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INSTRUCTIONS FOR FCC 315 (IBFS)
APPLICATION FOR CONSENT TO
TRANSFER CONTROL OF ENTITY HOLDING
BROADCAST STATION CONSTRUCTION
PERMIT OR LICENSE
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
application form or report can be filed with the Commission
either electronically or in a paper format. Electronic filing
will become mandatory, on a form-by-form basis, six
months after each application form or report becomes
available for filing electronically.
A. This FCC Form is to be used to apply for consent to transfer
control of an entity holding a broadcast station construction
permit or license. It consists of the following sections:
I.
General Information (licensee, permittee, and contact
representatives, if any)
II. Transferor(s)
III. Licensee/Permittee
I V. Transferee(s)
The Licensee/Permittee must complete Sections I and III.
The Transferor(s) must complete Section II.
D. Mandatory electronic filing of FCC Form 315 commenced
on February 15, 2001. See Mass Media Bureau
Implements Mandatory Electronic Filing of FCC Forms
301, 314, and 315, Public Notice, 16 FCC Rcd 3989 (MB
2001). Paper versions of FCC Form 315 will not be
accepted for filing, unless accompanied by an appropriate
request for waiver of the electronic filing requirement.
Applicants can access the electronic filing system via the
Internet from the Media Bureau’s Web site at:
http://www.fcc. gov/mb.
The Transferee(s) must complete Section IV.
E.
B. This application form makes many references to FCC rules.
Applicants should have on hand and be familiar with current
broadcast rules in Title 47 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (C.F.R.):
(1 )
(2 )
(3 )
(4 )
Part 0
Part 1
Part 73
Part 74
"Commission Organization"
"Practice and Procedure"
"Radio Broadcast Services"
"Experimental Radio, Auxiliary, Special
Broadcast and Other Program Distributional
Services"
FCC Rules may be purchased from the Government
Printing Office. Current prices may be obtained from the
GPO Customer Service Desk at (202) 512-1803. For
payment by credit card, call (202) 512-1800, M-F, 8 a.m. to
4 p.m. e.s.t; facsimile orders may be placed by dialing (202)
518-2233, 24 hours a day. Payment by check may be made
to the Superintendent of Documents, Attn: New Orders,
P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954.
C. Electronic Filing of Application Forms. The Commission is
currently developing electronic versions of various
broadcast station application and reporting forms, such as
this application form. As each application form and report
goes online, the Commission will by Public Notice
announce its availability and the procedures to be followed
for accessing and filing the application form or report
electronically via the Internet. For a six-month period
following the issuance of the Public Notice, the subject
Public Notice Requirements:
(1 ) 47 C.F.R. Section 73.3580 requires that applicants for
consent to assignment of a construction permit or license
for a commercial full-service AM, FM, full power TV,
Class A TV, low-power TV (LPTV), or TV or FM
translator station give local notice by posting notice
online, either on the station website or a website
affiliated with the station, its licensee, or its parent
entity, or otherwise by posting notice on a publicly
accessible, locally targeted website, for 30 continuous
days following acceptance of the application for filing,
in the form prescribed in 47 CFR § 73.3580(b)(2).
(2 ) An applicant for consent to assignment of a construction
permit or license for a commercial full-service AM, FM,
full power TV, Class A TV, or an LPTV station that
locally originates programming is also required to
provide public notice by broadcasting announcements
pursuant to 47 CFR § 73.3580(c)(2)(i), at least once per
week, Monday through Friday, from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00
p.m. local time, six times over a four consecutive week
period, in the form prescribed in 47 CFR §
73.3580(b)(1), unless the station is off the air, in which
case it shall post online notice.
(3 ) An applicant for consent to assignment of a
construction permit or license for a noncommercial
educational (NCE) full-service AM, FM, full power
TV, or low-power FM (LPFM) station need only
provide notice
by
broadcasting on-air
announcements, unless the station is off the air, in
which case it shall provide online notice. The public
All previous editions obsolete.
notice requirements set forth above also apply with
respect to major amendments to applications as defined
in 47 C.F.R. Section 73.3578(b).
(4 ) Compliance or intent to comply with the public notice
the
requirements must be
certified by
Licensee/Permittee in Item 7 of Section III of this
application.
FCC 315 (IBFS) Instructions
September 2020
F.
application. If any portions of the application are not
applicable, the applicant should so state. Defective or
incomplete applications will be returned without
consideration. Inadvertently accepted applications are
also subject to dismissal. See 47 C.F.R. § 73.3564(b).
Names/Addresses: In Section I, II, and IV, applicants
should use only those state abbreviations approved by the
U.S. Postal Service.
The name of the Licensee/Permittee must be stated in
Section I, Item 1, exactly as it appears on the authorization
to be transferred.
FCC Registration Number (FRN). To comply with the
Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, the applicant
must enter its FRN number, a ten-digit unique entity
identifier for anyone doing business with the Commission.
The FRN can be obtained through the FCC webpage at
http://www.fcc.gov or by manually submitting FCC Form
160. FCC Form 160 is available for downloading from
http://www.fcc.gov/formpage. html or by calling 1-800418-3676. Questions concerning the FCC Registration
Number can be directed to the Commission’s Registration
System help desk at http://[email protected] or by
calling 1-877-480-3201.
Facility ID Number. Radio and TV Facility ID Numbers
can be obtained at the FCC's Internet Website at
www.fcc.gov/mb. Once at this website, scroll down and
select CDBS Public Access. You can also obtain your
Facility ID Number by calling: Radio - 202-418-2700,
TV - 202-418-1600. Further, the Facility ID Number is
now included on all Radio and TV authorizations and
postcards.
I.
In accordance with 47 C.F.R. Section 1.65, applicants have
a continuing obligation to advise the Commission, through
amendments, of any substantial and significant changes in
the information furnished in this application. This
requirement continues until the FCC action on this
application is no longer subject to reconsideration by the
Commission or review by any court.
J.
This application requires applicants to certify compliance
with many statutory and regulatory requirements. Detailed
instructions and worksheets provide additional information
regarding Commission rules and policies. These materials
are designed to track the standards and criteria which the
Commission applies to determine compliance and to
increase the reliability of applicant certifications. They are
not intended to be a substitute for familiarity with the
Communications Act and the Commission's regulations,
policies, and precedent. While applicants are required to
review all application instructions and worksheets, they are
not required to complete or retain any documentation
created or collected to complete the application. See
Sections II-IV, Item 1.
K. This application is presented primarily in a "Yes/No"
certification format. However, it contains places for
submitting explanations and exhibits where necessary or
appropriate. Each certification constitutes a material
representation. Applicants may only mark the "Yes"
certification when they are certain that the response is
correct. A "No" response is required if the applicant is
requesting a waiver of a pertinent rule and/or policy, or
where the applicant is uncertain that the application fully
satisfies the pertinent rule and/or policy. Thus, a "No"
response to any of the certification items will not cause the
immediate dismissal of the application provided that an
appropriate exhibit is submitted.
If the licensee/permittee, transferor, or transferee are
represented by a third party (for example, legal counsel) for
purposes of prosecuting the FCC Form 315, that person's
name, firm or company, mailing address and telephone/
electronic mail address may be specified in Section I , Item
2 (for Licensee/Permittee), Section II, Item 3 (for
Transferor), and Section IV, Item 3 (for Transferee).
G. A copy of the completed application and all related
documents shall be made available for inspection by the
public in the station’s public inspection file pursuant to 47
C.F.R. Section 73.3526 for commercial stations and
Section 73.3527 for noncommercial educational stations.
L.
H. Applicants should provide all information called for by this
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A representative from the Licensee/Permittee, the
Transferor, and the Transferee must sign the
application. Depending on the nature of the applicant, the
application should be signed as follows: if a sole
proprietorship, personally; if a partnership, by a general
partner; if a corporation, by an officer; if an unincorporated
association, by a member who is an officer; if a
governmental entity, by such duly elected or appointed
official as is competent under the laws of the particular
jurisdiction. Counsel may sign the application for his or her
client, but only in cases of the applicant's disability or
absence from the United States. When an application is
filed electronically, the signature will consist of the
electronic equivalent of the typed name of the individual.
See 1998 Biennial Regulatory Review -- Streamlining of
Mass Media Applications, Rules, and Processes, 13 FCC
Rcd 23056, 23064, para. 17 (1998).
M. Incubator Program – Applications (AM and FM
stations). The FCC’s broadcast incubator program is
designed to support new and diverse entrants in the
broadcasting industry by encouraging larger, experienced
broadcasters to assist small, aspiring or struggling
broadcasters that lack the financing or operational expertise
needed to own and operate a full-service AM or FM station.
See Rules and Policies to Promote New Entry and
Ownership Diversity in the Broadcasting Services, Report
and Order, 33 FCC Rcd 7911 (2018) (Incubator Order);
approved by OMB control number: 3060-1260. Through
the incubator program, an established broadcaster (i.e., the
incubating entity) will provide a small, aspiring or struggling
station owner (i.e., the incubated entity) with the training,
financing, and access to resources that would be otherwise
unavailable to the incubated entity. At the end of a
successful incubation relationship, the incubated entity will
own and operate a full-service AM or FM station
independently and the incubated station will be on a firmer
footing if the station was struggling at the start of the
relationship. In return for successfully incubating a small,
aspiring or struggling broadcaster, the incubating entity will
be eligible to apply to receive a waiver of the Commission’s
Local Radio Ownership Rule following the successful
conclusion of the incubation relationship.
Eligibility. The incubator program is available for fullservice AM and FM radio stations. A potential incubated
entity must meet the following eligibility requirements and
must have met these requirements continuously for the
preceding three years:
(1 ) Numerical Cap. The potential incubated entity has an
attributable interest in no more than three full-service
AM and FM radio stations and no TV stations
(including licensed stations and unbuilt construction
permits); and
(2 ) Revenue Cap. The potential incubated entity qualifies
as a “small business” under the Small Business
Administration’s size standard for the radio industry, as
set forth in 13 C.F.R. Section 121.201.
The FCC’s attribution standards and policies are set forth in
the Notes to 47 C.F.R. Section 73.3555. In addition, the
potential incubated entity must submit a written statement
certifying that it would not be able to acquire a full-service
broadcast station or continue operating its struggling station
without the support that the proposed incubation
relationship will provide.
Filing Requirements. Before commencing a qualifying
incubation relationship, the potential incubated entity and
the potential incubating entity must first submit an
incubation proposal to the Media Bureau for approval. See
Incubator Order, 33 FCC Rcd at 7941-44. The incubation
proposal must demonstrate that the potential incubated
entity and the potential incubating entity are both eligible to
participate in the incubator program and that their proposed
incubation relationship meets FCC requirements for
qualifying incubation relationships. The
incubation
proposal must include the following documents:
(1 ) a written incubation contract demonstrating that the
proposed incubation relationship meets FCC
requirements for the incubator program (see Incubator
Order, 33 FCC Rcd at 7942-43);
(2 ) a certified statement from the potential incubated entity
demonstrating that it has the requisite background and
qualifications and that it truly needs the incubator
program (see Incubator Order, 33 FCC Rcd at 794344);
(3 ) a certified statement from the potential incubating
entity demonstrating that it is committed and has the
resources and experience necessary to make the
incubation relationship successful (see Incubator
Order, 33 FCC Rcd at 7943-44). This statement should
also specify the size tier of the incubated station’s
market under the Local Radio Ownership Rule and the
number of independent owners of full-service,
commercial and noncommercial radio stations in that
market (see Incubator Order, 33 FCC Rcd at 7937-38);
and
(4 ) a request for a temporary waiver of the Local Radio
Ownership Rule if the incubation proposal would cause
the proposed incubating entity to exceed the local radio
ownership limits (see Incubator Order, 33 FCC Rcd at
7940).
Additional filing requirements will apply during the term of
an incubation relationship. See Incubator Order, 33 FCC
Rcd at 7944-46. If the station to be transferred (as specified
in Section III of this application) is the subject of an
incubation proposal, the incubation proposal must be
submitted by the proposed transferee as an attachment to
item 8.d of Section IV of this application. When uploading,
the Commission suggests that filers tag the submission for
tracking purposes by including “Incubation Proposal” in the
description of the attachment.
Approved by OMB control number: 3060-1260. We have
estimated that each response to this collection of
information will take 4 to 16 hours. Please refer to the
notice on the last page of the instructions for additional
information required by the Paperwork Reduction Act.
N. Incubator Program – Reward Waiver Requests (AM
and FM stations). After successfully completing an
approved incubation relationship, the incubating entity will
be eligible to apply to receive a waiver of the Commission’s
Local Radio Ownership Rule. Generally, the waiver request
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and licensing application must be filed within three years
after the date the incubation relationship ends. However, if
the incubation relationship required a temporary waiver of
the Local Radio Ownership Rule and the incubating entity
seeks to use its reward waiver to acquire the incubated
station (or to retain an attributable interest in the station),
then the reward waiver request and licensing application
must be filed contemporaneously with the final joint
certified statement. See Incubator Order, 33 FCC Rcd at
7945-46; approved by OMB control number: 3060-1260.
The waiver request must demonstrate that the incubated
entity completed a successful incubation relationship, see
Incubator Order, 33 FCC Rcd at 7940-41, and that the
incubating entity seeks to use the waiver in the same market
as the incubated station or a comparable market, see
Incubator Order, 33 FCC Rcd at 7937-39. An applicant
seeking a reward waiver must also attach to its request a
copy of the Bureau document(s) approving the successful
incubation relationship, including any document(s)
approving an extension of the original term of the
relationship. If the incubation relationship was approved in
conjunction with an assignment or transfer of a station, or
the grant of a new construction permit, the reward waiver
request must also include the file number of the relevant
licensing application. When uploading, the Commission
suggests that filers tag the submission for tracking purposes
by including “Reward Waiver Request” in the description of
the attachment.
Approved by OMB control number: 3060-1260. We have
estimated that each response to this collection of
information will take 4 to 16 hours. Please refer to the
notice on the last page of the instructions for additional
information required by the Paperwork Reduction Act.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR SECTION I -- GENERAL
INFORMATION
A. Item 3: Fees. The Commission is statutorily required to
collect charges for certain regulatory services to the public.
