FCC Suspends Ownership Filing Form

The Federal Communications Commission has decided to suspend filing of its revised media ownership form (323) until further notice. The FCC is collecting more information on the form partly as a way to better track minority ownership by requiring owners of smaller stakes in broadcast properties to report them. In a decision issued December 23, the FCC said that the Jan. 11 filing deadline would be suspended, and that even when the online form is available again (it had been online since Dec. 9), it would give broadcasters another 90 days from that date to file the forms. The information will still have to be current as of Nov. 1, 2009. The FCC was responding to a Dec. 18 request from broadcasters who asked for the extension as well as changes to the form.