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FCC Releases Opening Bid Prices for Incentive Auction


broadcastfan9751

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The FCC has released the opening bid prices for next year's incentive auction. Of them, WCBS is the most valuable at $900 million, according to TVNewsCheck. Not all stations have a price attached, and there are some markets where no station has an opening bid price. With the release of the opening bid prices, the FCC says that broadcasters now have all the information they need to decide whether to participate in the auction.
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In Hartford/New Haven CPTV (PBS) could net nearly $1 billion if it moved two of its three stations off-air. (yes they have three separate stations to cover a state the size of CT).

 

I always wondered why that was.

 

Also, some of these duopolies have partners where the junior station is worth more than the senior one! Probably because they're UHF and the senior partner is not.

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I always wondered why that was.

 

Also, some of these duopolies have partners where the junior station is worth more than the senior one! Probably because they're UHF and the senior partner is not.

 

Coverage is spotty based on the terrain. While looking at RabbitEars.info it appears WEDW is operated by Locust Point Networks but licensed to Connecticut Public Broadcasting.

 

Just for sake of comparison here's the map of all six stations of Maryland Public Television.

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Remember, this is a reverse auction and these are maximum prices. The actual auction amounts will very likely be much, much less.

 

I'm not so sure anyone really knows for sure since this has never happened before...has it?

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I'm not so sure anyone really knows for sure since this has never happened before...has it?

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_auction

 

Basically what's going to happen is a company is going to say "we want spectrum here, here, and here". One station will go "We'll sell you ours for $30,000,000!!!". A station across town will go "We'll sell you ours for $20,000,000!"

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This is what major corporations do with suppliers and other companies. Walmart will get companies to bid in reverse, sometimes down to the penny, for the right to put products in Walmart stores.

 

This is really two auctions. The broadcasters participate in the reverse auction with the FCC. The FCC in theory knows how much space it can sell in each market. If too many broadcasters participate, supply will be too high and the price will drop each round. Broadcasters can withdraw at any time. The reverse auction closes when the FCC decides the space and the price meets its formula. Then the FCC holds a forward auction with the wireless companies, selling those blocks of spectrum and trying to make a profit.

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