Generally, applicants seeking to transfer licenses or permits
of AM, FM, or TV broadcast stations are required to submit
a fee with the filing of FCC Form 315. Government entities,
however, are exempt from this fee requirement. Exempt
entities include possessions, states, cities, counties, towns,
villages, municipal organizations, and political
organizations or subparts thereof governed by elected or
appointed officials exercising sovereign direction over
communities or governmental programs. Also exempt are
full-service
noncommercial
educational
radio,
noncommercial educational TV and LPFM licensees and
permittees, provided that the station(s) being transferred
will continue to operate noncommercially. See 47 C.F.R. §
1.1114.
When electronically filing a fee-exempt application, an
applicant must complete Item 3 and provide an explanation
as appropriate. Paper versions of applications NOT subject
to a fee may be hand-delivered or mailed to the FCC at its
Washington, D.C. offices. See 47 C.F.R. § 0.401(a). Feeexempt applications should not be sent to the Mellon Bank
Lockbox; so doing will result in a delay in processing the
application.
The Commission's fee collection program utilizes a U.S.
Treasury lockbox bank for maximum efficiency of
collection and processing. Prior to the institution of
electronic filing procedures, all FCC Form 315 applications
requiring the remittance of a fee, or for which a waiver or
deferral from the fee requirement is requested, must be
submitted to the appropriate post office box address. See 47
C.F.R. § 0.401(b). A listing of the fees for the transfer of
the various types of broadcast station construction permits
and licenses and the addresses to which FCC Form 315
should be mailed or otherwise delivered are also set forth in
the "Media Bureau Fee Filing Guide." This document can
be obtained either by writing to the Commission's Form
Distribution Center, 9300 E. Hampton Drive, Capitol
Heights, Maryland 20743, or by calling 1-800-418-FORM.
See also 47 C.F.R. § 1.1104. The Fee Filing Guide also
contains a list of the Fee Type Codes needed to complete
this application.
A separate fee payment must be submitted for each FCC
Form 315 filed. Where control of multiple stations is being
transferred on one FCC 315, a single payment covering the
total required fee, calculated according to the number of
AM, FM, or TV station permits or licenses covered by that
FCC Form 315, must be made.
Payment of any required fee must be made by check, bank
draft, money order, or credit card. If payment is by check,
bank draft, or money order, the remittance must be
denominated in U.S. dollars, drawn upon a U.S. institution,
and made payable to the "Federal Communications
Commission." No postdated, altered, or third-party checks
will be accepted. DO NOT SEND CASH. Additionally,
checks dated six months or older will not be accepted.
Applicants who wish to pay for more than one application
in the same lockbox with a single payment may also
submit a single FCC Form 159. When paying for multiple
filings in the same lockbox with a single payment
instrument, applicants must list each filing as a separate
item on FCC Form 159 (Remittance Advice). If additional
entries are necessary, applicants should use FCC Form 159C
(Continuation Sheet).
Procedures for payment of applications fees when
applications are filed electronically will be announced by
subsequent Public Notice. See General Instruction C above.
Payment of application fees may also be made by Electronic
Payment prior to the institution of electronic filing
4
procedures, provided that prior approval has been obtained
from the Commission. Licensees/Permittees interested in
this option must first contact the Credit and Debt
Management Center at (202) 418-1995 to make the
necessary arrangements.
Applicants hand-delivering FCC Forms 315 may receive a
dated receipt copy by presenting a complete copy of the
filing to the acceptance clerk at the time of delivery. For
mailed-in applications, a "return copy" of the application
should be furnished and clearly marked as a "return copy."
The applicant should attach this copy to a stamped, selfaddressed envelope. Only one piece of paper per
application will be stamped for receipt purposes.
For further information regarding fees and payment
procedures, applicants should consult the "Media Bureau
Fee Filing Guide."
B. Item 5: Auction Authorization. Under the Commission's
competitive bidding licensing procedures, applicants
seeking to transfer control of a broadcast construction
permit or license within three years of receipt of the original
permit by means of competitive bidding must inform the
Commission that such authorization was obtained through
competitive bidding. See 47 C.F.R. § 1.2111(a). Item 5
requires the applicant to identify those authorizations that
were obtained through competitive bidding, and for which
transfer of control approval is sought.
The Commission's auction rules also require an applicant
seeking approval of a transfer of control of a license or
construction permit within three years of receipt of such
authorization by means of competitive bidding to file with
the Commission the associated contracts for sale, option
agreements, management agreements, or other documents
disclosing the consideration that the applicant will receive
in return for the transfer of its license or permit. See 47
C.F.R §§ 1.2111(a), 73.5009. If applicable, this
information should be submitted as an exhibit to Item 5.
C. Item 6: Noncommercial Educational Maintenance of
Comparative Qualifications. Under the Commission’s
licensing procedures for stations operating on channels
reserved for noncommercial educational use, applicants
seeking to transfer a noncommercial educational TV, FM,
or FM translator station received as a result of evaluation
in a point system are subject to certain restrictions if the
station has not after the point system operated for four
years with a minimum operating schedule. Applicants
seeking to transfer a low power FM station are similarly
subject to certain restrictions if (1) it has been less than 18
months since the initial construction permit was granted;
and/or (2) the station was received as a result of evaluation
in a point system.
Item 6(a) requires the applicant to indicate whether any
authorizations were obtained through a point system.
Answer “yes” if any of the reserved channel
noncommercial educational stations involved in the
transaction were authorized pursuant to a point system
selection procedure, regardless of whether authorization
was issued to the applicant or to a predecessor. Applicants
operating only on non-reserved “commercial” channels
should answer “no.” Applicants operating on reserved
channels should answer “no” if all stations were authorized
before May 2000 and no major modifications have
occurred, or if all stations authorized from May 2000
onward were authorized using a method other than point
system [such as award to a single applicant, authorization
pursuant to a settlement agreement among all mutually
exclusive parties, or selection of an applicant based on
comparison pursuant to 47 U.S.C. Section 307(b) (fair
distribution) only].
Item 6(b) applies only to applicants who answered “yes”
to 6(a). It asks whether all stations awarded by t h e
point system have satisfied the four-year “maintenance of
comparative qualifications” period. Applicants should
answer “yes” to 6(b) if, between the time of point system
authorization and the time of the present application, the
station has operated pursuant to that authorization for four
years (48 months) on-air, pursuant to the Commission’s
minimum operating schedule. Applicants with stations not
yet meeting the four-year period should answer “no” and
provide an exhibit identifying the stations that have not
met the ”maintenance of comparative qualifications”
period, and demonstrating that the transaction is consistent
with 47 C.F.R. Section 73.7005(a). Pursuant to that rule
section, the applicant must demonstrate the following: (1)
that the proposed transferee would qualify for points equal
to or greater than those of the party that prevailed in the
point system; and (2) that consideration received and/or
promised does not exceed the transferor’s legitimate and
prudent expenses in applying for and constructing the
station.
Items 6(c) through 6(f) apply only to applicants transferring
a low power FM station. It asks whether it has been at least
18 months since the station’s initial construction permit was
granted. A LPFM construction permit cannot be transferred
for 18 months from the date of issue. See 47 C.F.R. Section
73.865(a). The question also asks whether the transfer
satisfies the LPFM consideration restrictions and whether
the applicant seeks to transfer any LPFM stations awarded
by the point system. If an LPFM station awarded through
the point system has operated on-air for less than four years,
the transferee must demonstrate that the proposed
transaction is consistent with 47 C.F.R. Section
73.865(a)(3). Pursuant to that rule section, the proposed
transferee must demonstrate the following: (1) that it meets
or exceeds the points awarded to the LPFM tentative
selectee; and (2) for LPFM stations selected in accordance
with the involuntary time-sharing provisions pf Section
73.872(d), the date the transferee was “locally established”
must be the same as or earlier than the date of the most
recently established local applicant in the tied MX group.
D. Item 7: Tribal Priority Holding Period. Under the
Commission’s Tribal Priority (see Policies to Promote
Rural Radio Service and to Streamline Allotment and
Assignment Procedures, First Report and Order, 25 FCC
Rcd 1583 (2010) (Rural First R&O), modified, Second
Report and Order, 26 FCC Rcd 2556 (2011) (Rural
Second R&O), modified, Third Report and Order, 26 FCC
Rcd 17642 (2011) (Rural Third R&O), and 47 C.F.R.
Section 73.7002(b)(1) [applicable only to noncommercial
educational stations]), individuals or entities obtaining
predecessor claimed and received a dispositive
Section 307(b) priority because it qualified for the
Tribal Priority; or
(b ) an FM commercial non-reserved band station
awarded:
(1 ) to the applicant or a predecessor as a
singleton Threshold Qualifications Window
applicant,
(2 ) to the applicant or a predecessor after a
settlement among Threshold Qualifications
Window applicants, or
(a ) an AM authorization for which the applicant or a
5
(3) to the applicant or a predecessor after an
auction among a closed group of bidders
composed only of threshold qualified tribal
a pplica nts (pursua nt to the Threshold
Qualifications procedures set forth in the
Rural Third R&O, 26 FCC Rcd at 1764550); or
(c) a reserved-band NCE FM station for which the
applicant or predecessor claimed and received the
Tribal Priority in a fair distribution analysis as set
forth in 47 C.F.R. Section 73.7002(b)(1),
(A)
may not transfer the authorization for the period beginning
with issuance of the construction permit, until the
conclusion of four years of on-air operations, unless the
transferee also qualifies for the Tribal Priority.
Item 7(a) requires the applicant to indicate whether any
authorizations were obtained after award of a dispositive
Section 307(b) preference using the Tribal Priority, or
through the Tribal Priority as applied before the NCE fair
distribution analysis set forth in 47 C.F.R. Section
73.7002(b). Answer “yes” if any of the stations involved
in the transactions were
(B)
(a) an AM authorization for which the applicant or a
predecessor claimed and received a dispositive
Section 307(b) priority because it qualified for the
Tribal Priority; or
(b) an FM commercial non-reserved band station
a wa rded through the Threshold
Qualifications
procedures detailed in the preceding paragraph; or
(c) a reserved-band NCE FM station for which the
applicant or predecessor claimed and received the
Tribal Priority in a fair distribution analysis as set
forth in 47 C.F.R. Section 73.7002(b)(1).
Item 7(b) applies only to applicants who answered “yes”
to 7(a). It asks whether all stations acquired using the
Tribal Priority have completed four years of on-air
operations, thus satisfying the four-year holding period for
such stations. Applicants should answer “yes” to 7(b) if,
between the time of construction permit issuance and the
time of the present application, the station has operated
pursuant to that authorization for four years (48 months)
on-air, pursuant to the Commission’s minimum operating
schedule. Applicants with stations not yet meeting the
four-year holding period should answer “no” and proceed
to Item 7(c).
Item 7(c) applies only to applicants who answered “no” to
7(b). It asks whether both the assignor/transferor and
assignee/transferee are individuals or entities qualifying
for the Tribal Priority in all respects. To qualify for the
Tribal Priority, an applicant must meet all of the following
qualifications:
(C)
(D)
The applicant is a “Tribe” as defined in 47 C.F.R.
Section 73.7000 (while the definitions in 47
C.F.R. Section 73.7000 apply only to NCE
stations, the definition of “Tribe” accurately
describes the qualifications for commercial as well
as NCE applicants), a consortium of Tribes, or an
entity 51 percent or more of which is owned or
controlled by a Tribe or Tribes. Qualifying Tribes
or Tribal entities must be those at least a portion
of whose Tribal Lands lie within the principal
community contour of the proposed facility.
Although the 51 or greater percent Tribal control
threshold need not consist of a single Tribe, the
qualifying entity must be 51 percent or more
owned or controlled by Tribes at least a portion of
whose Tribal Lands lie within the proposed
facility’s principal community contour;
(1) At least 50 percent of the area within the
proposed principal community contour is over that
Tribe’s Tribal Lands, or (2) the proposed
principal community contour (a) encompasses 50
percent or more of that Tribe’s Tribal Lands, (b)
serves at least 2,000 people living on Tribal
Lands, and (c) the total population on Tribal
Lands residing within the proposed station’s
service contour constitutes at least 50 percent of
the total covered population (and, in the case of
either (B)(1) or (B)(2), the proposed station’s
principal community contour does not cover more
than 50 percent of the Tribal Lands of a Tribe that
is not a party to the application). To the extent
that a Tribe lacks Tribal Lands, the Commission
will be receptive to requests for waiver of the
above-listed tribal land coverage provisions that
demonstrate a geographic area identified with the
Tribe. Likewise, the Commission will entertain
requests for waiver of the other requirements
where appropriate; see Rural Second R&O, 26
FCC Rcd at 2561-63;
The proposed community of license must be
located on Tribal Lands; and
The proposed service must constitute first or
second aural (reception) service, or first local
Tribal-owned commercial transmission service at
the
proposed
community
of
license.
For purposes of this item, the definition of “Tribal Lands”
is the same as that set forth at footnote 15 of the Rural
First R&O, and as further set forth at paragraphs 8-10 and
59 of the Rural Second R&O. As noted above, an
applicant whose stations were initially acquired through
the Tribal Priority may only assign or transfer the
station(s) during the four-year holding period to another
individual or entity qualifying for the Tribal Priority.
Applicants not meeting the qualifications for the Tribal
Priority and proposing a transfer of control during the
holding period should answer “no” and provide an exhibit
6
must submit with the application and place in the public
inspection file of each subject station a complete and final
copy of the unredacted contract for the transfers of control
that are the subject of this application, including all exhibits
and attachments. The application and contracts must be
retained until final action is taken on this application, with
the exception that any application granted pursuant to a
waiver of any Commission rule must be retained in the
public inspection file for as long as the waiver is in effect.
