WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission today announced the bidding schedule for the remainder of Stage 4 of the reverse auction. The current schedule of three rounds per day will be used through Monday, Jan. 9, 2017. Beginning Tuesday, Jan. 10, the bidding schedule will change to four rounds per day.
Under that bidding schedule and the current decrement, the base clock price will reach $0 in round 52, which will be held Friday, Jan. 13, concluding the fourth stage reverse auction.
As a reminder, it is possible for the auction to take up to two additional bidding rounds beyond the point at which the base clock price has reached $0 if the final bidding status has not yet been determined for any VHF stations. As such, we are adjusting the bidding schedule on January 13th to allow for up to five rounds of bidding that day if necessary. Thus, the schedule for the remainder of Stage 4 of the reverse auction will be as follows:
Continuing through Monday, Jan. 9
Bidding Round. . . 10 - 11 a.m. Eastern Time
Bidding Round. . . . 1 - 2 p.m. ET
Bidding Round. . . . 4 - 5 p.m. ET
Tuesday, Jan. 10 – Thursday, Jan. 12
Bidding Round. . . 10 - 11 a.m. ET
Bidding Round. . . 12 - 1 p.m. ET
Bidding Round. . . . 2 - 3 p.m. ET
Bidding Round. . . . 4 - 5 p.m. ET
Friday, Jan. 13
Round 50. . . 10 - 11 a.m. ET
Round 51. . . 12 - 1 p.m. ET
Round 52. . . . 2 - 2:30 p.m. ET
Round 53. . . . 3 - 3:30 p.m. ET
Round 54. . . . 4 - 4:30 p.m. ET
As always, bidders should have firm back-up arrangements (which may include calling the Auction Bidder Line) ready for immediate implementation in case they encounter any difficulties accessing the Auction System.
Bidding in the fourth stage reverse auction commenced Dec. 13 after the auction failed to close in three previous stages, each respectively comprising a smaller spectrum clearing target than the one before. The fourth stage clearing target is 84 MHz.
The auction started last March with a first stage clearing target of 126 MHz, for which broadcasters asked a total $86 billion and wireless bidders offered $23.1 billion (before discounts) for the 100 MHz of spectrum offered. Stage 2 brought the target down to 114 MHz, for which broadcasters asked $54.6 billion and wireless bidders offered $21.5 billion for the 90 MHz offered. Stage 3 targeted 108 MHz, for which broadcasters asked $40.3 billion and wireless bidders offered $19.7 billion for the 80 MHz available.
See more TV Technology coverage at our spectrum auction silo.
