Media Bureau adopts application cap and additional restrictions for the upcoming NCE FM translator filing window
FCC upholds the 10-cap for full service and the 2-cap for most LPFMs. Enacts primary station requirement and invokes the REC's proposed retention period to sway gamesmanship and speculation.
Today, the Federal Communications Commission’s Media Bureau has released a Public Notice adopting the application caps and restrictions for the upcoming filing window for new reserved band (88~92 MHz) noncommercial (NCE) FM translator construction permits, which is expected to take place later this year.
Application cap upheld
The FCC had upheld their original proposal that there will be a cap of 10 applications per license entity (not 10 per station) for full-service applicants. For LPFM, most organizations may file up to 2 applications, pursuant to the FCC’s ownership caps on commonly-owned FM translators. For Tribal LPFM stations, the limit is 4 applications.
Primary station restriction upheld
The FCC also upheld their original proposal that the primary station specified on the construction permit application must be a station that is commonly owned by the applying license entity. The primary station is the broadcast station that the FM translator will be rebroadcasting. FM translators must rebroadcast another station and cannot originate their own programming.
New “holding period” restriction adopted
At the request of REC Networks, based on nearly three decades of history following and tracking gamesmanship in the FCC licensing process; had requested that the Commission add a new “holding period” which was not a part of the original proposal. Under the REC proposed holding period concept, within a period of four years from when the translator facility has achieved four years of licensed operation, the permittee/licensee of the translator:
Must maintain, and cannot change, the primary station to be rebroadcast by the FM translator; and
Cannot assign or transfer the FM translator authorization to a different entity unless it is in conjunction with the assignment or transfer of the primary station to that same entity.
In support of this provision, REC recommended the four-year holding period as the appropriate length of time needed to dissuade gamesmanship and speculative filings. The four-year period is consistent with periods used for other broadcast situations where the originally applicant’s request for the translator was bona fide and intended for its original purpose.
Others had replied suggesting a shorter, one year period and some opposed the holding period proposal.
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The Media Bureau agreed with REC that the primary station eligibility restriction would be ineffective without a holding period. They also stated that the four-year holding period, proposed by REC, “strikes the correct balance and is sufficient to deter speculators”. They further noted that, similar four-year holding periods have been effective in preventing gamesmanship in the NCE FM full service context and in prior FM translator filing windows, such as the Auctions 99 and 100 filing windows which were used for AM Revitalization.
As such, the Media Bureau adopted the REC proposed additional restrictions as outlined in the bullet points above.
Other “out of scope” issues rejected
The FCC rejected calls for other provisions, many of which accounted to rule changes. These changes included:
Modification to the selection process to reconsider the priority for fill-in FM translators given their significantly changed role in the industry;
Changes to the LPFM translator siting restrictions;
Changes to the LPFM requirement that translators must “hear” their primary station over the air;
Waiving of the requirement that the service contours of the LPFM and its proposed translator must overlap; and
Exclusion from the window for applicants with more than 3 full service stations or annual gross incomes exceeding $5 million.
The FCC considered these requests “out of scope”, but had recommended that proponents raise these issues in the docket for REC’s “Translator Reform” Petition for Rulemaking, RM-11952.
Filing window timeline
Today’s public notice was silent on when the dates for the upcoming filing window will be as well as any filing freezes that will be required before hand. While it is generally understood that the filing window will be later in 2026, there is a faction that is supporting a delay of the NCE FM translator filing window until early 2027 due to alleged issues related to getting approvals to file applications and associated budgets within educational environments. REC has gone on record specifically opposing a long delay in the window for that reason. REC only supports a delay if the delay is to consider the changes proposed in RM-11952.
The agency will release a public notice in the future that will announce the window dates and will hopefully address some clarifications requested by REC regarding distance measurements used in conjunction with the diversity of ownership comparative point.