See 47 C.F.R. Sections 73.3526(e)(2) (for commercial
stations) and 73.3527(e)(2) (for noncommercial educational
stations). Applicants must certify their compliance with
these requirements in Items 3a and 3b.
identifying the transferee(s) not qualifying for the Tribal
Priority and/or the station(s) that have not met the holding
period, and demonstrating that the transaction is consistent
with the Tribal Priority policies set forth in the Rural First
R&O, or that a waiver of the policies underlying the Tribal
Priority is warranted.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR SECTION II -- TRANSFEROR
A. Item 1: Certification. Each applicant is responsible for the
information that the application instructions and worksheets
convey. As a key element in the Commission's streamlined
licensing process, a certification that these materials have
been reviewed and that each question response is based on
the applicant's review is required.
Item 3c asks applicants to certify that the agreements to
transfer control of the subject licensee entity "comply fully
with the Commission's rules and policies." In order to
complete this certification, applicants must consider a broad
range of issues. Worksheet #2 provides guidance on key
compliance issues to facilitate applicants' review of their
proposed transactions, and to help applicants identify issues
where additional explanatory exhibits may be required or
helpful. If the applicant also holds a time brokerage
agreement (also known as a local marketing agreement)
pursuant to which the transferee will supply programming to
a station in the market, or a joint sales agreement pursuant
to which the transferee will sell commercial advertising time
for a station in the market, prior to FCC approval, then
applicants must review Worksheet #3D, which covers issues
relating to time brokerage, local marketing, and joint sales
agreements involving the transferee.
B. Item 2: Applicant Name. The name of each transferor
must be stated in Item 2: if the transferor is a corporation,
the exact corporate name; if a partnership, the name under
which the partnership does business; if an unincorporated
association, the name of an executive officer, his/her office,
and the name of the association; and, if an individual
transferor, the person's full legal name.
C. Item 4: Ownership Interest to be Transferred. This
question requires that the applicants specify, for each
transferor in the subject transaction, the voting and equity
plus debt percentages held in the licensee/permittee by that
transferor both before and after the consummation of the
transaction.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR SECTION III -LICENSEE/PERMITTEE
D. Item 4: Other Authorizations. Instructions for Section IV,
Item 6 of this form define "party to the application" and
"attributable interest" as used in this question.
A. Item 1: Certification. The licensee/permittee must review
the instructions for Section II, Item 1, of this form before
completing this item.
E.
B. Item 2: Authorizations to be Transferred. Unless
specifically enumerated as excluded authorizations, the
authorizations for all subsidiary communications services
(SCAs), FM and TV booster stations, and auxiliary service
stations authorized under Subparts D, E, F, and H of 47
C.F.R. Part 74 will be included in the transfer of control of
the license or permit of the primary station(s). Applicants
should complete the table. If preparing this application in
paper form, attach a separate page using the table format
where additional space is needed.
Items 5 and 6: Character Issues/Adverse Findings.
These questions require an evaluation of any unresolved
character issues involving the licensee/permittee(s) or any
of its principals, as well as any relevant adverse findings by
a court or administrative body. Licensee/permittee(s) must
review the instructions for Section IV, Items 9 and 10, of
this form before completing this item.
F.
Item 8: Auction Authorization. This question asks the
licensee/permittee to certify that the proposed transfer will
comply with the "unjust enrichment" provisions of the
Commission's competitive bidding rules, 47 C.F.R. Section
1.2111(d)(1). Licensee/permittee(s) must review the
instructions for Section IV, Item 14 before completing this
item.
NOTE: Applications for transactions involving only the
transfer of control of a permit or license for a TV or FM
translator station or a low power television station must be
filed on FCC Form 345. The submission of a separate
filing fee with the FCC Form 345 may also be required.
C. Item 3: Agreements for Transfer of Control. Applicants
G. Item 9: Anti-Drug Abuse Act Certification. This question
requires the licensee/permittee to certify that neither it nor
any party to the application is subject to denial of federal
benefits pursuant to the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, 21
U.S.C. Section 862. Licensee/permittee(s) must review the
7
applicants' review of their proposed transaction, and to help
applicants identify issues where additional explanatory
exhibits may be required or helpful. If the applicant has an
attributable time brokerage or local marketing agreement,
or an attributable joint sales agreement, for the stations
subject to the application or for any other stations in the
same market, then the applicant must review Worksheet
#3D. Applicants who are required to demonstrate
compliance with 47 C.F.R. Section 73.3555(a) must file a
copy of each such agreement for radio stations as an exhibit
to the application.
instructions for Section IV, Item 15, of this form before
completing this item.
H. Item 10: Anti-Discrimination Certification. This
question requires the licensee/permittee to certify that
neither it nor any party to the application has violated the
Commission's prohibition against discrimination on the
basis of race, color, religion, national origin or sex in the
sale of commercially operated AM, FM, TV, Class A TV
or international broadcast stations. See Promoting
Diversification of Ownership in the Broadcasting
Services, Report and Order and Third Further Notice of
Proposed Rule Making, 23 FCC Rcd 5922 (2008)
(Diversity Order and Diversity Third FNPRM). Where the
response to Item 10 is "no," the licensee/permittee must
provide in an exhibit a full disclosure of the persons and
matters involved. The licensee/permittee should also fully
explain why the violation is not an impediment to a grant
of this application. For transactions involving the sale or
transfer of non-commercial educational FM stations,
noncommercial educational TV stations, or broadcast
stations in the AM, Class A TV, or international broadcast
services that are operated on a non-commercial basis, the
licensee/permittee should select "N/A" in response to this
question.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR SECTION IV -- TRANSFEREE
A. Item 1: Certification. The transferee must review the
instructions for Section II, Item 1, of this form before
completing this item.
B. Item 2: Name of Transferee. The name of each transferee
must be stated exactly in Item 2. The name of the transferee
shall be the exact corporate name, if transferee is a
corporation; if a partnership, the name of all general
partners and the name under which the partnership does
business; if an unincorporated association, the name of an
executive officer, his/her office, and the name of the
association; and, if the transferees are individual applicants,
the full legal name of each person.
C. Item 4: Organization of Transferee. This question asks
the transferee to specify its organizational structure. If the
transferee's structure is not among the business entities
enumerated in the form, the applicant must check the box
marked "Other" and attach an exhibit describing in detail its
organizationalstructure.
D. Item 5: Agreements for Transfer of Control. This
question requires the transferee to certify that the written
agreement submitted to the Commission and contained in
the licensee/permittee's public inspection file embodies the
complete and final agreement between the parties and that
the agreement complies fully with the Commission's rules
and policies regarding station sales contracts. Worksheet
#2 provides guidance on key compliance issues to facilitate
E.
Item 6: Parties to the Application. This question requires
the disclosure of information on the transferee and all parties
to the application. As used in this application form, the term
"party to the application" includes any individual or entity
whose ownership or positional interest in the applicant is
attributable. An attributable interest is an ownership interest
in or relation to an applicant or licensee which will confer
on its holder that degree of influence or control over the
applicant or licensee sufficient to implicate the Commission's
multiple ownership rules. In responding to Item 6,
applicants should review the Commission's multiple
ownership attribution policies and standards which are set
forth in the Notes to 47 C.F.R. Section 73.3555.
Generally, insulated limited partners or members of a
limited liability corporation, certain investors, and certain
creditors are not considered parties to the application.
However, as set forth in Worksheet #3E entitled, "Investor
Insulation and Non-Party Influence over Transferee," the
holder of such an interest may be deemed a party to the
application and, if so, must be listed in the table in Item 6a.
In the event that the Investor Insulation and Non-Party
Influence over Transferee worksheet requires the
submission of an explanatory exhibit, the transferee must
respond "No" to Section IV, Item 6b and complete this
exhibit.
Certain interests held by substantial investors in, or
creditors of, the applicant may also be attributable and the
investor reportable as a party to the application, if the
interest falls within the Commission's equity/debt plus
(EDP) attribution standard. Under the EDP standard, the
interest held is attributable if, aggregating both equity and
debt, it exceeds 33 percent of the total asset value (all
equity plus all debt) of the applicant – a broadcast station
licensee, cable television system, daily newspaper or other
media outlet subject to the Commission’s broadcast
multiple ownership or cross-ownership rules – AND the
interest holder also holds (1) an attributable interest in a
media outlet in the same market, or (2) supplies over 15
percent of the total weekly broadcast programming hours
of the station in which the interest is held. For example,
the equity interest of an insulated limited partner in a
limited partnership applicant would normally not be
considered attributable, but, under the EDP standard, that
8
interest would be attributable if the limited partner’s
interest exceeded 33 percent of the applicant’s total asset
value AND the limited partner also held a 5 percent voting
interest in a radio or television station licensee in the same
market.
must select “Yes” to Section IV, Item 8e. All applicants
answering "Yes" to Item 8e A or B must submit as an
Exhibit a copy of the form of irrevocable trust agreement
providing for the transfer of the station(s) to an Eligible
Entity.
The interest holder may, however, exceed the 33 percent
threshold without triggering attribution where such
investment would enable an eligible entity to acquire a
broadcast station provided that: (1) the combined equity
and debt of the interest holder in the eligible entity is less
than 50 percent, or (2) the total debt of the interest holder
in the eligible entity does not exceed 80 percent of the
asset value of the station being acquired by the eligible
entity and the interest holder does not hold any equity
interest, option, or promise to acquire an equity interest in
the eligible entity or any related entity. See Diversity
Order, 23 FCC Rcd at 5936, para. 31; 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, Second Report and Order, 31 FCC Rcd 9864, 997684, paras. 271-86 (2016) (2014 Quadrennial Review
Order).
As used here, the term "transferee" is synonymous with the
term "applicant." Additionally, "parties to the application"
includes the following with respect to each of the listed
applicant entities:
The Commission defines an “eligible entity” as any entity
that qualifies as a small business under the Small Business
Administration’s size standards for its industry grouping,
as set forth in 13 C.F.R. Section 121.201, and holds (1) 30
percent or more of the stock or partnership interests and
more than 50 percent of the voting power of the
corporation or partnership that will own the media outlet;
or (2) 15 percent or more of the stock or partnership
interests and more than 50 percent of the voting power of
the corporation or partnership that will own the media
outlet, provided that no other person or entity owns or
controls more than 25 percent of the outstanding stock or
partnership interests; or (3) more than 50 percent of the
voting power of the corporation that will own the media
outlet if such corporation is a publicly traded company.
In the event the Transferee claims status as an eligible
entity, the Transferee must select "Yes" to Section IV,
item 8d and submit an explanatory exhibit demonstrating
compliance. The Transferee must retain and provide on
request, material documentation, including, for example,
annual financial statements or tax returns, etc., used to
establish the basis for the applicant's response.
Divestiture Of Grandfathered Stations To Eligible
Entities: If the proposed transaction involves the transfer
of a radio station that is (1) part of a grandfathered cluster
of stations; and (2) will be divested to an eligible entity
(as defined in Item 8d, above), or to an irrevocable
divestiture trust for purposes of transfer to an eligible
entity, within 12 months of consummation of the purchase
of the grandfathered cluster of stations, the Transferee
INDIVIDUAL APPLICANT: The natural person seeking
to hold in his or her own right the authorization specified in
this application.
PARTNERSHIP APPLICANT: Each partner, including
all limited partners. However, a limited partner in a limited
partnership is not considered a party to the application IF
the limited partner is not materially involved, directly or
indirectly, in the management or operation of the mediarelated activities of the partnership and the applicant so
certifies in response to Section IV, Item 6b. Sufficient
insulation of a limited partner for purposes of this
certification would be assured if the limited partnership
arrangement:
(1 ) specifies that any exempt limited partner (if not a
natural person, its directors, officers, partners, etc.)
cannot act as an employee of the limited partnership if
his or her functions, directly or indirectly, relate to the
media enterprises of the company;
(2 ) bars any exempt limited partner from serving, in any
material capacity, as an independent contractor or agent
with respect to the partnership's media enterprises;
(3 ) restricts any exempted limited partner from
communicating with the licensee or the general partner
on matters pertaining to the day-to-day operations of its
business;
(4 ) empowers the general partner to veto any admissions of
additional general partners admitted by vote of the
exempt limited partners;
(5 ) prohibits any exempt limited partner from voting on the
removal of a general partner or limits this right to
situations where the general partner is subject to
bankruptcy proceedings, as described in Sections 402
(4)-(5) of the Revised Uniform Limited Partnership
Act, is adjudicated incompetent by a court of
competent jurisdiction, or is removed for cause, as
determined by an independent party;
(6 ) bars any exempt limited partner from performing any
services to the limited partnership materially relating to
its media activities, with the exception of making loans
9
of its subsidiary will be considered a 100% owner. Where
the 5% stock owner is a partnership, each general partner
and any limited partner that is non-insulated, regardless of
the partnership interest, is considered a party to the
application.
to, or acting as a surety for, the business; and
(7 ) states, in express terms, that any exempt limited partner
is prohibited from becoming actively involved in the
management or operation of the media businesses of
the partnership.
Stock subject to stockholder cooperative voting agreements
accounting for 5% or more of the votes in a corporate
applicant will be treated as if held by a single entity and any
stockholder holding 5% or more of the stock in that block is
considered a party to this application.
Notwithstanding conformance of the partnership agreement
to these criteria, however, the requisite certification cannot
be made if the applicant has actual knowledge of a material
involvement of a limited partner in the management or
operation of the media-related businesses of the partnership.
In the event that the applicant cannot certify as to the
noninvolvement of a limited partner, the limited partner will
be considered as a party to this application.
An investment company, insurance company or trust
department of a bank is not considered a party to this
application, and an applicant may properly certify that such
entity's interest is non-attributable, IF its aggregated holding
accounts for less than 20% of the outstanding votes in the
applicant AND IF:
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY APPLICANT: The
Commission treats an LLC as a limited partnership, each of
whose members is considered to be a party to the
application. However, where an LLC member is insulated
in the manner specified above with respect to a limited
partnership and where the relevant state statute authorizing
the LLC permits an LLC member to insulate itself in
accordance with the Commission's criteria, that LLC
member is not considered a party to the application. In such
a case, the applicant should certify "Yes" in response to
Section IV, Item 6b.
