*Pages 1--2 from Microsoft Word - 34913* PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12th St., S. W. Washington, D. C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418- 0500 Fax- On- Demand 202 / 418- 2830 TTY 202 / 418- 2555 Internet: http:// www. fcc. gov ftp. fcc. gov DA 04- 51 Released: January 16, 2004 CLARIFICATION OF OWNERSHIP REPORTING REQUIREMENTS Section 73.3615 of the Commission’s rules requires the periodic filing of ownership reports for commercial and noncommercial educational (NCE) radio and television broadcast stations. Among other things, the licensee of a commercial or NCE broadcast station must file an ownership report on FCC Form 323 or FCC Form 323- E, respectively, “when filing the station’s license renewal application and every two years thereafter on the anniversary of the date that its renewal application is required to be filed.” These ownership reports are to be filed electronically. The biennial ownership reporting commenced in calendar year 1999 and, as required, has continued at two- year intervals. The most recent biennial ownership reports were filed in calendar year 2003. Those filings coincided with the commencement of the renewal cycle for certain radio broadcast stations. Those radio station licensees that filed ownership reports and license renewal applications in 2003 are scheduled to file a biennial ownership report in calendar year 2005 and every two years thereafter. Similarly, the schedule for filing radio and television license renewal applications in calendar years 2005 and 2007 will coincide with the filing of those licensee’s biennial ownership reports. In those years and at two- year intervals thereafter a biennial ownership report will be required. To conform the Commission’s separate biennial and license renewal ownership reporting requirements, licensees of commercial and NCE radio and television broadcast stations that are scheduled to file license renewal applications in calendar year 2004 must also file an ownership report at the same time they submit their license renewal applications. While this renewal ownership report filing will be within one year of the filing of the licensee’s last biennial report, this one- time occurrence will permit the synchronization of the biennial and license renewal ownership reporting requirements. For licensees filing renewal applications in 2004, this includes radio stations located in the States of Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. Also included are television broadcast stations located in the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Territory of the Virgin Islands, and the States of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, 1 Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. As required by Section 73.3615 of the Commission’s rules, those licensees that file ownership reports and license renewal applications in 2004 will file a biennial ownership report in calendar year 2006 and every two years thereafter. Radio and television station licensees filing license renewal applications in calendar year 2006 will similarly be filing ownership reports within one year of the filing of the last biennial report. This group of renewal applicants includes radio stations located in the States of Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. Also included are television broadcast stations located in the Territories of American Samoa, Guam, and Saipan, and the States of Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Wyoming. Licensees filing ownership reports and license renewal applications in 2006 will file a biennial ownership report in calendar year 2008 and every two years thereafter. To minimize the burden upon licensees affected by this transition to a uniform biennial/ license renewal ownership report filing schedule, the type of ownership report to be filed at the time the licensee’s 2004 or 2006 license renewal application is filed is “Other.” From the CDBS pre- form screen, the licensee should select the option “Other” and the option to pre- fill data from a previously filed report. Entry of the file number of its most recently filed report, which can include the biennial ownership report filed in calendar year 2003 or 2005, respectively, will enable the licensee to validate the pre- filled ownership data where there has been no change, or to update that information as necessary, and file the ownership report with the Commission. No fee is required for the submission of an “Other” ownership report by licensees filing renewal applications in calendar years 2004 or 2006. Action by the Chief, Media Bureau. For Further information, contact Jim Brown of the Video Division, Media Bureau, at (202) 418- 1600. 2