- January 10 – Quarterly Issues Programs Lists. All full power and Class A TV stations, and all commercial and noncommercial AM and FM radio stations, must prepare and upload to their online public inspection files a list of important issues facing their communities, and the programs aired in the months of October, November, and December 2021 dealing with those issues.
- January 10 – All Class A TV stations must upload to their online public files documentation certifying their continued Class A eligibility for Fourth Quarter 2021.
- January 10 – All noncommercial educational radio and television stations that are not affiliated with NPR or CPB, and that suspended regular programming to conduct third party fundraising for the benefit of a non-profit organization, must generate relevant documentation for the period October 1-December 31, 2021 and place it in their public inspection file by this date. Such stations can devote no more than 1% of their total airtime to such fundraising efforts.
- January 10 – All LPTV stations and TV translators that received an extension on their digital conversion, and all holders of construction permits for new digital LPTV stations or TV translators which had an expiration date prior to July 13, 2021, must be operating in digital and have filed license applications to cover those new facilities. Note the FCC has, in a limited number of cases, extended this deadline, but it applies for the vast majority of LPTV stations and TV translators.
- January 31 – Children’s Television Commercial Limitations Certification. Annual certification of compliance with the commercial limits in children’s TV programming must be uploaded by all commercial full-power and Class A TV stations to their online public inspection files by January 31. This certification should cover the period from January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021.
- January 31 – Children’s Television Program Reports. Annual Children’s Television Programming Report (Form 2100, Schedule H) must be filed by January 31 using the
- January 31 – SoundExchange Minimum Fees. Webcasters, including broadcasters who simulcast their signals on the Internet or through a mobile app must pay their minimum annual fees by January 31. These fees are now $1000 per stream for commercial and noncommercial streams not affiliated with a school or CPB. Noncommercial educational webcasters (affiliated with a school or college), not affiliated with NPR and CPB, must make elections about recordkeeping requirements that will apply to their streaming operations by January 31.
February- None
March
- March 13 – Daylight Saving Time begins. Daytime-only radio stations and stations with pre-sunrise and/or post-sunset authorizations should check their sign-on and sign-off times on their current FCC authorizations to ensure compliance. All times listed on FCC licenses are in Standard Time.
- March 22 – Deadline to submit invoices and documentation for costs associated with the Incentive Auction Repack for stations in Phases 6-10.
- March 25 – Lowest Unit Charge window opens for May 24 nonpartisan general election. April
- April 9 – Lowest Unit Charge window opens for May 24 primaries.
- April 11 – All noncommercial educational radio and television stations that are not affiliated with NPR or CPB, and that suspended regular programming to conduct third party fundraising for the benefit of a non-profit organization, must generate relevant documentation for the period January 1-March 31 and place it in their public inspection file by this date. Such stations can devote no more than 1% of their total airtime to such fundraising efforts.
- April 11 – Quarterly Issues Programs Lists. All full power and Class A TV stations, and all commercial and noncommercial AM and FM radio stations, must prepare and upload to their online public inspection files a list of important issues facing their communities, and the programs aired in the months of January, February and March dealing with those issues.
- April 11 – All Class A TV stations must upload to their online public files documentation certifying their continued Class A eligibility for First Quarter 2021.
- April 22 – Lowest Unit Charge window opens for June 21 nonpartisan general election runoffs.
May
- May 7 – Lowest Unit Charge window opens for June 21 primary runoffs. • May 24 – Georgia primaries and nonpartisan general election.
June
- June 21 – Georgia primary runoffs and nonpartisan general election runoffs. July
- July 11 – All noncommercial educational radio and television stations that are not affiliated with NPR or CPB, and that suspended regular programming to conduct third party fundraising for the benefit of a non-profit organization, must generate relevant documentation for the period April 1-June 30, and place it in their public inspection file by this date. Such stations can devote no more than 1% of their total airtime to such fundraising efforts.
- July 11 – Quarterly Issues Programs Lists. All full power and Class A TV stations, and all commercial and noncommercial AM and FM radio stations, must prepare and upload to their online public inspection files a list of important issues facing their communities, and the programs aired in the months of April, May, and June dealing with those issues.
- July 11 – All Class A TV stations must upload to their online public files documentation certifying their continued Class A eligibility for Second Quarter 2021.
- July 1-31 – Copyright Royalty Claims. All television stations that were carried as a distant signal by a cable system during 2021 and that aired a program that they produced for which they own the copyright and which was retransmitted by a cable system: File a copyright royalty claim form between July 1-31, 2022 in order to share in the 2021 cable royalty distribution.
August or September
- Annual FCC Regulatory Fees. Although the precise dates will not be determined until the summer, the window for paying the FCC’s Annual Regulatory Fees in recent years has been as early as August, but typically is in September. Broadcasters must pay their FCC Annual Regulatory Fees by the deadline established by the FCC or incur a 25% penalty. Regulatory fees cover the period from October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2022.
September
- September 5 – Deadline for LPTV/TV translator stations and FM radio stations to submit invoices and documentation for costs associated with the Incentive Auction Repack.
- September 9 – Lowest Unit Charge window opens for November 8 General Election. October
- October 11 – All noncommercial educational radio and television stations that are not affiliated with NPR or CPB, and that suspended regular programming to conduct third party fundraising for the benefit of a non-profit organization, must generate relevant documentation for the period July 1-September 30 and place it in their public inspection file by this date. Such stations can devote no more than 1% of their total airtime to such fundraising efforts.
- October 11 – Quarterly Issues Programs Lists. All full power and Class A TV stations, and all commercial and noncommercial AM and FM radio stations, must prepare and upload to their online public inspection files a list of important issues facing their communities, and the programs aired in the months of July, August, and September dealing with those issues.
- October 11 – All Class A TV stations must upload to their online public files documentation certifying their continued Class A eligibility for Third Quarter 2021.
November
- November 1 – This is a good time of year to check your tower for FCC and FAA lighting and painting requirements.
- November 6 – Daylight Saving Time ends. Daytime-only radio stations and stations with pre-sunrise and/or post-sunset authorizations should check their sign-on and sign-off times on their current FCC authorizations to ensure compliance. All times listed on FCC licenses are in Standard Time.
- November 8 – General Election.
December
- December 1 – Annual EEO Public File Report. Radio and television station employment units in Georgia must place in their online public inspection file an FCC Annual EEO Public File Report, unless the station is exempt from EEO requirements. The report must also be posted on the station’s website, if it has one and is required to prepare the report.
- December 1 – Television stations (including Class A TVs and LPTVs) that provided any subscription-based “ancillary or supplementary services” during the 12-month period ending on September 30, 2021 must file an FCC Form 2100-Schedule G (formerly known as FCC Form 317).
- December 6 – General election runoffs.
This calendar is intended to be a useful guide to FCC deadlines, but is not intended to be an exhaustive list of required filings. Filing requirements may change over the year, and new filing requirements may be adopted or eliminated. Please contact David O’Connor, Washington Counsel for the Georgia Association of Broadcasters, with any questions about this calendar (Tel: 202-383-3429, doconnor@wbklaw.com).
FCC’s Licensing and Management System. This report should cover the period from January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021.
