The crackdown on stations delinquent in paying their annual regulatory fees continues. The Federal Communications Commission is now threatening a New Jersey station with the loss of its license for not paying in the past four years.
The FCC says Morris Broadcasting’s gospel WIMG Ewing, NJ (1300) failed to pay the annual fee in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, allegedly owing the government a total of $18,560.26 in unpaid fees. The delinquency doesn’t date back as far as some similar actions taken by the FCC, the monetary total outstanding is higher, which may have promoted the Media Bureau to move more quickly against WIMG.
The FCC is giving Morris Broadcasting 60 days to pay the outstanding fees, as well as interest and other administrative costs and penalties — or make the case for why those fees should be waived or deferred. In an order released Thursday, it also warns the company that the Commission has the authority under federal law to revoke a license for failure to pay regulatory fees in a “timely fashion.” The FCC is legally required to charge a 25% late penalty each year regulatory fees go uncollected.
Collecting delinquent fees typically falls to the Department of Treasury. But at the Commission’s request, the Treasury returned all the outstanding regulatory fee cases to the FCC, which said it could use the leverage it has with stations to get them to pay up. That has led to a series of similar threats against several other stations that owed the FCC money in recent months. The approach seems to be working since the Media Bureau hasn’t yet made good on its threat to yank a license.
It is the third time this year the FCC has gone after a radio station for unpaid fees. The agency has put Kremling Enterprises on notice for fees dating back to 2017 totaling $16,687 for two Texas FMs: country “Texas Thunder Radio” simulcast of KYKM, Yoakum, TX (94.3) and KTXM, Hallettsville, TX (99.9).
The FCC also warned Cobra Broadcasting’s “News Talk 95.9” KBRA Freer, TX that it too could face the loss of its license for $7,553.84 in unpaid regulatory fees. The FCC says the station failed to pay its annual regulatory fee for six of the past ten years.