General information and associated licensing parameters are provided below. Public notices provide specific information regarding this auction. This fact sheet includes:

Auction 84 will offer 22 construction permits for new AM broadcast stations. These construction permits are the subject of pending, mutually exclusive short-form applications (FCC Form 175) and participation in this auction is limited to those applicants listed in Attachment A of the Auction 84 Procedures Public Notice.

A complete listing of the construction permits for Auction 84 is provided in Attachment A of the Auction 84 Procedures Public Notice, DA 14-63, released January 27, 2014.

AM Broadcast (AM) – A broadcast station licensed for the dissemination of radio communications intended to be received by the public and operated on a channel in the AM broadcast band.

If a winning bidder demonstrates its qualifications for the authorization in its post-auction long-form application, it will be awarded a construction permit, rather than a “license.” Each original construction permit for the construction of a new AM station shall specify a period of three years from the date of issuance within which construction shall be completed and an application for license filed. (See 47 C.F.R. § 73.3598). The initial license period depends upon the date of initial grant, and will be based on the radio station location in accordance with the terms of 47 C.F.R. § 73.1020(a). Any subsequent license renewal typically is issued for an eight year term.

A New Entrant Bidding Credit will be available for this auction. Eligibility and application requirements for the New Entrant Bidding Credit are specified in Public Notice DA 14-63. Applicants that qualify for the New Entrant Bidding Credit are eligible for a bidding credit that represents the amount by which a bidder’s winning bid is discounted. The size of a New Entrant Bidding Credit depends on the number of ownership interests in other media of mass communications that are attributable to the applicant and its attributable interest holders:

• A 35 percent bidding credit will be given to a winning bidder if it, and/or any individual or entity with an attributable interest in the winning bidder, has no attributable interest in any other media of mass communications, as defined in 47 C.F.R. § 73.5008;
• A 25 percent bidding credit will be given to a winning bidder if it, and/or any individual or entity with an attributable interest in the winning bidder, has an attributable interest in no more than three mass media facilities, as defined in 47 C.F.R. § 73.5008;
• No bidding credit will be given if any of the commonly owned mass media facilities serve the same area as the broadcast station proposed in the auction, as defined in 47 C.F.R. § 73.5007(b), or if the winning bidder, and/or any individual or entity with an attributable interest in the winning bidder, has attributable interests in more than three mass media facilities.

Bidders intending to divest a media interest or make any other ownership changes, such as resignation of positional interests, in order to avoid attribution for purposes of qualifying for the New Entrant Bidding Credit must have consummated such divestment transactions or have completed such ownership changes by no later than the short-form application filing deadline (see “Key Dates”). Events occurring after the short-form application filing deadline, such as the acquisition of attributable interests in media of mass communications, may cause diminishment or loss of the bidding credit.

Potential bidders are reminded that they are solely responsible for investigating and evaluating all technical and market place factors, including any pending proceedings, that may have a bearing on the value of the AM broadcast facilities in this auction.

For more information, refer to the due diligence section (Section I.B.3) in the Auction 84 Procedures Public Notice, DA 14-63, released January 27, 2014.

47 C.F.R. Part 73.