The July 27 FCC Auction 109 of what was supposed to be 136 FM signals and 4 AM signals is down one signal as the Class A allocation on 107.1 in Livingston Manor NY has been removed as the FCC’s media bureau determined it was not properly added to the FM Table of Allotments and erroneously included in the Auction 109 inventory.
The FCC also listed the 114 qualified bidders that have submitted their upfront payments and may participate in the auction. Among the groups making larger upfront payments to participate are Educational Media Foundation ($210,000), VCY America ($185,000), Glory Communications ($150,000), Smile FM ($125,000), Juan Matos Baretto ($109.000), Thumb Broadcasting ($100,000) and Bark Out Loud Dogs Media ($95,000). Applicants were required to submit enough money to pay the minimum bid for the allocations they are seeking. For example Entravision and iHeartMedia submitted $45,000 upfront, the starting price for the 107.9 Sacramento allocation. The full lists of available allocations and which facilities they previously selected to pursue are available.
55 groups that previously filed to participate in the auction were disqualified for failing to submit the upfront payment by the June 16 deadline or other reasons. These include groups such as Bonneville, JVC Media, Red Wolf Broadcasting and Saga Communications. Two applicants received FCC letters stating their removal from the auction for failing to disclose stakes in other bidders. Paul Scott Alexander and his father’s Scott Communications Inc. both sought to participate in the auction, but failed to disclose that the younger Alexander has attributable interest in the latter as an officer in the company disqualifying him from bidding. Christopher Maynard’s Sonic Staffing Inc. was disqualified as Maynard was also listed as Vice President of Ekklesia of Texas and failed to amend the application prior to the June 16 deadline.