IATF Issues Guidance for Pending Transactions Involving Incentive Auction Participation

Stations participating in the incentive auction and involved in pending transactions will need to take special steps since FCC registration numbers were frozen as of Dec. 8, the Incentive Auction Task Force announced in a public notice Thursday. Since FRNs are used to access the auction system, broadcasters involved in transactions that want to offer up the spectrum of their newly acquired stations have two options, the PN said. First, the purchaser could “contractually designate” the seller -- under whose FRN the sold stations would still be licensed -- as the purchaser’s bidding agent for the stations affected. Or, the parties could agree that the buyer will use the seller’s FRN in the auction, though this could give both parties access to the bidding data associated with that FRN, the PN said. A new FRN can be generated and assigned to the seller’s remaining stations, the PN said. FCC approval of any pending transactions will be conditioned on the parties’ express agreement to one of these options, the PN said. The agency isn’t liable for any information gained through the use of a shared FRN, and the parties are still subject to the quiet period communications prohibitions, the PN said.