Initial Reimbursement Allocations Announced for Repack Expenses
On Oct. 16, 2017, the Incentive Auction Task Force and the FCC's Media Bureau jointly announced the initial allocation from the TV Broadcaster Relocation Fund (Relocation Fund) for the reimbursement of eligible full power and Class A television stations as well as multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) (Eligible Entities) impacted by the Incentive Auction. The initial allocation of the Relocation Fund makes available $1 billion for reimbursement of Eligible Entities' expenses related to the construction of their post-auction facilities.
As a result of the initial allocation, commercial stations and MVPDs may now access approximately 52 percent (62 percent for non-commercial stations) of their estimated and verified costs of construction of their post-auction facilities. Eligible Entities may view their individual allocations through the CORES Incentive Auction Financial Module. Eligible Entities will also receive an email from the Media Bureau detailing the results of the review of their initial reimbursement estimates made via submission of the Form 2100, Schedule 399 (Reimbursement Form) - including a description and explanation of any adjustments made. Eligible Entities should check their spam folders for this email which will be sent from email address FCCFundRepackAdministrator@fcc.gov, will have a PDF attached, and include the subject line "Cost Estimate Verification."
Eligible Entities may obtain their initial reimbursement payment by submitting a revised Reimbursement Form through the FCC's Licensing and Management System (LMS) including documentation and invoices of actual expenses. Submitted invoices do not have to be paid invoices. Reimbursement payments will be made to Eligible Entities by drawing down actual expenses incurred to date against their total individual allocations. Accordingly, the initial $1 billion allocation does not reflect the total estimated reimbursement for Eligible Entities' actual costs - which is estimated to be approximately $2.139 billion. Rather, the initial allocation enables Eligible Entities to meet near-term expenditures necessary for stations and MVPDs to begin the post-auction transition process.
Subsequent reimbursement allocations will be announced when Eligible Entities collectively appear to have exhausted their initial reimbursement allocations. Accordingly, Eligible Entities seeking full reimbursement of their post-auction construction costs should timely submit invoices for reimbursement, and promptly file revisions to costs estimates, to ensure that the subsequent allocations are made on a timely basis.
Clients with questions regarding or seeking assistance with obtaining their initial reimbursement payments should contact Dan Kirkpatrick (kirkpatrick@fhhlaw.com) or Davina Sashkin (sashkin@fhhlaw.com).