November 2009
In a Public Notice released by the FCC today, the Media Bureau has announced that it has extended to January 11, 2010, the prior December 15, 2009 deadline for commercial radio and television broadcast station licensees to file their Biennial Ownership Reports on revised FCC Form 323.
This announcement comes as a great relief to licensees of commercial broadcast stations given that the electronic version of revised FCC Form 323 is not yet available on the FCC’s CDBS system for uploading of data.
In the meantime, every licensee should continue their preparations by compiling an accurate (as of November 1, 2009) and complete list of all individuals and legal entities which have a direct or indirect attributable interest in their station licenses. All such individuals and legal entities will have to obtain Federal Registration Numbers (“FRNs”) by registering with the FCC. The following link may be used for that purpose: https://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/coresWeb/regEntityType.do. With those tasks completed, licensees will be in better position to expeditiously upload all of the data required in the newly revised FCC Form 323 when it becomes available. Licensees are encouraged to file well before the new deadline to avoid the expected onslaught of FCC Form 323 filings.
We will issue an update of this Alert as soon as the FCC issues another Public Notice announcing when the electronic version of FCC Form 323 is available on CDBS.
Further information about the FCC’s requirements may be obtained at https://www.fcc.gov/form323. The FCC urges members of the public to continue to submit questions regarding the new form and filing procedures to Form323@fcc.gov.
We urge you to consult with your communications counsel as this is the first time that revised FCC Form 323 is being used and there are a number of significant changes to the form.
A PDF version of this article can be found at Commercial Radio and Television Stations Given Until January 11, 2010 to File Their Biennial Ownership Reports on FCC Form 323.