FCC License Fees Provide Some Relief To Stations

 The regulatory fees that U.S. broadcasters will pay this year will indeed go down.

The National Association of Broadcasters expressed appreciation that the Federal Communications Commission has adjusted its formulas.

TV Technology reports the commission lasr week formalized the 2023 fee schedule after conducting “a high-level, yet comprehensive, staff analysis of the work being performed by commission employees.”

The NAB has done a lot of lobbying on this issue, arguing that the way the FCC has been calculating fees obliges broadcasters to subsidize commission work done on behalf of other industries.

The changes reallocate some costs to industries that benefit from the work performed. NAB said this translates to a “significantly lower cost burden’ for broadcasters.” The FCC also made bigger reductions in regulatory fees for small radio broadcasters serving populations of less than 10,000.

As a result of the changes, the NAB said, broadcast’s share of regulatory fees was reduced by 12% compared to fiscal 2022 and individual broadcasters will see a 5 to 7% decrease in regulatory fees compared to 2022. (Fees had gone up last year by 7 to 8%, though less than had been proposed.)

The NAB called the order “a significant step toward ensuring all parties that benefit from the FCC’s work pay their fair share.” President/CEO Curtis LeGeyt said in a statement, “NAB applauds the FCC for its hard work to ensure that its regulatory fee process allocates fees in a more fair and equitable way.”