Small Radio Stations Complain of Big Regulatory Fee Pains

Small and regional broadcasters urged the FCC rethink its proposed radio regulatory fee hike, in docket 22-223 filings Friday. David Hoxeng, owner of WNRP-AM Gulf Breeze, Florida, said the proposed fee of $2,685, a 13.5% increase, would be close to 10% of the station's net income before any general and administrative expenses. That "makes it very difficult for my station to continue to afford to provide the same level of quality live and local programming to our community," Hoxeng said, urging that other industries "pay their fair share." "There has never been a tougher time to be in the radio business, and the FCC’s regulatory fees, and proposed increase for 2022, will make the job even tougher," East Arkansas Broadcasters CEO Bobby Caldwell said. Citing an upgrade of its remote audio codec equipment, he said money spent on regulatory fees "is a dollar less that we can devote to improving our service to listeners."