CORPORATE APPLICANT: Each officer, director and
owner of stock accounting for 5% or more of the issued and
outstanding voting stock of the applicant is considered a
party to the applicant. Where the 5% stock owner is itself a
corporation, each of its stockholders, directors and
"executive" officers (president, vice-president, secretary,
treasurer or their equivalents) is considered a party to this
application UNLESS the applicant submits as an exhibit a
statement establishing that an individual director or officer
will not exercise authority or influence in areas that will
affect the applicant or the station. In this statement, the
applicant should identify the individual by name, title,
describe the individual's duties and responsibilities, and
explain the manner in which such individual is insulated
from the corporate applicant and should not be attributed an
interest in the corporate applicant or considered a party to
this application. In addition, a person or entity holding an
ownership interest in the corporate stockholder of the
applicant is considered a party to this application ONLY IF
that interest, when multiplied by the corporate stockholder's
interest in the applicant, would account for 5% or more of
the issued and outstanding voting stock of the applicant.
For example, where Corporation X owns stock accounting
for 25% of the applicant's votes, only Corporation X
shareholders holding 20 percent or more of the issued and
outstanding voting stock of Corporation X have a 5% or
more indirect interest in the applicant (.25 x .20 = .05) and,
therefore, are considered parties to this application. In
applying the multiplier, any entity holding more than 50%
(1 ) such entity exercises no influence or control over the
corporation, directly or indirectly; and
(2 ) such entity has no representatives among the officers
and directors of the corporation.
ANY OTHER APPLICANT: Each executive officer,
member of the governing board and owner or holder of 5%
or more of the votes in the applicant is considered a party to
the applicant.
Radio applicants should be certain to include the proposed
ownership structure for the licensee after consummation
of the proposed transaction (including officers and
directors, if the licensee is a corporation) as well as the
ownership structure of the transferee because there will be
occasions in which the structure of the licensee and the
transferee will not be identical. This can occur, for
example, when not all of the stock of a corporate applicant
is transferred to a new owner, or when the transferees are
individuals and not business associations such as
corporations or partnerships. For purposes of simplicity and
clarity, the licensee structure information may be tendered
using the tabular format provided in Item 6.
F.
Item 8: Multiple Ownership. This item requires that the
transferee either certify compliance with, or request waiver
of, the Commission's broadcast ownership rules, including
restrictions on investor insulation and participation of nonparty investors and creditors. Radio applicants must submit
an Exhibit in either case, i.e., an Exhibit is required
demonstrating compliance with the rules or, if the applicant
cannot certify compliance, requesting a waiver or
exemption, with adequate justification. For all other
applicants, an Exhibit is required only if requesting a
waiver.
In order to facilitate the evaluation of the transaction that is
10
the subject of this FCC Form 315, transferees are directed
to Worksheet #3, which is tailored to the individual
inquiries in Item 8.
G. Items 9 and 10: Character Issues/Adverse Findings.
Item 9 requires the transferee to certify that neither it nor
any party to the application has had any interest in or
connection with an application that was or is the subject of
unresolved character issues. A transferee must disclose in
response to Item 10 whether it or any party to the
application has been the subject of a final adverse finding
with respect to certain relevant non-broadcast matters. The
Commission's character policies and litigation reporting
requirements for broadcast applicants focus on misconduct
which violates the Communications Act or a Commission
rule or policy, and on certain specified non-FCC
misconduct. In responding to Items 9 and 10, applicants
should review the Commission's character qualification
policies, which are fully set forth in Policy Regarding
Character Qualifications In Broadcast Licensing,
Amendment of Rules of Broadcast Practice and
Procedure Relating to Written Responses to Commission
Inquiries, and the Making of Misrepresentations to the
Commission by Permittees and Licensees, Report, Order
and Policy Statement, 102 F.C.C.2d 1179 (1985), recon.
denied, 1 FCC Rcd 421 (1986), as modified, 5 FCC Rcd
3252 (1990) and 7 FCC Rcd 6564 (1992).
Where the response to Item 9 is "No," the transferee must
submit an exhibit that includes an identification of the party
having had the interest, the call letters and location of the
station or file number of the application or docket, and a
description of the nature of the interest or connection,
including relevant dates. The transferee should also fully
explain why the unresolved character issue is not an
impediment to a grant of this application.
In responding to Item 10, the transferee should consider any
relevant adverse finding that occurred within the past ten
years. Where that adverse finding was fully disclosed to the
Commission in an application filed on behalf of this station
or in another broadcast station application and the
Commission, by specific ruling or by subsequent grant of
the application, found the adverse finding not to be
disqualifying, it need not be reported again and the
transferee may respond "Yes" to this item. However, an
adverse finding that has not been reported to the
Commission and considered in connection with a prior
application would require a "No" response.
Where the response to Item 10 is "No," the transferee must
provide in an exhibit a full disclosure of the persons and
matters involved, including an identification of the court or
administrative body and the proceeding (by dates and file
numbers), and the disposition of the litigation. Where the
requisite information has been earlier disclosed in
connection with another pending application, or as required
by 47 C.F.R. Section 1.65(c), the applicant need only
provide an identification of that previous submission by
reference to the file number in the case of an application,
the call letters of the station regarding which the application
or Section 1.65 information was filed, and the date of filing.
The transferee should also fully explain why the adverse
finding is not an impediment to a grant of this application.
H. Item 11: Alien Ownership and Control. All applications
must comply with Section 310 of the Communications Act,
as amended. Specifically, Section 310 proscribes issuance
of a construction permit or station license to an alien, the
representative of an alien, a foreign government or a
representative thereof, or a corporation organized under the
laws of a foreign government. This proscription also applies
with respect to any entity of which more than 20% of the
capital stock is owned or voted by aliens, their
representatives, a foreign government or its representative,
or an entity organized under the laws of a foreign country.
The Commission may also deny a construction permit or
station license to a licensee directly or indirectly controlled
by another entity of which more than 25% of the capital
stock is owned or voted by aliens, their representatives, a
foreign government or its representative, or another entity
organized under the laws of a foreign country. Any such
applicant seeking Commission consent to exceed this 25%
benchmark in Section 310(b)(4) of the Act must do so by
filing a petition for declaratory ruling pursuant to Sections
1.5000 et seq. of the Commission’s rules.
Compliance with Section 310 is determined by means of a
two-prong analysis, one pertaining to voting interests and
the second to ownership interests. See, e.g., Applications
of BBC License Subsidiary L.P., Memorandum Opinion
and Order, 10 FCC Rcd 10968 (1995). The voting interests
held by aliens in a licensee through intervening
domestically organized entities are determined in
accordance with the multiplier guidelines for calculating
indirect ownership interests in an applicant as set forth in
the "Corporate Applicant" Instructions for Section IV, Item
6a. For example, if an alien held a 30-percent voting
interest in Corporation A which, in turn, held a noncontrolling 40-percent voting interest in Licensee
Corporation B, the alien interest in Licensee Corporation B
would be calculated by multiplying the alien's interest in
Corporation A by that entity's voting interest in Licensee
Corporation B. The resulting voting interest (30% x 40% =
12%) would not exceed the 25% statutory benchmark.
However, if Corporation A held a controlling 60% voting
interest in Corporation B, the multiplier would not be
utilized and the full 30 percent alien voting interest in
Corporation A would be treated as a 30 percent interest in
Licensee Corporation B, i.e., an impermissible 30% alien
indirect voting interest in the licensee. If Partnership A held
a 40% voting interest in Licensee Corporation B, that voting
interest would be similarly impermissible if any general
partner or any non-insulated limited partner of Partnership
11
A was an alien, regardless of his or her partnership interest.
See also Review of Foreign Ownership Policies for
Broadcast, Common Carrier and Aeronautical Radio
Licensees Under Section 310(b)(4) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as Amended, Report and
Order, 31 FCC Rcd 11272, paras. 67-72 (2016) (2016
Foreign Ownership Order).
without additional revenue. This certification includes all
contractual requirements, if any, as to collateral, guarantees,
and capital investments. See Revision of Application for
Construction Permit for Commercial Broadcast Station
(FCC Form 301) and Modification of Processing
Standards for Determining the Financial Qualifications
of Broadcast Station Purchasers, 87 F.C.C.2d 200 (1981).
Transferees must also comply with the separate alien equity
ownership benchmark restrictions of Section 310. Under
the second prong of the analysis, a transferee must
determine the pro rata equity holdings of any alien investor
in a licensee entity or its parent. In calculating alien
ownership, the same voting interest multiplier rules apply.
Documentation supporting this certification need not be
submitted with this application, but must be made available
to the Commission upon request. Financial statements relied
on to make this certification should be prepared in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
In order to complete this two-prong analysis, a transferee
must determine the citizenship of each entity holding either
a voting or equity interest or else explain how it determined
the relevant percentages. Corporate applicants and
licensees whose stock is publicly traded must determine
the citizenship of interest holders who are known or should
be known to the company in the ordinary course of
business, including: (1) registered shareholders; (2)
officers, directors, and employees; (3) interest holders
reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission; (4)
beneficial owners identified in annual or quarterly reports
and proxy statements; and (5) any other interest holders
that are actually known to the company, such as through
transactions, litigation, proxies, or any other source.
Statistical sampling surveys are no longer necessary.
Although direct inquiry and publicly available resources
may be used to determine citizenship of known or shouldbe-known interest holders, street addresses are not
sufficient for this purpose. For more detailed information
on identifying and calculating foreign interests, see 2016
Foreign Ownership Order, paras. 44-72.
If the combined total foreign ownership (foreign voting
interests and foreign equity interests) identified under this
methodology does not exceed 25%, a declaratory ruling is
not necessary to grant the application. A subsidiary or
affiliate of a licensee already named in a foreign
ownership declaratory ruling may rely on that ruling, and
by certifying compliance with the provisions of Section
310 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended,
relating to interests of aliens and foreign governments,
certifies that it and the licensee named in the declaratory
ruling are in compliance with the terms and conditions of
the original foreign ownership declaratory ruling. See 47
C.F.R. § 1.5004(b).
I.
Item 12: Financial Qualifications. A transferee must
certify that it is financially qualified to effectuate its
proposal, with sufficient net liquid assets on hand or
available from committed sources of funds to consummate
the transaction and operate the facilities for three months
J.
Item 13: Programming. Transferees need no longer file a
specific program service proposal. Nevertheless, prior to
making this certification, the transferee should familiarize
itself with its obligation to provide programming responsive
to the needs and interests of the residents of its community
of license. See Request for Declaratory Ruling
Concerning Programming Information in Broadcast
Applications for Construction Permits, Transfers and
Assignments, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 3 FCC
Rcd 5467 (1988).
K. Item 14: Auction Authorization. The competitive bidding
rules adopted by the Commission include certain provisions
to prevent "unjust enrichment" by entities that acquire
broadcast authorizations through the use of bidding credits
or other special measures. Specifically, the holder of a
broadcast license or construction permit, who successfully
utilized a bidding credit to obtain the authorization, is
required to reimburse the government for the total amount
of the bidding credit, plus interest based on the rate for tenyear U.S. Treasury obligations applicable on the date the
construction permit was granted, as a condition for
Commission approval of any assignment or transfer of that
license or construction permit, if the authorization will be
acquired by an entity that does not meet the eligibility
criteria for the bidding credit. See 47 C.F.R. §§
1.2111(d)(1), 73.5007. The amount of this payment will be
reduced over a five-year period. See 47 C.F.R. §§
1.2111(d)(2), 73.5007. No payment is required if (1) the
authorization is transferred or assigned more than five years
after the initial issuance of the construction permit; or (2)
the proposed transferee or assignee meets the eligibility
criteria for the bidding credit. In accordance with these
provisions, Item 14 requires that the transferee certify that
either (1) more than five years have passed since the
transferor received its authorization(s) via the competitive
bidding process; or (2) the proposed transferee meets the
eligibility criteria for the bidding credit. If such certification
cannot be made, then the transferee must answer "No" in
Item 14 and tender the applicable reimbursement payment
to the United States Government. See 47 C.F.R §§
1.2111(d), 73.5007, 73.5008.
12
L.
Item 15: Anti-Drug Abuse Act Certification. This
question requires the transferee to certify that neither it nor
any party to the application is subject to denial of federal
benefits pursuant to the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, 21
U.S.C. Section 862.
Section 5301 of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 provides
federal and state court judges the discretion to deny federal
benefits to individuals convicted of offenses consisting of
the distribution or possession of controlled substances.
Federal benefits within the scope of the statute include FCC
authorizations. A "Yes" response to Item 15 constitutes a
certification that neither the transferee nor any party to this
application has been convicted of such an offense or, if it
has, it is not ineligible to receive the authorization sought by
this application because of Section 5301.
With respect to this question only, the term "party to the
application" includes if the applicant is an individual, that
individual; if the applicant is a corporation or
unincorporated association, all officers, directors, or
persons holding 5 percent or more of the outstanding stock
or shares (voting and/or non-voting) of the applicant; all
members if a membership organization; and if the applicant
is a partnership, all general partners and all limited partners,
including both insulated and non-insulated limited partners,
holding a 5 percent or more interest in the partnership.
M. Item 14. Transferee’s Equal Employment Opportunity
Program. Applicants seeking authority to acquire control
of an entity holding such construction permit or license of a
commercial, noncommercial or international broadcast
station are required to afford equal employment opportunity
to all qualified persons and to refrain from discriminating in
employment and related benefits on the basis or race, color,
religion, national origin or sex. See 47 C.F.R. § 73.2080.
Pursuant to these requirements, an applicant who proposes
to employ five or more full-time employees in its station
employment unit must establish a program designed to
assure equal employment opportunity for women and
minority groups (that is, Blacks not of Hispanic origin,
Asian or Pacific Islanders, American Indians or Alaskan
Natives, and Hispanics). This is submitted to the
Commission as the Model EEO Program on FCC Form
396-A, which should be filed along with this application. If
an applicant proposes to employ less than five full-time
employees in its station employment unit, no EEO program
for women or minorities need be filed.
General guidelines for developing an Equal Employment
Opportunity program are set forth in FCC Form 396-A.
NOTE: This Broadcast Equal Employment Opportunity
Model Program Report (FCC Form 396-A) is to be utilized
only by applicants for new construction permits and by
assignees and transferees.
