Cable, TV Station FCC Regulatory Fees Due Sept. 14

The FCC wants to make sure it gets its projected $335,794,000 in 2011 regulatory fees on time.

It's web site currently leads with the notification that all such payments, which include from cable operators and TV stations, are due by midnight Sept. 14 (11:59 according to the commission) or there will be a 25% late fee.

Cable operators are expected to pony up about $59 million, with the FCC saying operators are still allowed to calculate their fees on aggregate subs rather than broken out by community -- they pay 0.93 cents per sub in fees. Broadcast TV, including full-power and low power stations, will pay about $22.5 million.

Broadcasters pay according to market size, with the top 10 markets paying $34,650 annually down to $3,275 per for markets 100 and below.

There are some changes to the filing requirements and tips for smoother processing, which the FCC spells out here.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.