NAB CALLS THE PLANNED INCREASE “STAGGERING” FOR THE RADIO INDUSTRY
Radio station fees would increase around 13% across the board in fiscal 2022, according to the proposed fee schedule just released by the Federal Communications Commission.
The National Association of Broadcasters called the planned hike “staggering.”
Fees have been a bone of contention for broadcasters, who have been arguing for years that tech companies affected by FCC regulations should be paying their fair share and that the commission’s methodology to fee-setting need to be revamped. As recently as April, the NAB warned that stations could be seeing big hikes.
The FCC is required to collect $381.9 million in regulatory fees for 2022 under the appropriations legislation approved by Congress and the president. The commission spent most of the first eight pages of this week’s announcement explaining and justifying its process for calculating fees.
The proposed radio fees range from $690 for an AM Class C in the smallest markets to $23,585 for big FMs in major cities. An FM Class B1 station in a market of half a million people will see its fee increase to $4,090.
Visit RadioWorld to review a chart of the proposed radio fees for fiscal 2022, followed by the chart of actual fees in 2021.