2011
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 11-7)
Auction of VHF Commercial Television Station Construction Permits; Status of Short-Form Applications to Participate in Auction 90

11/1/2010
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 10-2008)
Auction of VHF Commercial Television Station Construction Permits Scheduled for February 15, 2011; Notice and Filing Requirements, Minimum Opening Bids, Upfront Payments, and Other Procedures for Auction 90
The Wireless Telecommunications and Media Bureaus announce the procedures and minimum opening bid amounts for the upcoming auction of two DTV construction permits.

9/8/2010
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 10-1351)
Auction of VHF Commercial Television Station Construction Permits Scheduled for February 15, 2011; Comment Sought on Competitive Bidding Procedures for Auction 90
The Wireless Telecommunications and Media Bureaus announce an auction of two digital VHF commercial television station construction permits scheduled to commence on February 15, 2011.
Copies of comments and reply comments filed in response to this public notice may be found by using the search function of ECFS under proceeding 10-147 or through the FCC Reference Information Center, which is located at the Commission's Headquarters.

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