FCC to TV Licensees: Where Are You?

In a somewhat unusual move, the FCC's Media Bureau and Incentive Auction Task Force have issued a joint public notice encouraging "all television licensees" to "ensure that their contact information on file with the Commission is accurate and current". As the notice reminds everybody, licensees are generally required to do so anyway, but it's especially important now in light of the impending spectrum repack process. The Commission will be reaching out directly to stations concerning channel reassignments, and it wants to be sure that it will be able to reach each affected station. Note that this includes not only stations whose reassignment is made as a result of participation in the reverse auction but also non-participating stations subject to repack.

For stations participating in the reverse auction, the Commission will be using the contact information set out in the Form 177 filed last January in the run-up to the auction. For other stations, it will be using contact information currently showing up in the FCC's Licensing and Management System (LMS). The public notice provides detailed step-by-step instructions for checking (and, if necessary changing) contact info in both places.

In view of the importance of repack-related notifications, it would be a good idea for all TV licensees to take a couple of minutes to double- and triple-check the contact information currently on file, just to be sure.