FCC Lowers Opening Bids for Full-Power TV Licenses, Sets June Auction

The FCC has set June 7 as the start date for an auction of 27 full-power TV licenses, including a half-dozen in and near the Upper Midwest.

A public notice for Auction 112 lists lower opening bids for all of the regional allotments than when the auction plans were first proposed last year. Here is a recap of the allotments that will be auctioned with the updated opening bids:

Freeport, IL (Rockford market): $375,000 opening bid for VHF channel 9. Gray TV, owner of low-power CBS affiliate WIFR-LD/23.1 (Rockford) and former owner of the now-deleted WIFR/23 (Freeport), petitioned the FCC to add this allotment. The RF frequency was formerly used by WGN-TV’s analog signal in the adjacent Chicago market.

Alexandria, MN (Minneapolis market): $375,000 opening bid for VHF channel 7. The FCC paid CBS $9,987,598 to take KCCO/7 off the air as a result of the spectrum auction but the channel was not reassigned during the spectrum repack. (See separate article)

Grand Forks, ND (Fargo market): $375,000 opening bid for UHF channel 27. This channel was formerly occupied by KCPM/27, which had its license cancelled after the FCC determined that it had been off the air, or using unauthorized facilities, for longer than the statutory one-year limit.

Aberdeen, SD (Sioux Falls market): $150,000 opening bid for VHF channel 9. This channel was formerly occupied by Gray TV’s KABY/9, which was a satellite of KSFY (Sioux Falls). KABY went silent in 2015 due to tower problems and returned its license in 2018.

Eagle River, WI (Wausau market): $150,000 opening bid for UHF channel 26. Gray TV, owner of Wausau CBS affiliate WSAW/7, petitioned the FCC to add this allotment. After the petition was filed, Gray bought WYOW/34 (Eagle River) and converted it to a satellite of WSAW.

Wittenberg, WI (Green Bay market): $375,000 opening bid for UHF channel 31. This channel was formerly used by Wausau FOX affiliate WFXS, which returned its license after Gray TV moved the affiliation to another station. Wittenberg is within the Green Bay market but the previous owner operated WFXS as a Wausau-market station.

Sheridan, WY (Rapid City market): $150,000 opening bid for VHF channel 7. A station previously operated on this channel from 2002 to 2008 as an NBC affiliate serving audiences along the Wyoming-Montana border. It went off the air after an ownership change and the license was cancelled in 2010.

As full-power licenses, the stations will be eligible for must-carry rights on cable and satellite systems throughout their markets.

Those who wish to participate in the auction must file short-form applications between March 17 and 30, followed by an upfront payment by May 6.