PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12th St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 DA 12-380 Released: March 12, 2012 MEDIA BUREAU ANNOUNCES REVISIONS TO TELEVISION LICENSE RENEWAL PROCEDURES AND FORM 303-S LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION; TELEVISION LICENSE RENEWAL FILINGS ACCEPTED BEGINNING MAY 1, 2012 In this Public Notice the FCC’s Media Bureau provides information on the upcoming 2012-2015 television license renewal cycle, including announcing revisions to the FCC Form 303-S Application for Renewal of Broadcast Station License and changes in renewal procedures. You Should Verify Your Contact Information Unlike in the past, we will not send stations postcard notification of the upcoming renewal deadlines. Instead, we will e-mail a courtesy notice to the licensee and contact representative for each station using information from the Commission’s Consolidated Database System (CDBS). For this reason, we request that you confirm and update the licensee and contact representative information in CDBS using the instructions below. · Create A CDBS Account: Use the following link to access CDBS: http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi- bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts. Click the “Create a New Account” button, enter the licensee contact information, create a password for the account, and then click the “Create the Account” button. You will receive a CDBS account number. Once you have noted your account number, click “Continue” to return to the log-in page. After logging in, you can input contact representative information or update licensee contact information by clicking the “Account Maintenance” button at the top of the page and then by selecting the appropriate option in the “Account Type” drop down menu. In order for updates made in Account Maintenance to be reflected in your official contact information you must take the following additional steps. Return to your account home page and click on the link for “Additional non-form Filings” at the bottom of the list “FCC Forms.” You will be taken to the “Informal Filing” list from which you should select the form “Change in Official Mailing Address for Broadcast Station.” Follow the instructions for completing this form. Note that you can submit one form to cover multiple stations with the same address. If you have any questions about the filing, consult the CDBS user guide at: http://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbs_ug.htm · Existing CDBS Account Holders: After you log into your CDBS account at http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts, confirm or correct the contact representative and licensee information by clicking the “Account Maintenance” button at the top of the page and then by selecting the appropriate option in the “Account Type” drop down menu. 2 If you make any updates, follow the instructions after the italicized sentence in the paragraph above to make sure your changes become official. Note: Failure to receive a notice does not excuse a licensee from timely compliance with the Commission’s license renewal requirements Who Must File? Every commercial and non commercial educational (NCE) TV, TV translator, Low Power TV (LPTV) and Class A station must electronically file the Form 303-S, though TV translator, LPTV and Class A stations operating digital companion channel facilities do not have to file separate renewal application for their digital facilities. Additionally, every commercial and NCE TV, LPTV and Class A station, regardless of the number of full-time staff it employs, must file the FCC Form 396 Broadcast Equal Employment Opportunity Program Report. Finally, NCE licensees must file the Form 323-E Biennial Ownership Report for Noncommercial Broadcast Stations. A station must file even if its last renewal application remains pending. In such a situation, the Form 303-S should include updated information and certifications covering the period from expiration of the station’s last renewal term through the date of filing of the new renewal application. We note that Section 73.3580(d)(4)(iv) of our Rules contains substitute first paragraph public notice text for stations in this situation. For the sake of clarity, these applicants should include the upcoming license expiration date for the station’s state of license in place of “(date)” in the second paragraph of the announcement texts, and “eight years” in place of “(period of time covered by the application)” in the announcements. When Must You File? Renewal applications must be filed on or prior to the filing deadline specified in Section 73.1020 of our Rules. A link to charts containing these deadlines can be found on the Video Division’s license renewal home page, http://transition.fcc.gov/mb/video/renewal.html, or can be downloaded by clicking the links below: Television broadcast renewal dates by STATE: [ PDF | Word ] Television broadcast renewal dates by DATE: [ PDF | Word ] Applications for television stations in the first license renewal group (those licensed to communities in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia) may be filed beginning May 1, 2012, and must be filed by June 1, 2012. If you do not submit a timely filing, you will be subject to fines. We assess a base forfeiture of $3,000 to a commercial or NCE TV or Class A licensee for filing a renewal application after the deadline. An additional base forfeiture of $4,000 for unauthorized operations may be assessed to a licensee that has not filed by the station’s license expiration date. How Must You File? The Form 303-S, 396 and 323-E must all be filed electronically though CDBS. The CDBS home page can be found at: http://www.fcc.gov/mb/elecfile.html. Revision to Form 303-S We revised the legal section of the Form 303-s (Section II) to include a new certification regarding advertising agreements (Question 7). Specifically, the new question requires applicant to certify that their advertising sales agreements do not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity and that all such 3 agreements held by the licensee contain nondiscrimination clauses. Because NCE licensees do not sell advertising, they should answer this question “not applicable.” Additional Information Detailed information on the renewal process can be found on the Video Division’s license renewal home page located at: http://transition.fcc.gov/mb/video/renewal.html. You can access copies of the renewal forms and instructions using the following links: Form 303-S [PDF] Form 396 [PDF] Form 323-E [PDF] (for NCE stations) Should you have additional questions requiring staff assistance, please use the following information: General Questions: Stephanie Brown (202) 418.1603 Stephanie.Brown@fcc.gov Legal Questions: Dorann Bunkin (202) 418-1636 Dorann.Bunkin@fcc.gov Engineering Questions: Kevin Harding (202) 418-7077 Kevin.Harding@fcc.gov Form 396 Questions: EEO Staff (202) 418-1450 Lewis.Pulley@fcc.gov Action by the Chief, Media Bureau.