Text has been updated to correct the deadline date to Sept. 24.
U.S. commercial radio stations must pay their annual FCC fees by Sept. 24. After three years of reductions, radio is seeing an increase.
We knew these would go up, as we reported earlier this year, but now the amounts have been finalized, though at less of a hike than the 5% or so originally proposed.
By our calculation using the totals in the FCC order, the commercial radio industry will pay about $28.7 million in annual fees this year.
Here are the new rates, with the percentage increase as calculated by Radio World. The story continues below the chart.
| Population Served | AM Class A | AM Class B | AM Class C | AM Class D | FM Classes A, B1 & C3 | FM Classes B, C, C0, C1 & C2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ≤10,000 | $560 (+2.8%) | $405 (+2.5%) | $350 (+2.9%) | $385 (+2.7%) | $615 (+2.5%) | $700 (+2.2%) |
| 10,001 – 25,000 | $935 (+2.7%) | $675 (+3.1%) | $585 (+2.6%) | $645 (+3.2%) | $1,025 (+2.5%) | $1,170 (+2.6%) |
| 25,001 – 75,000 | $1,405 (+2.9%) | $1,015 (+3.0%) | $880 (+2.9%) | $970 (+3.2%) | $1,540 (+2.7%) | $1,755 (+2.6%) |
| 75,001 – 150,000 | $2,105 (+2.7%) | $1,520 (+3.1%) | $1,315 (+2.3%) | $1,450 (+3.2%) | $2,305 (+2.4%) | $2,635 (+2.7%) |
| 150,001 – 500,000 | $3,160 (+2.8%) | $2,280 (+2.9%) | $1,975 (+2.6%) | $2,180 (+3.1%) | $3,465 (+2.5%) | $3,955 (+2.6%) |
| 500,001 – 1,200,000 | $4,730 (+2.7%) | $3,415 (+3.0%) | $2,960 (+2.6%) | $3,265 (+3.3%) | $5,185 (+2.5%) | $5,920 (+2.6%) |
| 1,200,001 – 3,000,000 | $7,105 (+2.7%) | $5,130 (+3.0%) | $4,445 (+2.7%) | $4,900 (+3.2%) | $7,790 (+2.5%) | $8,890 (+2.6%) |
| 3,000,001 – 6,000,000 | $10,650 (+2.8%) | $7,690 (+3.1%) | $6,665 (+2.7%) | $7,345 (+3.2%) | $11,675 (+2.5%) | $13,325 (+2.6%) |
| >6,000,000 | $15,980 (+2.8%) | $11,535 (+3.0%) | $10,000 (+2.7%) | $11,025 (+3.2%) | $17,515 (+2.5%) | $19,995 (+2.6%) |
An FM radio construction permit fee will be $1,025. An AM CP will be $585. An FM translator or booster is $255.
Fees will be due Sept. 24. Exempt are governmental and nonprofit entities, amateur radio operators, and noncommercial radio and TV stations.
The FCC will assess and collect about $416.1 million for fiscal 2026 across all of the industries it regulates.
Here’s a link to an FCC Fact Sheet for media.
Details
For those interested in the mechanics and the lobbying that takes place each year around this issue:
The FCC increased the number of full-time equivalents, or FTEs, allocated directly to its core licensing bureaus. It did not subtract two FTEs from the Media Bureau’s direct allocation but it reallocated one additional FTE from the Office of General Counsel as direct to the Media Bureau.
It again said no to various proposals to “depart from our well-established assessment methodology to lessen fees for regulatees in certain industry sectors” or to implement new fee categories.
For instance, the commission again rejected arguments from the National Association of Broadcasters that it should expand its methodology to include positions that work primarily on matters that pertain to non-fee payors.
The NAB has long argued that non-regulated media benefit from certain work done by the FCC, the cost of which is borne by regulated media including broadcasters.
The commission rejected appeals from the NAB and state broadcast associations for more “granularity” in the FTE methodology, as well as a request from the state associations to adopt a fee category for equipment certification labs.
The commission sounded annoyed in fending off these and other proposals, writing: “Although we recognize the incentives for some commenters to continue to seek to expand the pool of entities subject to the commission’s regulatory fee process, repeatedly offering the same suggestions, without more factual or legal support for doing so, does not improve the commission’s regulatory fee process or satisfy the commission’s obligation to collect its full appropriation as dictated by section 9 of the Act.”
As far as the so-called indirect FTEs go, it wrote: “The work of FTEs in the Office of Engineering and Technology, the Enforcement Bureau and the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau benefits the agency as a whole and the American public, and not one particular group of regulatory fee payors.”
And the FCC declined to change its “de minimis” threshold. The law allows it to exempt a party from paying regulatory fees where it thinks the cost of collecting a fee would exceed the amount collected, and NAB had asked the FCC to increase the threshold from $1,000 to $1,200, without success.
The fee order goes into considerable detail about the reasoning for the above actions. You can read the order here.