FCC NOTICE REQUIRED BY THE PAPERWORK
REDUCTION ACT
We have estimated that each response to this collection of
information will take 2 to 7 hours. Our estimate includes the
time to read the instructions, look through existing records,
gather and maintain the required data, and actually complete and
review the form or response. If you have any comments on this
burden estimate, or on how we can improve the collection and
reduce the burden it causes you, please e-mail them to
[email protected] or send them to the Federal Communications
Commission, AMD-PERM, Paperwork Reduction Project
(3060-XXXX), Washington, DC 20554. Please DO NOT
SEND COMPLETED
APPLICATIONS
TO
THIS
ADDRESS. Remember - you are not required to respond to a
collection of information sponsored by the Federal
government, and the government may not conduct or sponsor this
collection, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number
of if we fail to provide you with this notice. This collection has
been assigned an OMB control number of 3060-XXXX.
THE FOREGOING NOTICE IS REQUIRED BY THE
PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995, P.L. 104-13,
OCTOBER 1, 1995, 44 U.S.C. SECTION 3507.
13
WORKSHEET # 1
LOCAL NOTICE CHECKLIST
Applicants must certify that they have complied with Section 73.3580 regarding publication of local notice of the subject
application. This worksheet may be used in responding to Section III, Item 7 of Licensee/Permittee section of Form 315.
1.
Newspaper notice
(a)
Dates of publication:
(i)
(b)
2.
3.
No
If ''Yes,'' public notice must appear twice a week for two consecutive weeks.
Yes
No
Yes
No
No such daily newspaper, weekly newspaper published in community?
(i)
(d)
Yes
Daily newspaper published in community?
(i)
(c)
All within 30 days of tender of the application?
If ''Yes,'' notice must appear once a week for three consecutive weeks.
If no such daily or weekly newspaper, local notice must appear in daily newspaper with
the greatest circulation in the community twice a week for two consecutive weeks.
Broadcast notice
(a)
Once daily for 4 days in the second week following the filing of the application?
Yes
No
(b)
At least 2 announcements during ''prime time'' (6 p.m. - 11 p.m. for television) or
''drivetime'' (7 a.m. - 9 a.m. and/or 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. for radio), as applicable?
Yes
No
Text: do the announcements contain the following information?
(a)
Applicant name(s)
Yes
No
(b)
Names of all officers, directors, 10% shareholders (if corporation), all non-insulated
partners (if partnership)
Yes
No
(c)
Purpose of application
Yes
No
(d)
Date on which application was filed
Yes
No
(e)
Call letters and frequency/channel of station
Yes
No
(f)
Statement that copy of application is available in Public File
Y
es
No
(g)
Location of public file
Yes
No
FCC 315 (IBFS) - Worksheet #1
WORKSHEET # 2
SALES CONTRACT EVALUATION WORKSHEET
This worksheet may be used by the licensee/permittee in responding to Section III, Item 3 of FCC Form 315; it may also be used by
the transferee in responding to Section IV, Item 5. The applicants should review these questions with respect to all contractual
documents, agreements, and/or understandings between the transferor and the transferee. See Worksheet #3D (Time
Brokerage/Local Marketing Agreement/Joint Sales Agreements) if agreements permit transferee to provide programming or sell
advertising time for the subject station(s) or any other stations in the market prior to Commission approval of the proposed transfer
of control.
1.
Do the written contracts and/or agreements in the licensee/permittee's public inspection file embody
the complete and final agreement for the sale of the station(s) which are to be transferred?
Yes
No
Are there any unwritten agreements between the transferor and the transferee which have not
been referenced in the contract documents to be submitted with the application?
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
(a)
If ''Yes,'' the terms of these agreements must be reduced to writing and submitted along with
the other contract documents.
(b)
Are there any written or oral agreements between the transferor and the transferee regarding
future contractual arrangements arising out of this transaction?
If ''Yes,'' the terms of these agreements must be reduced to writing and submitted along with
the other contract documents.
(c)
Have there been any amendments to the contract?
If ''Yes,'' the amendment (or its material terms, if the amendment is not in writing) must be
submitted as an amendment to the application.
Note: The obligation to submit all amendments to the contract continues until Commission
action on the subject application is no longer subject to administrative or judicial review.
2.
Do these documents provide the transferee with ultimate control over and use of all necessary
physical property without reservation?
Yes
No
3.
Do these documents provide the transferee with ultimate control over station programming without
reservation?
Yes
No
Yes
No
Note: The response to both Questions 2 and 3 must be ''Yes,'' in order to certify that the contractual
documents ''comply fully with the Commission's rules and policies.'' If ''No,'' the applicant must
mark ''No'' and disclose all details of any restriction on the transferee's complete control of the
station in an exhibit to the application.
4.
Is there any provision in the agreements that provides for a reversion of the license(s) in the event of
default or any right to reassignment of the license in the future?
Note: The response to Question 4 must be ''No,'' in order to certify that the contractual documents
"comply fully with the Commission's rules and policies.'' If ''Yes,'' the applicant may not make the
appropriate certification.
FCC 315 (IBFS) Worksheet 2
5.
Is there any provision in the agreements which provides for a security interest in the station
license(s), permits or authorizations?
Yes
No
Yes
No
Note: In order to certify that the contractual documents ''comply fully with the Commission's rules
and policies,'' the response to Question 5 must be ''No.'' Under existing precedent, it is permissible to
grant a security interest in the proceeds of the sale of a station license, permit, or authorization, but
not in the license, permit, or authorization itself.
6.
Do the agreements contain a covenant not to compete?
(a)
If ''Yes,'' does the geographic scope of the covenant extend beyond the service contour of the
station(s) to be transferred (digital NLSC for TV, 1 mV/m for FM, and 2 mV/m for AM)?
Yes
No
(b)
If ''Yes,'' does the duration of the covenant extend beyond the length of a full license term?
Yes
No
Yes
No
Note: If the response to Question 6 is ''Yes,'' the response to Questions 6(a) and 6(b) must be ''No''
in order to certify that the contractual documents ''comply fully with the Commission's rules and
policies.'' If not, the applicant may not make the appropriate certification.
7.
Do the agreements contain a stock pledge?
(a)
If ''Yes,'' do the agreements expressly state that voting rights will remain with the transferee,
even in the event of default?
Yes
No
(b)
If ''Yes,'' do the agreements indicate that, in the event of default, there will be either a public
(i.e., auction) or private arm's length sale of the pledged interests?
Yes
No
(c)
If ''Yes,'' do the agreements provide that, prior to the exercise of stockholder rights by the
purchaser at such public or private sale, consent of the Commission (pursuant to 47 U.S.C.
Section 310(d)) will be obtained?
Yes
No
Note: If the response to Question 7 is ''Yes,'' the response to Questions 7(a), 7(b), and 7(c) must also
be ''Yes'' in order to certify that the contractual documents ''comply fully with the Commission's
rules and policies.'' If not, the applicant may not make the appropriate certification.
FCC 315 (IBFS) Worksheet 2 (Page 2)
WORKSHEET # 3
This Worksheet may be used in connection with Section IV, Item 8 of FCC Form 315 regarding media ownership. For the convenience of
the applicant, the various ownership restrictions are treated under the following separate headings:
A. Multiple Ownership; B. Familial Relationships; C. Future Ownership Rights; D. Time Brokerage/Local Marketing/Joint Sales
Agreements; and E. Investor Insulation/Non-party Influence.
A. MULTIPLE OWNERSHIP
This section of the worksheet may be used in connection with Section IV, Item 8b of FCC Form 315 to determine the proposed transferee's
compliance with the Commission's multiple ownership rules set forth in 47 C.F.R. Section 73.3555. Radio Applicants: See also 2002
Biennial Regulatory Review - Review of the Commission's Broadcast Ownership Rules and Other Rules Adopted Pursuant to Section 202 of
the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Report and Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 18 FCC Rcd 13620 (2003) (2002 Biennial
Review Order), aff'd in part and remanded in part, Prometheus Radio Project et al. v. FCC, 373 F.3d 372 (3d Cir. 2004), stay modified, No.
03-3388 (Sept. 3, 2004); 2014 Quadrennial Review Order, 31 FCC Rcd at 9897-9912, paras. 82-128.
NOTE: Such a certification of compliance does not exempt radio applicants from submitting an Exhibit that demonstrates such compliance,
including, if applicable, relevant contour maps.
Where the term ''applicant or any party to the application'' is used in this worksheet, it refers to the proposed transferee as applicant or any
party to the transferee portion of the application.
I. LOCAL RADIO STATION OWNERSHIP
The local radio ownership rules place a numerical limit on the number of stations in which an entity in the local market may have a
cognizable interest. See 47 C.F.R. § 73.3555(a); see also 2002 Biennial Review Order, 18 FCC Rcd at 13711-47, paras. 235-326; 2014
Quadrennial Review Order, 31 FCC Rcd at 9897-9912, paras. 82-128.
1. Will grant of this application result in the applicant or any party to this application having a cognizable interest in more than one
commercial or noncommercial educational full-power radio station located in (i.e., having its community of license within) or ''home'' to the
same metropolitan area (Metro), as defined by Nielsen Audio and reported by BIA?1
Yes
No
If ''Yes,'' provide in your Exhibit the name of the Nielsen Audio Metro; proceed to Items 2 and 3, below. Use a separate worksheet for
each applicable Nielsen Audio Metro (see supra note 1) and provide in the Exhibit the relevant information for all applicable Metros. If
''No,'' the transaction does not involve stations in a Nielsen Audio Metro; proceed to Item 4.
The applicant must demonstrate compliance with the local radio ownership rule in each applicable Metro. Use a separate worksheet
for each Metro. Note that BIA may report a particular station as ''home'' to more than one Metro, including embedded or overlapping
Metros. Note also that a station may be reported by BIA as ''home'' to one Metro and have its community of license in a separate Metro.
Each such Metro is ''applicable.''
1.
FCC 315 (IBFS) Worksheet 3
2.
(a) How many commercial and noncommercial educational radio full-power stations are located
within or are reported by BIA as ''home'' to the Metro covered by this worksheet? 2
(b) How many full-power commercial AM stations in the Metro will be attributable to the applicant or
any party to this application if the application is approved?
(c) How many full-power commercial FM stations in the Metro will be attributable to the applicant or
any party to this application if the application is approved?
(d) Total number of commercial stations in the Metro that will be attributable to the applicant or any
party to this application if the application is approved: 3
If the applicant will own both commercial and noncommercial educational radio broadcast stations in the Metro, please also answer
questions 2(e) through 2(g) and include this information in the Exhibit:
(e) How many full-power noncommercial educational AM stations in the Metro will be attributable to
the applicant or any party to this application if the application is approved?
(f) How many full-power noncommercial educational FM stations in the Metro will be attributable to
the applicant or any party to this application if the application is approved?
(g) How many commercial and noncommercial educational full-power AM and FM stations in the
Metro in total will be attributable to the applicant or any party to this application if the application is
approved? 4
The following local radio ownership ''tiers'' have the stated limits on the number of stations in which a party (i.e., a person or single entity
or entities under common control) may have a cognizable interest in a Metro:
* In a Metro reported by BIA as having 45 or more ''home'' commercial and noncommercial educational full-power stations, a party
may have a cognizable interest in up to 8 full-power commercial radio stations, not more than 5 of which are in the same service
(AM or FM);
* In a Metro reported by BIA as having between 30 and 44 (inclusive) ''home'' commercial and noncommercial educational
full-power radio stations, a party may have a cognizable interest in up to 7 commercial full-power radio stations, not more
than 4 of which are in the same service (AM or FM);
* In a Metro reported by BIA as having between 15 and 29 (inclusive) ''home'' commercial and noncommercial educational
full-power radio stations, a party may have a cognizable interest in up to 6 commercial full-power radio stations, not more
than 4 of which are in the same service (AM or FM);
Include all stations whose community of license is inside the boundaries of the counties that make up the Nielsen Audio Metro.
Also include stations outside the counties that make up the Nielsen Audio Metro if they are reported by BIA as ''home'' to that
Metro. The BIA Database generally includes all of the stations in a Metro. See also supra note 1.
2.
3.
2(d) should equal 2(b) plus 2(c).
4.
2(g) should equal 2(d) plus 2(e) plus 2(f).
FCC 315 (IBFS) Worksheet 3 (Page 2)
*
In a Metro reported by BIA as having 14 or fewer ''home'' commercial and noncommercial educational full-power radio stations, a
party may have a cognizable interest in up to 5 commercial full-power radio stations, not more than 3 of which are in the same
service (AM or FM), except that a party may not have a cognizable interest in more than 50 percent of the total number of
full-power commercial and noncommercial stations in such a market; provided, however, that an attributable interest in one
AM/FM combination in the Metro is permissible without regard to this 50 percent limitation.
If the transaction complies with the limits set forth above, it complies with the local radio ownership portion of the multiple ownership rules
set forth in 47 C.F.R. Section 73.3555. As indicated above, all applicants must submit an Exhibit explaining their determination. Be sure to
include a copy of the Exhibit with the copy of the application that is sent to the station's public inspection file.
3. To demonstrate compliance with the numerical limits in the local radio ownership rule, applicants may not rely on a change in a Metro's
geographic boundaries that has occurred since September 3, 2004, unless such change has been in effect for at least two years. In addition,
applicants may not rely on the inclusion of a radio station as ''home'' to a Metro unless (a) such station was listed by BIA as ''home'' to the
Metro as of September 3, 2004, or (b) such ''home'' designation has been in effect for at least two years, or (c) such station's community of
license is located within the Metro. Applicants also may not rely on the removal, after September 3, 2004, of their own stations from BIA's
list of ''home'' stations in a Metro unless (i) such exclusion has been in effect for at least two years or (ii) the exclusion results from an
FCC-approved change in the community of license of a station from within the Metro to outside the Metro. Applicants who wish to rely on
such changes should explain in their Exhibit, taking into account the timing conditions set forth above in this paragraph, (1) any changes
since September 3, 2004, to the geographic boundaries of the relevant Metros, (2) any changes since September 3, 2004, to the "home"
designations of the applicant's stations in the relevant Metros, (3) whether one or more radio stations licensed to communities outside the
Metro have been added to BIA's list of "home" stations for that Metro since September 3, 2004; and (4) whether any of the changes reported
in (1) through (3) of this paragraph is necessary for the proposed transaction to comply with the local radio ownership rule.
