Non-substantive Change Request Justification

NON-SUBSTANTIVE CHANGE REQUEST JUSTIFICATION

OMB CONTROL NO. 3060-0031

Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License, FCC Form 314; Application for Consent to Transfer Control of Entity Holding Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License, FCC Form 315

The Commission submits this non-substantive change request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval of minor, non-substantive changes to FCC Form 314, Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License, and to FCC Form 315, Application for Consent to Transfer Control of Entity Holding Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License.

On November 16, 2017, the Commission adopted the 2014 Quadrennial Regulatory Review – Review of the Commission’s Broadcast Ownership Rules and Other Rules Adopted Pursuant to Section 202 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Order on Reconsideration and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 17-156 (rel. Nov. 20, 2017). The Commission modified its media ownership rules by: (1) eliminating the newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership and radio/television cross-ownership rules; (2) revising the local television ownership rule; and (3) deeming joint sales agreements (JSAs) between television stations to be non-attributable. These rule changes necessitate only minor edits to FCC Forms 314 and 315 in order to update the section of the forms that pertains to media ownership. The section contains only brief and general references to the cross-ownership rules and television JSAs. These references can be deleted simply and easily without altering the primary purpose of the section to certify that applicants are in compliance with the media ownership rules. The changes, which are listed below, do not affect the substance, burden hours, or costs of completing the forms.

Revisions reflecting these rule changes were made also to the relevant worksheet that provides guidance to applicants in answering the ownership questions on the forms. Worksheets are available to applicants to provide them information helpful to complete the forms, but their use is optional and their revisions do not require OMB approval. In addition, Commission staff took the opportunity to make a handful of other minor edits and corrections, mainly involving formatting and typographical errors, which also do not require OMB approval.

Change #1 – Elimination of the Cross-Ownership Rules:

References to the cross-ownership rules are deleted in Form 314, Section III.6.b., and in Form 315, Section IV.8.b.

Change #2 – Non-Attribution of Television JSAs:

Clarifications reflecting the fact that television JSAs are not attributable are made in Form 314, Section III.6.a., and in Form 315, Section IV.8.a.