FCC Postpones 2017 Biennial Filing Window Opening

RADIO ONLINE | Friday, September 1, 2017

The FCC's Media Bureau has postponed the opening of the 2017 biennial filing window for the submission of broadcast ownership reports on FCC Forms 323 and 323-E until December 1, 2017,and extends the filing deadline to March 2, 2018. Under the Commission's rules, licensees of commercial AM, FM, TV, Class A and Low Power Television (LPTV) stations are required to file biennial ownership reports on Form 323 in all odd-numbered years.

Previously, licensees of noncommercial educational (NCE) broadcast stations and entities with attributable interests in NCE stations were required to submit biennial ownership reports on Form 323-E in accordance with a schedule of rolling filing deadlines tied to each station's renewal anniversary date. In January, 2016, the Commission revised Form 323-E to require that NCE stations file biennial ownership reports by December 1 in all odd-numbered years and that such reports provide information that is current as of October 1 of the year in which the ownership report is filed.

The FCC is postponing the start of the filing window to provide sufficient time to properly implement the electronic versions of the revised Forms 323 and 323-E in the Licensing and Management System (LMS). Additionally, given the intervening holidays, extending the window will ensure that filers have sufficient time to complete and submit their reports.