4. Interim Contour-overlap Methodology. If any station subject to the application does not have its community of license located within
the geographic boundaries of any Nielsen Audio Metro, then the following guidelines should be used to determine compliance with the local
radio ownership rule for any such station. These guidelines reflect the interim contour-overlap methodology (''Interim Methodology'') that,
for any station whose community of license is in a non-Metro area, is in effect until such time as the rulemaking proceeding in MB Docket
03-130 is completed and new rules are established for such radio stations. See 2002 Biennial Review Order, 18 FCC Rcd at 13729-30,
13870-71, paras. 282-86, 657-62. If a station is listed by BIA as ''home'' to a Metro but the station's community of license is not within the
geographic boundaries of that Metro or any other Metro, the applicant must comply with the local radio ownership rule both under the
Interim Methodology and under the Nielsen Audio Metro methodology.
Under the Interim Methodology, a radio market is defined as the area encompassed by the principal community contours (predicted or
measured 5 mV/m groundwave contour for AM; predicted 3.16 mV/m contour for FM) of the stations that are both mutually overlapping,
and proposed to be ''commonly attributable'' 5 post-transaction. 6 The number of radio stations in this defined radio market (i.e., the
numerator) cannot exceed the limits set forth in Section 73.3555(a) (see below).
A commonly attributable station whose contour overlaps the contour of some but not all of the contours of the stations that define the radio
market does not count toward the local radio ownership limits (i.e., is not counted in the numerator). A graphic example is provided further
below.
Under this same Methodology, the number of stations in the market (i.e., the denominator) is determined by counting the full-power,
operating commercial and noncommercial educational stations whose principal community contours overlap or intersect at least one of the
principal community contours that define the radio market as described above, subject to the following exception: such a station will be not
be counted as being in the market (i.e., in the denominator) if (1) its transmitter site is located more than 92 km from the perimeter of the
area of mutual overlap of the commonly attributable stations that define the radio market, or (ii) the applicant or any party to the application
has a cognizable interest in the station and the station does not define the subject market (i.e., is not in the numerator). Any radio station that
meets this test should be included in the denominator, regardless of whether such station is in a Metro. A graphic example is provided
further below.
For purposes of this worksheet, ''commonly attributable'' means stations in which the applicant (transferee) or any party to the
application (transferee portion) will have a cognizable interest (see 47 C.F.R. Section 73.3555, Notes) if the application is granted.
5.
As long as at least one of the commonly attributable radio stations has a community of license that is located outside a Metro,
applicants should count in the numerator every commonly attributable station that mutually overlaps such station(s), regardless of
whether the other commonly attributable stations are listed as being in Metros.
6.
FCC 315 (IBFS) Worksheet 3 (Page 3)
The following local radio ownership ''tiers'' have the stated limits on the number of stations in which a party (i.e., a person or single entity or
entities under common control) may have a cognizable interest in a non-Metro radio market:
*
In a radio market with 45 or more commercial and noncommercial educational full-power radio stations, a party may have a
cognizable interest in up to 8 commercial radio stations, not more than 5 of which are in the same service (AM or FM);
*
In a radio market with between 30 and 44 (inclusive) commercial and noncommercial educational full-power radio stations, a party
may have a cognizable interest in up to 7 commercial radio stations, not more than 4 of which are in the same service (AM or FM);
*
In a radio market with between 15 and 29 (inclusive) commercial and noncommercial educational full-power radio stations, a party
may have a cognizable interest in up to 6 commercial radio stations, not more than 4 of which are in the same service (AM or FM);
*
In a radio market with 14 or fewer commercial and noncommercial educational full-power radio stations, a party may have a
cognizable interest in up to 5 commercial radio stations, not more than 3 of which are in the same service (AM or FM), except that
a party may not have a cognizable interest in more than 50% of the total number of commercial and noncommercial educational
full-power stations in such market; provided, however, that an attributable interest in one AM/FM combination in the Metro is
permissible without regard to this 50% limitation.
If the transaction complies with the limits set forth above, it complies with the local radio ownership rule set forth in 47 C.F.R. Section
73.3555(a). The transferee should mark ''Yes'' to Section IV, Item 8b of Form 315 and must submit an Exhibit providing information
regarding the market(s), broadcast station(s), and other information demonstrating compliance with 47 C.F.R. Section 73.3555(a).
If the transaction does not comply with 47 C.F.R. Section 73.3555(a), the transferee should mark ''No'' to Section IV, Item 8b to Form 315
and must submit as an Exhibit a detailed explanation in support of a waiver of 47 C.F.R. Section 73.3555(a).
See further below for an illustration of the Interim Methodology.
AM Expanded Band Station. In Review of the Technical Assignment Criteria for the AM Broadcast Service, Report and Order, 6 FCC
Rcd 6273, 6320-21, paras. 145-48 (1991), the Commission modified the radio ownership rules to permit an existing AM licensee to own and
operate another AM Station in the AM ''Expanded Band'' (1605-1705 KHz) during the transition period to full implementation of the
expanded band, even if this were to result in the AM licensee exceeding the Commission's numerical ownership limits. However, during
this period of dual ownership, licensees are not permitted to assign either the existing-band or the expanded-band authorization
independently of the other. Accordingly, in order to evaluate the subject proposal's compliance with these policies, applicants should
address the following questions.
5.
Does the transferee have either an application, a construction permit, or a license for
a station in the expanded AM band (1605-1705 KHz)?
a.
b. If ''Yes,'' do the agreements for the sale of the station(s) to be transferred maintain the
common ownership of the expanded-band and related existing-band authorization as
required by 47 C.F.R. Section 73.1150(c)?
Yes
No
Yes
No
If the answer to Question 5b is ''No,'' the proposed transfer may violate Section 73.1150(c).
The applicant therefore must mark ''No'' to Section IV, Item 8b, and submit an explanatory exhibit detailing how the proposed transaction
complies with the rule or requesting and justifying a waiver.
FCC 315 (IBFS) Worksheet 3 (Page 4)
In the simplified example below, Stations AM1, AM2, FM1 and FM2 are proposed to be commonly attributable. Stations AM1,
AM2, and FM2 have mutually overlapping contours. They constitute a "radio market'' -- in this example, Market #1 -- for purposes
of the local radio ownership rules in a non-Metro area, and are thus counted against the local radio limit (i.e., in the numerator) in
Market # 1.
Because Station FM1's contour does not overlap the mutually overlapping contours of Stations AM1, AM2 and FM2, the proposed
acquisition of Station FM1 would not count as being in Market #1 and therefore would not be counted toward the local ownership
limit (i.e., in the numerator) for purposes of Market #1. Rather, in a non-Metro area, Stations FM1 and FM2 would need to be
analyzed as forming a separate ''radio market'' - in this example, Market #2. (Station FM2 would thus be counted as being in Market
#1 as well as in Market #2).
Station FM3 is not commonly attributable and it would be counted as "in" Market #1 (i.e., in the denominator) because the
transmitter of Station FM3 is not more than 92 km from the perimeter of Market #1's mutual overlap area. Station FM1 would not
be counted as being ''in'' Market #1 (i.e., in the denominator) because it is commonly attributable to the proposed assignee.
Station AM3 in this example is not commonly attributable. It would, nonetheless, not be counted as being ''in'' Market #2 (i.e., in
the denominator) because its transmitter is located more than 92 km from the perimeter of Market #2's mutual overlap area. Stations
AM1 and AM2 also would not be counted as ''in'' Market #2 (i.e., in the denominator) because they are commonly attributable.
AM2
FM2
#1
AM1
#2
FM1
.
.
.
.
.
.
FM3 transmitter
49 km from
perimeter of
mutual overlap
area of Market #1
.
.
.
.
.
.
...
...
AM3 transmitter 95 km
from perimeter of
mutual overlap area of
Market #2
FCC 315 (IBFS) Worksheet 3 (Page
5)
II. TELEVISION OWNERSHIP
This section of the worksheet may be used in connection with Section IV, Item 8b for the proposed acquisition of a full-service television
station. The television ownership rules place a numerical limit on the number of stations that can be owned by one entity in the local market
and restrict the total national audience reach that can be attained by any one television station owner. See 47 C.F.R. § 73.3555(b), (e), Notes.
1. Local Ownership. Will the acquisition of the commercial television station(s) being transferred
result in the transferee or any party to this application having an attributable interest in another
commercial television station which is located within the same Designated Market Area (DMA) as
measured by Nielsen Media Research and whose digital NLSC overlaps the digital NLSC of the
station(s) being transferred?
If ''Yes'' to Question 1, at the time of filing of this application are both of the commercial television
stations ranked among the top four stations in the DMA, based on the most recent all-day (9:00
a.m.-midnight) audience share as determined by Nielsen or a comparable professional survey
organization?
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
If ''Yes,'' the applicant must mark "No" to Section IV, Item 8b, and submit an exhibit with supporting
materials demonstrating why in this case the Commission's top-four prohibition should not apply.
2. National Audience Reach. Will the acquisition of the commercial television station(s) being
transferred result in the transferee or any party to this application having an attributable interest in
commercial television stations which have an aggregate national audience reach exceeding 39
percent?
If ''Yes'' to Question 2, the applicant must mark ''No'' to Section IV, Item 8b and submit an exhibit
stating the reasons in support of an exemption from, or waiver of, the Commission's television
ownership regulations.
FCC 315 (IBFS) Worksheet 3 (Page 6)
B. FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
This section of the worksheet may be used in connection with Section IV, Item 8c.1 of FCC Form 315, which requires the transferee to
certify that the proposed acquisition does not ''present an issue'' under the Commission's policies relating to media interests of immediate
family members (i.e., husband, wife, father, mother, brother, sister, son or daughter).
The Commission does not prohibit, but rather considers relevant, media interests owned by immediate family members. Accordingly, the
transferee should examine the media interests of its principals' immediate family members to determine whether or not those media interests
will be independent and not subject to common influence or control. See Clarification of Commission Policies Regarding Spousal
Attribution, Policy Statement, 7 FCC Rcd 1920 (1992); Applications of Sevier Valley Broadcasting, Inc. (Assignor) and Mid-Utah Radio,
Inc. (Assignee), Memorandum Opinion and Order, 10 FCC Rcd 9795 (1995).
A transferee must review this worksheet if the answer to the following question is ''Yes''. Does any
member of the immediate family (i.e., husband, wife, father, mother, brother, sister, son or daughter) of
any party to the application have any interest in or connection with any other broadcast station or pending
broadcast application in the same market?
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Answer the following questions for each such relationship:
1.
Has the family member who is not included as a party to the application been involved in
negotiations with the licensee/permittee for the acquisition/construction of any of the station(s) to be
transferred?
2.
Has the family member who is not included as a party to the application provided financing or
otherwise been involved in the process of making financial arrangements for the
acquisition/construction of any of the station(s) to be transferred?
3.
Is this the first broadcast ownership interest of the family member who is a party to the application?
4.
Are the family members involved together in the management or operation of any other media
interests located in other markets?
Yes
No
Are there any agreements, arrangements or understandings, either written or oral, between the
family members with same-market media interests for the participation of one family member in the
financial affairs, commercial practices, programming, or employment practices of the other family
member's media entity? Consider, for example, joint sales agreements, local marketing agreements,
and arrangements to share facilities or personnel.
Yes
No
5.
If transferee answers ''No'' to all of the above questions, transferee may conclude that it complies with the Commission's policies relating to
media interests of immediate family members. If transferee answers ''Yes'' to any one of the above questions, the transferee must mark ''No''
to Section IV, Item 8c and should submit an exhibit giving full particulars, including the family relationship involved and a detailed account
of the business or media relationship between family members.
FCC 315 (IBFS) Worksheet 3 (Page 7)
C. FUTURE OWNERSHIP RIGHTS
This section of the worksheet may be used in connection with Section IV, Item 8c.2, which requires the transferee to certify that the
proposed acquisition complies with the Communications Act and the Commission's regulations and policies concerning future ownership
rights in broadcast stations.
Section 310(d) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, prohibits assignment, transfer or any disposition of a broadcast license
without first applying to the Commission and receiving approval. Similarly, Commission precedent currently prohibits (1) pledge of a
broadcast license as collateral for a loan, or (2) grant of a security interest (or any similar encumbrance) in a broadcast license. These
inquiries are directed to current and prospective third-party interests in the transferee.
In order to certify compliance with Item 8c of Section IV of FCC Form 315, the transferee should review the following questions:
1.
Are there any documents, instruments, contracts, or understandings relating to future ownership
rights in the transferee or any party to the application including, but not limited to: (1) stock
pledges; (2) security agreements; (3) non-voting stock interests; (4) beneficial stock ownership
interests; (5) options; (6) warrants; or (7) debentures?
Yes
No
Yes
No
Do the agreements contain a stock pledge?
Yes
No
(a) If ''Yes,'' do the agreements expressly state that voting rights will remain with the transferee,
even in the event of default?
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
If ''No,'' transferee may certify compliance with the future ownership inquiry.
If ''Yes,'' proceed to the questions below.
2.
Is there any provision in the agreements which provides for a security interest in the station
license(s), permits or authorizations?
Note: The response to Question 2 must be ''No'' in order to certify that the contractual documents
''comply fully with the Commission's rules and policies.'' Under existing precedent, it is permissible
to grant a security interest in the proceeds of the sale of a station license, permit, or authorization,
but not in the license, permit, or authorization itself.
3.
(b) If ''Yes,'' do the agreements indicate that, in the event of default, there will be either a public
(i.e., auction) or private arm's-length sale of the pledged interests?
(c) If ''Yes,'' do the agreements provide that, prior to the exercise of stockholder rights by the
purchaser at such public or private sale, prior consent of the Commission (pursuant to 47 U.S.C.
Section 310(d)) will be obtained?
