Federal Communications Commission DA 19-285 DA 19-285 Released: April 15, 2019 MEDIA BUREAU ANNOUNCES PROCEDURES FOR 2019-2022 RADIO LICENSE RENEWAL CYCLE By this Public Notice, the FCC’s Media Bureau announces revisions to the license renewal filing procedures for radio stations and provides information on the upcoming 2019-2022 radio license renewal cycle. Deadlines. Applications for stations in the first license renewal group (radio stations licensed to communities in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia) may be filed on or after May 1, 2019, and must be filed no later than June 3, 2019. The Commission will not accept renewal applications for filing prior to May 1, 2019. Each AM, FM, noncommercial educational (NCE) FM, FM translator, and Low Power FM (LPFM) station must electronically file its license renewal form. Each AM, FM, and NCE FM station, regardless of how many full-time staff it employs, must also file a Broadcast Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Program Report, which will be referenced in the license renewal application form. Licensees with pending applications from the prior renewal cycle also are subject to these filing requirements. Such licensees should file new license renewal forms with updated information and certifications to cover all periods from the end of their last license term through the date of filing. All renewal applicants must complete the required submissions on or prior to the filing deadline specified on the website of the Media Bureau’s Audio Division: https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/broadcast-radio-license-renewal-dates-by-state https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/broadcast-radio-license-renewal-dates-by-date Local Public Notice of Renewal Application. The Bureau reminds licensees that their local public notice obligations under section 73.3580(d)(4) of the Commission’s Rules 47 CFR § 73.3580(d)(4) https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=45e1da4af9e05a4da15c9b00cc4a09d2&mc=true&node=se47.4.73_13580&rgn=div8. remain in force, and pre-filing announcements must commence two months prior to their renewal filing deadlines, i.e., on April 1, 2019, for District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia stations. The Commission has not adopted rule changes in response to its proposal in MB Docket No. 17-264 to revise section 73.3580. Amendment of Section 73.624(g) of the Commission’s Rules Regarding Submission of FCC Form 2100, Schedule G, Used to Report TV Stations’ Ancillary or Supplementary Services; Amendment of Section 73.3580 of the Commission’s Rules Regarding Public Notice of the Filing of Applications, MB Docket No. 17-264, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 32 FCC Rcd 8203 (2017). Therefore, that proceeding has not changed each station’s current obligations under section 73.3580. Failure to comply with pre-filing announcement requirements could result in a delay in the processing of a license renewal application. Online public inspection file requirements. The Bureau also reminds stations of their obligation to upload documents to the Commission’s Online Public Inspection File. Failure to comply with the public inspection file requirements, including the political file requirements, prior to the deadline for filing a station’s renewal application may result in forfeitures and may impact a station’s renewal application. LMS filing procedures. All license renewal filings for the upcoming license renewal cycle must be filed electronically through the Commission’s Licensing and Management System (LMS) using Schedules 303-S and 396 to Form 2100. Schedules 303-S and 396 will be available in LMS as of May 1, 2019. CDBS e-filing of license renewal applications (former Form 303-S) and Broadcast Equal Employment Opportunity Program Reports (former Form 396) has been deactivated. In a companion Public Notice, DA 19-284, the Bureau provides details for using LMS. In general, the new Schedule 303-S replicates the FCC Form 303-S from CDBS. The form sections and essential substance of the individual questions remain the same. The new Schedule 303-S also maintains the obligation that applicants certify compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements. The application is presented primarily in a “Yes/No” certification format and contains links that allow applicants to upload explanatory exhibits where appropriate. The Commission also has provided revised and detailed instructions for each question, which will be available from an imbedded link on each screen of Schedule 303-S. As stated in the companion Public Notice released today, applicants will be required to select one FRN for each facility ID number. Licensees may associate as many facilities (stations) as they wish with each FRN, but only one FRN may be used for each facility. Licensees seeking to renew a primary station and associated FM translators in the same license renewal application should consult the FRN section of the LMS Help Center page, which can be found at https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/lms-help-center. Once logged into LMS, the system will take users to the default landing page, which is the “Saved Applications” page in LMS. In order to submit an EEO Report or a renewal application, licensees should first click on the “Facilities” tab near the top of the page. The system will display a list of all facility IDs associated with that FRN. Next, click on the facility ID of the desired station. When the Facility Detail page is displayed, click on the “File an Application” button and choose either “Equal Employment Opportunity Program Report” or “License Renewal.” LMS will “pre-fill” the General and Applicant/Contact Information sections of Schedule 303-S from information in the Commission’s data base, although applicants will be able to amend or update that information. Additionally, because this information will be imported into LMS from the existing data in CDBS, the need to update information is to be expected, and applicants are strongly encouraged to carefully check the information for accuracy. Licensees must file a separate license renewal application for each full-service radio station, even if more than one station is associated with the licensee’s chosen FRN. Public Notice of Renewal Applications. Due to the transition to the LMS system, the Bureau may not issue public notice of renewal applications for the first renewal group until immediately after June 3, 2019. This will not impact the schedule for interested parties to file petitions to deny or informal objections. Public notice of renewal applications filed in future renewal groups should be available soon after filing. New LMS users may find additional guidance on the Audio Division’s LMS Help Center page, which can be found at https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/lms-help-center. Filers who have questions regarding basic filing requirements or who need assistance logging into LMS or accessing Schedule 303-S or Schedule 396 should contact the Commission at (877) 480-3201 (Option 2), Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 6:00 pm ET, or submit a request online at https://fccprod.service-now.com/auls?id=esupport. For additional information on the license renewal process, please contact Michael Wagner, Michael.Wagner@fcc.gov, (202) 418-2775, or Tom Hutton, Tom.Hutton@fcc.gov, (202) 418-7266, of the Media Bureau, Audio Division. Press inquiries should be directed to Janice Wise, Janice.Wise@fcc.gov, at (202) 418-8165. - FCC - 3