Non-substantive Change Request Justification

NON-SUBSTANTIVE CHANGE REQUEST JUSTIFICATION

OMB CONTROL NO. 3060-0027

Application for Construction Permit for a Commercial Broadcast Station, FCC Forms 301 and 2100

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 301, Application for Construction Permit for a Commercial Broadcast Station, and to FCC Form 2100, Application for Media Bureau Video Service Authorization, Schedule A.¹

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 Form 301 and FCC Form 2100, Schedule A in order to update the sections of the forms that pertain to media ownership. The sections contain 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 301, Section II.4.b., General Instructions Section A; and in Form 2100, Schedule A, Multiple Ownership Section, Question 2.

Change #2 – Non-Attribution of Television JSAs:

A reference to “television” is deleted in Form 301, Section II.4.a., and in Form 2100, Schedule A, Multiple Ownership Section, Question 1.

1 FCC Form 2100, Schedule A, is a web-based electronic version of FCC Form 301, which shares the same OMB control number. Currently, however, Form 2100, Schedule A, is used only for applications for video service authorizations, with audio service applicants still filing Form 301.