If the answer to (a), (b), or (c) is ''No,'' the transferee must mark ''No'' to Section IV, Item 8c and
submit an exhibit providing all details of the stock pledge agreement and demonstrating how the
agreement is not violative of Section 73.1150 and Commission precedent.
4.
If the agreements contain provisions relating to the acquisition of non-voting stock interests,
beneficial stock interests, warrants, or debentures convertible into voting or non-voting stock, would
the exercise of those interests, individually or in the aggregate, effectuate a positive or negative
transfer of control of the transferee/applicant?
If ''Yes,'' the agreements must clearly indicate that, prior to the acquisition, exercise, or conversion of
any future interest into equity that would effectuate a positive or negative transfer of control, prior
Commission approval will be sought and received. If they do not, the applicant must mark ''No'' to
Section IV, Item 8c, and submit an exhibit providing all details and explaining how the agreements
do not violate Commission policy or precedent.
Yes
No
FCC 315 (IBFS) Worksheet 3 (Page 8)
D. TIME BROKERAGE/LOCAL MARKETING AGREEMENTS /JOINT SALES AGREEMENTS
This worksheet should be reviewed in connection with several different certifications. These include Section III, Item 3 and Section IV,
Item 5 (certifications by licensees/permittees and transferee relating to agreements for sale of station) and Section IV, Items 8a and 8b.
1.
Does or, as a result of this transaction, will the applicant or any party to this application, supply
more than 15 percent of another, same-market station's weekly program hours?
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
If ''Yes,'' that interest is attributable to the transferee and must be considered in certifying
compliance with the Commission's multiple ownership rules.
2.
Does the transferee hold a time brokerage agreement, local marketing agreement, or joint sales
agreement pursuant to which the transferee provides programming or sells commercial advertising
time for the subject station(s) or any other stations in the market?
If ''Yes,'' proceed to Question 3.
3.
Has the licensee retained sufficient rights and obligations over the station's personnel, programming,
and finances such that it retains control of the station under applicable Commission precedent, i.e.,
does the licensee/permittee:
retain the right to reject/substitute programming (including commercial advertising) without
excessive fee or penalty?
(a)
(b)
retain the right to terminate the agreement without excessive fee or penalty?
(c)
retain responsibility for broadcasting programming to meet local needs?
(d)
retain the obligation to prepare and file the quarterly issues/programs list?
(e)
retain the responsibility to comply with the Commission's political programming rules?
Yes
No
(f)
retain the obligation to pay station expenses?
Yes
No
If the response to any of these questions is ''No,'' the agreement may not comport with existing
Commission precedent. The applicant should therefore mark ''No'' in the appropriate certification
and supply an exhibit explaining how the agreement does not amount to a premature assumption of
control by the transferee.
4.
Does the programming agreement or joint sales agreement extend beyond one full license term (i.e.,
eight years)?
If ''Yes,'' the agreement may exceed the length allowable under Commission precedent. The
applicant must therefore mark ''No'' to Section IV, Item 8b, and submit an exhibit containing the
complete agreement (with all attachments) and discussing how its operation complies with
precedent.
NOTE: ALL applicants must submit, with this application, complete copies of all radio time
brokerage/local marketing and radio joint sales agreements for the subject stations or any other
stations in the same market as the subject stations.
Yes
No
FCC 315 (IBFS) Worksheet 3 (Page 9)
E. INVESTOR INSULATION AND NON-PARTY INFLUENCE OVER TRANSFEREE
This section of the worksheet may be used in connection with Section IV, Item 8c.3, which requires the transferee to certify that it
complies with the Commission's restrictions relating to the insulation and non-participation of non-party investors and creditors.
See, e.g., Review of the Commission's Regulations Governing Attribution of Broadcast and Cable/MDS Interests, Report and Order,
14 FCC Rcd 12559 (1999). It indicates the kinds of contractual relationships that may, in the Commission's view, exceed the
authority of a properly insulated investor or demonstrate some indicia of de facto control by a creditor.
I. Investor Insulation
If a transferee is a limited partnership or a limited liability company (''LLC'') that seeks to insulate partners or members in
accordance with the Commission's attribution rules, the transferee shall ensure that each such limited partner or LLC member is not
materially involved, directly or indirectly, in the management or operation of the media-related activities of the partnership or LLC.
To ensure that each such limited partner or LLC member is not materially involved, directly or indirectly, in the management or
operation of the media-related activities of the partnership or LLC, the applicant should answer the following inquiries. Do the
limited partnership or LLC enabling documents:
a.
specify that any exempt limited partner/LLC member (if not a natural person, its directors, officers,
partners, etc.) cannot act as an employee of the limited partnership/LLC member if his or her
functions, directly or indirectly, relate to the media enterprises of such entity?
Yes
No
b.
bar any exempt limited partner/LLC from serving, in any material capacity, as an independent
contractor or agent with respect to the partnership/LLC's media enterprises?
Yes
No
c.
restrict any exempt limited partner/LLC member from communicating with the limited partnership/
LLC, the general partner, or any LLC management committee on matters pertaining to the day-today operations of its business?
Yes
No
d.
empower the general partner/LLC management committee to veto any admissions of additional
general partners/LLC members admitted by vote of the exempt limited partners/LLC members?
Yes
No
e.
prohibit any exempt limited partner/LLC member from voting on the removal of a general
partner/LLC member or limit this right to situations where the general partner/LLC member is (i)
subject to bankruptcy proceedings, as described in Section 402(4)-(5) of the Revised Uniform
Limited Partnership Act, (ii) is adjudicated incompetent by a court of competent jurisdiction, or (iii)
is removed for cause, as determined by an independent party?
Yes
No
f.
bar any exempt limited partner/LLC member from performing any services to the limited
partnership/LLC materially relating to its media activities, with the exception of making loans to, or
acting as a surety for, the business?
Yes
No
g.
state, in express terms, that any exempt limited partner/LLC member is prohibited from becoming
actively involved in the management or operation of the media businesses of the limited
partnership/LLC?
Yes
No
If the answer is ''Yes'' to each of these conditions with regard to every limited partner and LLC member
that the applicant seeks to insulate, and the relevant state statute authorizing the LLC permits a LLC
member to insulate itself in accordance with the Commission's criteria, the applicant may certify that it
complies with the Commission's restrictions regarding insulation of non-party investors. If ''No'' to the
foregoing, the applicant must submit an exhibit detailing the rights of any non-party and setting forth the
applicant's reasons for not treating the investor as a party to the application.
FCC 315(IBFS) Worksheet 3 (Page 10)
II. Non-Party Influence Over Transferee/Applicant
A. Non-party investors, i.e., investors with nonattributable interests, may have very limited powers over the operations of a licensee.
Accordingly, with respect to any agreement, arrangement or understanding involving insulated parties or other investors with
nonattributable interests, including creditors, secured parties, program suppliers, and any other persons not disclosed as parties to
this application, does such agreement:
1.
give any non-party investor the right to vote on any matters decided by the transferee's board of
directors, partnership committee or other management group?
Yes
No
2.
give any non-party investor the right to attend, or appoint an observer to attend, transferee board,
partnership or other management meetings?
Yes
No
3.
place any limitation on transferee programming discretion?
Yes
No
4.
give any non-party investor the right to vote on, approve or restrict transferee's actions on any
matter relating to programming, personnel or finances?
Yes
No
5.
give any non-party creditor or any bond, debenture or warrant holder the right to vote on, approve or
restrict the transferee's actions on any matter relating to programming, personnel or finances?
Yes
No
6.
give any non-party creditor or any bond, debenture or warrant holder the right to share in the profits
of the transferee?
Yes
No
7.
give any non-party investor that holds a non-voting convertible interest the right to convert such an
interest and acquire control of the transferee based on the transferee's actions relating to
programming, personnel and finances?
Yes
No
8.
give any non-party investor, creditor, or bond, debenture or warrant holder the right to vote on,
approve or deny the selection or removal of a general partner of a transferee/applicant partnership or
a member of the transferee's governing body?
Yes
No
9.
give any non-party investor, creditor, or bond, debenture or warrant holder the right to convert,
tender or require the tendering of stock pursuant to a put-or-call agreement based on the actions of
the transferee/applicant relating to programming, personnel or financing?
Yes
No
If the answer to all of these conditions is ''No'' with regard to every non-party investor and creditor, and there are no other
provisions that cede de facto control to a non-party, applicant may certify that it complies with the Commission's restrictions
regarding non-participation of non-party investors and creditors. If the answer to any of these inquiries is ''Yes,'' the applicant must
submit an exhibit detailing the rights of any non-party investor and setting forth fully the applicant's reasons for not treating the
investor as a party to the application.
B. With respect to any loan agreement, has the transferee ensured that such agreement:
1.
includes an unconditional promise by the transferee to pay on demand or on a specific date a sum
certain?
Yes
No
2.
contains a fixed or defined variable rate of interest on the loan?
Yes
No
3.
does not prohibit the redemption of the loan by the transferee, or permit redemption at the option of
the lender only?
Yes
No
If the answer to each of these inquiries is ''Yes,'' and if there are no other provisions that may give non-party investors control, the
applicant may certify that it complies with the Commission's restrictions regarding non-participation of non-party investors and
creditors. If not, the applicant must submit an exhibit detailing the rights of the lender and the obligations of the transferee for each
loan agreement.
FCC 315(IBFS) Worksheet 3 (Page 11)
Federal Communications Commission
Approved by OMB
3060-0031
Washington, D.C. 20554
FCC 315 (IBFS)
FOR
FCC
USE
ONLY
APPLICATION FOR CONSENT TO TRANSFER
CONTROL OF ENTITY HOLDING BROADCAST
STATION CONSTRUCTION PERMIT OR
LICENSE
FOR COMMISSION USE
ONLY FILE NO.
Section I - General Information
1.
Legal Name of the Licensee/Permittee
Mailing Address
City
State or Country (if foreign address)
Telephone Number (include area code)
E-Mail Address (if available)
FCC Registration Number
2.
Contact Representative (if other than licensee/permittee)
Call Sign
ZIP Code
Facility ID Number
Firm or Company Name
Mailing Address
3.
City
State or Country (if foreign address)
Telephone Number (include area code)
E-Mail Address (if available)
ZIP Code
If this application has been submitted without a fee, indicate reason for fee exemption (see 47 C.F.R. Section 1.1114):
Governmental Entity
Noncommercial Educational
Licensee/Permittee
Other
4. Purpose of Application:
Transfer of control of licensee
Transfer of control of permittee
Amendment to pending application
File Number of pending application:
If an amendment, submit as an Exhibit a listing by Section and Question
Number of the portions of the pending application that are being revised.
Exhibit No.
FCC Form 315 (IBFS)
September 2020
5.
Were any of the authorizations that are the subject of this application obtained through the
Commission's competitive bidding procedures (see 47 C.F.R. Sections 1.2111(a) and 73.5000)?
Yes
No
If yes, list pertinent authorizations in an Exhibit.
Exhibit No.
6.
a.
b.
Were any of the authorizations that are the subject of this application obtained through
the Commission's point system for reserved channel noncommercial educational
stations (see 47 C.F.R. Sections 73.7001 and 73.7003)?
Yes
No
If yes to 6(a), have all such stations operated for at least 4 years with a minimum
operating schedule since grant pursuant to the point system?
Yes
No
If no, list pertinent authorizations in an Exhibit and include in the Exhibit a showing
that the transaction is consistent with the maintenance of comparative qualifications
period requirements of 47 C.F.R. Section 73.7005(a).
c.
LPFM Permits and Licenses Only: Has it been at least 18 months since the
initial construction permit for the LPFM station was granted?
d.
Does the transfer of the LPFM authorization satisfy the consideration restrictions of
47 C.F.R. Section 73.865(a)(1)?
e.
f.
7.
Were any of the LPFM authorizations that are subject to this application obtained
through the Commission’s point system for low power FM stations (see 47 C.F.R.
Section 73.872)?
If yes to 6(e), have all such LPFM stations operated for at least four years since
permit grant pursuant to the point system? If no, list pertinent authorizations in an
Exhibit and include in the Exhibit a showing that the transaction is consistent with the
requirements of 47 C.F.R. Section 73.865(a)(3)?
a.
Were any of the authorizations that are the subject of this application obtained after
award of a dispositive Section 307(b) preference using the Tribal Priority, through
Threshold Qualifications procedures, or through the Tribal Priority as applied before
the NCE fair distribution analysis set forth in 47 C.F.R. Section 73.7002(b)?
b.
c.
Exhibit No.
Yes
No
N/A
Yes
No
N/A
Yes
No
N/A
Yes
No
Exhibit No.
Yes
No
If yes to 7(a), have all such stations operated for at least 4 years with a minimum
operating schedule since grant?
Yes
No
If no to 7(b), do both the assignor/transferor and assignee/transferee qualify for the
Tribal Priority in all respects?
Yes
No
If no, list pertinent authorizations in an Exhibit and include in the Exhibit a showing
that the transaction is consistent with the established Tribal Priority holding period
restrictions, or that the policy should be waived.
Exhibit No.
FCC Form 315 (IBFS) (Page 2)
Section II - Transferor(s)
1.
Certification. Transferor(s) certify that it (they) have answered each question in this
application based on its (their) review of the application instructions and worksheets.
Transferor(s) further certify that where it (they) have made an affirmative certification
below, this certification constitutes its (their) representation that the application satisfies
each of the pertinent standards and criteria set forth in the application instructions and
worksheets.
2.
Legal Name of the Transferor
Yes
No
Mailing Address
City
State or Country (if foreign address)
FCC Registration Number
3.
E-Mail Address (if available)
Telephone Number (include area code)
Contact Representative (if other than transferor)
ZIP Code
Firm or Company Name.
Mailing Address
City
State or Country (if foreign address)
Telephone Number (include area code)
E-Mail Address (if available)
If more than one transferor, submit the information requested in questions 2 and 3 for each
transferor.
4.
ZIP Code
Exhibit No.
Changes in interests as a result of transfer.
