Two Northern Wis. FM Construction Permits Lost over Late Payment

The FCC has denied a waiver request from a company that won construction permits for two northern Wisconsin FM stations at auction but was late in paying for the winning bids.

In a 2013 auction, Results Broadcasting Rhinelander won the CP’s for 103.1 Crandon (class A, 6kW/100m) with a $25,000 bid and 100.9 Tomahawk (class C3, 25kW/100m) with a $10,000 bid.

According to an FCC order, Results submitted an upfront payment of $11,500 and had a June 26, 2013 deadline to pay the balance. Results’ vice president said he mistakenly thought the payments had to be submitted by a July 24 deadline for long-form applications.

Results paid the balance on July 24, 2013 and requested a waiver, but six years later, the FCC has denied the waiver request. The FCC writes:

“Results must show that the application of the final payment rule would be inequitable, unduly burdensome or contrary to the public interest or that no reasonable alternative existed which would have allowed it to comply with the rule. Alternatively, Results bears the burden of convincing us that a waiver would not conflict with the policy underlying this rule. Based on the facts before us, we find that Results has not met either standard.”

The action means that the Crandon and Tomahawk allotments will again go up for auction at a future, unknown date.

At the time of the 2013 auction, Results owned WCYE/93.7 (Three Lakes-Rhinelander) and was in the process of buying WHOH/96.5 (Rhinelander). The stations were sold to Heartland Communications last year.