Media Bureau extends deadline for filing broadcast ownership form

The FCC Media Bureau issued a public notice Oct. 2 extending the deadline that broadcasters — including full-power TV, LPTV and Class A stations —must meet when filing a revised version of FCC Form 323, which provides information on broadcast ownership.

Broadcasters previously required to file the form biennially originally had until Nov. 1, 2009, to submit it. In extending the deadline, the Media Bureau acknowledged it had not yet received approval from the Office of Management and Budget for the revised form. The new deadline for submitting the revised Form 323 will be no sooner than 30 days after the date of the public notice of OMB’s approval.

The Media Bureau also said it was extending the date by which information on the form must be current till Nov. 1.

Certain licensees excused from filing the revised Form 323 by a previous Media Bureau order will not be required to file the existing form. “We believe that it would be an undue burden on licensees and other entities required to file Form 323 to prepare the existing form on November 1 and then prepare and file the revised form soon thereafter,” the bureau said in the notice.