/ 11.02.2010 12:00AM
FCC Confirms DTV Station Auctions for Feb. 15, 2011
WASHINGTON: The Federal Communications Commission has confirmed
its auction date for two full-power DTV station licenses. Licenses for VHF
assignments in Atlantic City, N.J., and Seaford, Del., will go up for auction
Feb. 15, 2011. The FCC’s Media Bureau set forth the official
rules of the auction yesterday. Bids for construction permits on Ch. 4 in
Atlantic City and Ch. 5 in Seaford will begin at $200,000. Applicants will be
required to put the minimum amount up for deposit before being eligible to bid.
Applications to bid in the auction, No. 90, must be submitted by 6 p.m. on Dec.
15, 2010. Deposits are due by 6 p.m. Jan. 31, 2010. A “mock” auction will
commence Feb. 11, 2011 to allow the qualifying bidders to become familiar with
the FCC’s auction system. The list of qualifying bidders will be published 10
days before the first official round of bidding opens on Tuesday, Feb. 15.
The two channel assignments arose from an amendment to the FCC’s post-DTV transition
table of allotments. It noted that New Jersey and Delaware each lacked VHF
allotments. Federal rules require that each state have at least one where it’s
technically feasible. The stations built on the auctioned construction permits
must remain on those VHF channels as long as they remain their respective
states’ sole designees.
-- Deborah D. McAdams