Auction 91 has wound down with gross bids totaling about $10.5 million.
The FCC said net bids amounted to $8.5 million after factoring in auction bidding credits for new entrants.
That compares to $21 million in net auction proceeds for 111 FM CPs four years ago and $148 million for 258 CPs in 2004, according to Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth. The law firm speculates that a poor economy may account for the skimpy monetary results for the U.S. Treasury.
According to the FCC’s results summary, the top bid was a $2 million offer for a CP in Lawrence Park, Pa., outside Erie, from First Channel Communications. Liberty Acquisitions made the next-highest bid, at $987,000, for a CP in Coosada, Ala. in the Montgomery, Ala. market.
Future Modulation Broadcasting entered the lowest successful bid — $1,100 — for a CP in Cedarville, Calif.
The auction of 144 FM CPs lasted 11 days over 62 rounds. A total of 108 permits were divided among 66 bidders. Three dozen CPs were not sold.
Next, the FCC will establish deadlines by which the winning bidders must send their money to the U.S. Treasury.
— Leslie Stimson