INTEREST HELD
(A) NAMES AND ADDRESSES
OF ANY PARTY TO
APPLICATION HOLDING AN
ATTRIBUTABLE INTEREST
(B)
CITIZENSHI
P
(C) BEFORE TRANSFER OR ASSIGNMENT
(1) Percentage Votes
(2) Percentage
Total Assets
(Equity plus Debt)
(D) AFTER TRANSFER OR ASSIGNMENT
(1) Percentage Votes
(2) Percentage
Total Assets
(Equity plus Debt)
FCC Form 315 (IBFS) (Page 3)
I certify that the statements in this application are true, complete, and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief, and are made
in good faith. I acknowledge that all certifications and attached Exhibits are considered material representations.
Typed or Printed Name of Person Signing
Typed or Printed Title of Person Signing
Signature
Date
WILLFUL FALSE STATEMENTS ON THIS FORM ARE PUNISHABLE BY FINE AND/OR IMPRISONMENT (U.S.
CODE, TITLE 18, SECTION 1001), AND/OR REVOCATION OF ANY STATION LICENSE OR CONSTRUCTION
PERMIT (U.S. CODE, TITLE 47, SECTION 312(a)(1)), AND/OR FORFEITURE (U.S. CODE, TITLE 47, SECTION 503).
FCC Form 315 (IBFS) (Page 4)
Section III - Licensee/Permittee
1.
Certification. Licensee/permittee certifies that it has answered each question in this
application based on its review of the application instructions and worksheets. Licensee
further certifies that where it has made an affirmative certification below, this certification
constitutes its representation that the application satisfies each of the pertinent standards
and criteria set forth in the application instructions and worksheets.
2.
Authorizations to be Transferred. List the authorized stations and construction permits
to be transferred. Provide the Facility Identification Number and the Call Sign, or the
Facility Identification Number and the File Number of the Construction Permit, and the
location, for each station to be transferred. Include main stations, LPFM stations, FM
and/or TV translator stations, LPTV stations, SCA, FM and/or TV booster stations, and
associated auxiliary service stations.
Facility ID Number
3.
4.
5.
Construction Permit File Number
City
Yes
No
State
No
See Explanation
in Exhibit No.
Exhibit No.
Other Authorizations. List call signs, locations, and facility identifiers of all other
broadcast stations in which licensee/permittee or any party to the application has an
attributable interest.
Exhibit No.
Character Issues. Licensee/permittee certifies that neither licensee/permittee nor any
party to the application has or has had any interest in, or connection with:
Yes
No
See Explanation
in Exhibit No.
Yes
No
See Explanation
b.
7.
or
Agreements to Transfer Control of Station. Licensee/permittee certifies that:
a. it has placed in its public inspection file(s) and submitted to the Commission as an
Exhibit to this application copies of all agreements to transfer control of the
station(s);
b. these documents embody the complete and final understanding between transferor(s)
and transferee(s); and
c. these agreements comply fully with the Commission's rules and policies.
a.
6.
Call Sign
Yes
N/A
any broadcast application in any proceeding where character issues were left
unresolved or were resolved adversely against the applicant or any party to the
application; or
any pending broadcast application in which character issues have been raised.
Adverse Findings. Licensee/permittee certifies that, with respect to the licensee/permittee
and each party to the application, no adverse finding has been made, nor has an adverse
final action been taken by any court or administrative body in a civil or criminal proceeding
brought under the provisions of any law related to any of the following: any felony; mass
media-related antitrust or unfair competition; fraudulent statements to another governmental
unit; or discrimination.
Local Public Notice. Licensee/permittee certifies that it has or will comply with the public
notice requirements of 47 C.F.R. Section 73.3580.
in Exhibit No.
Yes
No
N/A
FCC Form 315 (IBFS) (Page 5)
8.
9.
10.
Auction Authorization. Licensee/permittee certifies that more than five years have passed
since the issuance of the construction permit for the station being transferred, where that
permit was acquired in an auction through the use of a bidding credit or other special
measure.
Yes
Anti-Drug Abuse Act Certification. Licensee/permittee certifies that neither licensee/
permittee nor any party to the application is subject to denial of federal benefits pursuant to
Section 5301 of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, 21 U.S.C. Section 862.
Yes
No
Yes
No
Anti-Discrimination Certification. Licensee/permittee certifies
tha t neither
licensee/permittee nor any party to the application have violated the Commission's
prohibition against discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin or
sex in the sale of commercially operated AM, FM, TV, Class A TV or international
broadcast stations.
No
See Explanation
in Exhibit No.
N/A
See Explanation
in Exhibit No.
N/A
I certify that the statements in this application are true, complete, and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief, and are made
in good faith. I acknowledge that all certifications and attached Exhibits are considered material representations.
Typed or Printed Name of Person Signing
Typed or Printed Title of Person Signing
Signature
Date
WILLFUL FALSE STATEMENTS ON THIS FORM ARE PUNISHABLE BY FINE AND/OR IMPRISONMENT (U.S.
CODE, TITLE 18, SECTION 1001), AND/OR REVOCATION OF ANY STATION LICENSE OR CONSTRUCTION
PERMIT (U.S. CODE, TITLE 47, SECTION 312(a)(1)), AND/OR FORFEITURE (U.S. CODE, TITLE 47, SECTION 503).
FCC Form 315 (IBFS) (Page 6)
Section IV - Transferee (s)
1.
Certification. Transferee(s) certify that it (they) have answered each question in this
application based on its (their) review of the application instructions and worksheets.
Transferee(s) further certify that where it (they) have made an affirmative certification
below, this certification constitutes its (their) representation that the application satisfies
each of the pertinent standards and criteria set forth in the application instructions and
worksheets.
2.
Legal Name of the Transferee(s)
Yes
No
Mailing Address
State or Country (if foreign address)
City
FCC Registration Number
3.
E-Mail Address (if available)
Telephone Number (include area code)
Contact Representative (if other than transferee)
ZIP Code
Firm or Company Name
Mailing Address
City
State or Country (if foreign address)
Telephone Number (include area code)
E-Mail Address (if available)
If more than one transferee, submit the information requested in questions 2 and 3 for each
transferee.
4.
ZIP Code
Exhibit No.
Nature of Applicant. Each transferee is:
an individual
a general partnership
a for-profit corporation
a limited partnership
a not-for-profit corporation
a limited liability company (LLC/LC)
other
a.
If ''other,'' describe nature of transferee in an Exhibit.
Exhibit No.
5.
Agreements to Transfer Control of Station. Transferee certifies that:
a.
b.
the written agreements in the licensee/permittee's public inspection file and submitted
to the Commission embody the complete and final agreement to transfer control of the
station(s) specified in Section III, question 2; and
these agreements comply fully with the Commission's rules and policies.
Yes
No
See Explanation
in Exhibit No.
FCC Form 315 (IBFS)(Page 7)
6.
Parties to the Application.
a.
List each transferee, and, if other than a natural person, its officers, directors, stockholders and other entities with attributable
interests, non-insulated partners and/or members. If a corporation or partnership holds an attributable interest in any
transferee, list separately its officers, directors, stockholders and other entities with attributable interests, non-insulated
partners and/or members. Create a separate row for each individual or entity. Attach additional pages if
(1) Name and address of the transferee and each party to
(2)
Citizenship.
the application holding an attributable interest (if other
than individual also show name, address and
citizenship of natural person authorized to vote the
stock or holding the attributable interest). List the
transferee first, officers next, then directors and,
(3)
Positional interest: Officer, director, general
partner, limited partner, LLC member,
investor/creditor attributable under the
Commission's equity/debt plus standard, etc.
thereafter, remaining stockholders and other entities
with attributable interests, and partners.
(4)
(5)
Percentage of votes.
Percentage of total assets (equity plus debt).
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
FCC Form 315 (IBFS) (Page 8)
Applicant certifies that equity and financial interests not set forth above are nonattributable.
b.
Yes
No
See Explanation
in Exhibit No.
N/A
7.
8.
Other Authorizations. List call signs, locations, and facility identifiers of all other
broadcast stations in which transferee or any party to the application has an attributable
interest.
Exhibit No.
N/A
Multiple Ownership.
Is the transferee or any party to the application the holder of an attributable radio
joint sales agreement or an attributable radio or television time brokerage agreement
for the subject station(s) or any other stations in the same market as the station(s)
subject to this application?
a.
If ''Yes,'' radio applicants must submit as an Exhibit a copy of each such agreement
for radio stations.
Yes
Exhibit No.
Transferee certifies that the proposed transfer complies with the Commission's
multiple ownership rules.
Yes
AM and/or FM Radio Applicants only: If ''Yes," submit an Exhibit providing
information regarding the market, broadcast station(s), and other information
necessary to demonstrate compliance with 47 C.F.R. Section 73.3555(a).
Exhibit No.
b.
No
No
All applicants: If ''No,'' submit as an Exhibit a detailed explanation in support of an
exemption from, or waiver of, 47 C.F.R. Section 73.3555.
c.
Transferee certifies that the proposed transfer:
1. does not present an issue under the Commission's policies relating to media
interests of immediate family members;
2. complies with the Commission's policies relating to future ownership interests;
and
3. complies with the Commission's restrictions relating to the insulation and
nonparticipation of non-party investors and creditors.
d.
Does the Transferee claim status as an "eligible entity," that is, an entity that
qualifies as a small business under the Small Business Administration's size
standards for its industry grouping (as set forth in 13 C.F.R. § 121.201), and holds
(1) 30 percent or more of the stock or partnership interests and more than 50
percent of the voting power of the corporation or partnership that will own the
media outlet; or (2) 15 percent or more of the stock or partnership interests and
more than 50 percent of the voting power of the corporation or partnership that
will own the media outlet, provided that no other person or entity owns or controls
more than 25 percent of the outstanding stock or partnership interests; or (3) more
than 50 percent of the voting power of the corporation that will own the media
outlet (if such corporation is a publicly traded company)?
Yes
No
See Explanation
in Exhibit No.
Yes
No
See Explanation
in Exhibit No.
All applicants: If "Yes," submit as an Exhibit a detailed showing demonstrating
proof of status as an eligible entity.
e.
Does the transferee or any party to the application have an attributable interest in an
NCE FM or NCE TV station received through the award of “diversity of ownership”
points in the point system analysis?
If “Yes,” the transferee certifies that (1) its attributable NCE FM or NCE TV station
has been on the air for at least four years; and/or (2) none of the proposed transferred
stations overlap the principal community contour of the NCE FM or NCE TV station
received through the award of diversity points in the point system analysis (see 47
C.F.R. Section 73.7005(c)).
Yes
No
Yes
No
See Explanation
in Exhibit No.
f.
Does this transfer include a grandfathered cluster of stations?
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
All applicants: If "Yes," applicant certifies that it will come in compliance by
divesting the necessary station(s) within 12 months of the consummation of this
transaction to:
A.
An Eligible Entity (as defined in Item 8d, above).
B.
An Irrevocable Trust that will transfer the station(s) to an Eligible Entity
All applicants: If "Yes" to Item 8e A or B: Submit as an Exhibit a copy of the form
of irrevocable trust agreement providing for the transfer of the station(s) to an
Eligible Entity.
See Explanation
in Exhibit No.
FCC Form 315 (IBFS)(Page 9)
9.
Character Issues. Transferee certifies that neither transferee nor any party to the application has or has
had any interest in, or connection with:
a.
any broadcast application in any proceeding where character issues were left
Yes
unresolved or were resolved adversely against the applicant or any party to the
application; or
b.
any pending broadcast application in which character issues have been raised.
No
See Explanation
in Exhibit No.
10.
Adverse Findings. Transferee certifies that, with respect to the transferee and each party
to the application, no adverse finding has been made, nor has an adverse final action been
taken by any court or administrative body in a civil or criminal proceeding brought under
the provisions of any law related to any of the following: any felony; mass media-related
antitrust or unfair competition; fraudulent statements to another governmental unit; or
discrimination.
Yes
No
See Explanation
in Exhibit No.
11.
Alien Ownership and Control. Transferee certifies that it complies with the provisions
of Section 310 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, relating to interests of
aliens and foreign governments.
Yes
No
See Explanation
12.
Financial Qualifications. Transferee certifies that sufficient net liquid assets are on hand
or are available from committed sources to consummate the transaction and operate the
station(s) for three months.
13.
Program Service Certification. Transferee certifies that it is cognizant of and will comply
with its obligations as a Commission licensee to present a program service responsive to
the issues of public concern facing the station's community of license and service area.
14.
15.
16.
Auction Authorization. Transferee certifies that where less than five years have passed
since the issuance of the construction permit and the permit had been acquired in an
auction through the use of a bidding credit or other special measure, it would qualify for
such credit or other special measure.
in Exhibit No.
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
See Explanation
in Exhibit No.
See Explanation
in Exhibit No.
N/A
Anti-Drug Abuse Act Certification. Transferee certifies that neither transferee nor any
party to the application is subject to denial of federal benefits pursuant to Section 5301 of
the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, 21 U.S.C. Section 862.
Yes
No
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO). If the applicant proposes to employ five or
more full-time employees, applicant certifies that it is filing simultaneously with this
application a Model EEO Program Report on FCC Form 396-A.
Yes
No
N/A
I certify that the statements in this application are true, complete, and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief, and are made
in good faith. I acknowledge that all certifications and attached Exhibits are considered material representations. I hereby waive any
claim to the use of any particular frequency as against the regulatory power of the United States because of the previous use of the
same, whether by license or otherwise, and request an authorization in accordance with this application. (See Section 304 of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended.)
Typed or Printed Name of Person Signing
Typed or Printed Title of Person Signing
Signature
Date
WILLFUL FALSE STATEMENTS ON THIS FORM ARE PUNISHABLE BY FINE AND/OR IMPRISONMENT (U.S.
CODE, TITLE 18, SECTION 1001), AND/OR REVOCATION OF ANY STATION LICENSE OR CONSTRUCTION
PERMIT (U.S. CODE, TITLE 47, SECTION 312(a)(1)), AND/OR FORFEITURE (U.S. CODE, TITLE 47, SECTION 503).
FCC Form 315 (IBFS) (Page 10)
File Type | application/pdf |
Author | JSWANK |
File Modified | 2021-07-14 |
File Created | 2020-11-02 |