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

Auction 90 will include two digital very high frequency (“VHF”) commercial digital television station construction permits. A list of the construction permits and their descriptions is provided in Attachment A to the Procedures Public Notice, DA 10-2008 (pdf).

A station in the television broadcast band transmitting simultaneous visual and aural digital signals intended to be received by the general public.

A winning bidder will be awarded a construction permit, rather than a “license.” Each construction permit for the construction of a new VHF commercial digital television station specifies a period of three years within which construction must be completed and a license application filed. See 47 C.F.R. § 73.3598. Broadcast station licenses are issued for eight year terms. See 47 C.F.R. § 73.1020(a).

A New Entrant Bidding Credit will be available for this auction. See 47 C.F.R. § 73.5007(a). Eligibility and application requirements for the New Entrant Bidding Credit are specified in Public Notice DA 10-2008 (pdf) and Section 73.5007 of the Commission’s Rules. 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.

Applicants 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 - December 15, 2010; 6:00 p.m. ET. 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 applicants are reminded that they are solely responsible for investigating and evaluating all technical and marketplace factors that may have a bearing on the value of the construction permits for broadcast facilities they are seeking in this auction. Bidders are responsible for assuring themselves that, if they win a construction permit, they will be able to build and operate facilities in accordance with the Commission’s rules. The FCC makes no representations or warranties about the use of this spectrum for particular services. Applicants should be aware that an FCC auction represents an opportunity to become an FCC construction permittee in a broadcast service, subject to certain conditions and regulations. An FCC auction does not constitute an endorsement by the FCC of any particular service, technology, or product, nor does an FCC construction permit or license constitute a guarantee of business success.

For more information, refer to Due Diligence in the Auction 90 Procedures Public Notice (DA 10-2008 (pdf)), released November 1, 2010.

47 C.F.R. Part 73.