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Dec. 1 FCC Deadline Looms for Station Biennial Ownership Reports

All full-power radio and TV stations, both commercial and non-commercial alike, as well as all Class A TV and LPTV stations must file their biennial ownership reports with the FCC by Dec. 1. 
 

The two most recent biennial ownership reports due in December of 2017 and 2019 each saw an extension because of FCC form issues, but broadcasters should not expect such a reprieve this year. 

In its public notice, the FCC made it clear it was serious about enforcement with respect to this year’s deadline saying “Consistent with the importance of this information, commission staff intends to pursue enforcement actions against licensees that fail to file their biennial ownership reports in a timely or complete manner.”  

Because of the threat of significant penalty, TAB has publicized this deadline in the Bulletin previously and emailed broadcasters to remind them of their FCC obligation. TAB also mailed printed reminders to all Texas licensees Nov. 1. 

There is help available to assist broadcasters with this year’s filing. 

The FCC held an online information session on filing Form 323 and 323-E in October and archived the session online for viewing.

View archive

So why does the FCC collect this information?  

David Oxenford, an attorney with TAB Associate member law firm Wilkinson Barker Knauer, explained in a recent blog post. 

“Biennial ownership information not only keeps track for the public of who owns broadcast properties, but it also allows the commission to track broadcast ownership,” Oxenford said. 

He warns that in some cases, the ownership report can take significant work to complete and that broadcasters should not wait until the last minute to file. 

Oxenford offers his tips on filing Form 323 and 323-E in his Broadcast Law Blog

Questions? Contact TAB’s Michael Schneider or call (512) 322-9944.


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