Media Bureau Announces Revisions to TV renewal procedures & Form 303-S
PUBLIC NOTICE
Federal Communications Commission
News Media Information 202 / 418-0500
Internet: http://www.fcc.gov
445 12th St., S.W.TTY: 1-888-835-5322
Washington, D.C. 20554
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 2012-2015television 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
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.
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?
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?
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?
can be found at: http://www.fcc.gov/mb/elecfile.html.
Revision to Form 303-S
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
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agreements held by the licensee contain nondiscrimination clauses. Because NCE licensees do not sell
advertising, they should answer this question “not applicable.”
Additional Information
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.
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