Number of Spectrum Sellers Staying Private

Broadcasters who are giving serious consideration to participating in the Federal Communications Commission’s incentive auction were supposed to put the agency on official notice Jan 12. But how many stations are planning to sell their spectrum may not be known for months, because agency officials, who are barred by law from identifying individual station participants until after the auction is over, are also declining to comment on the number of station applications the agency received.

The FCC is not planning to release the number, both because the Jan. 12 filings don’t oblige broadcasters to participate, and because the agency won’t know how many individual stations are planning to participate until the agency reviews the individual broadcaster filings. The next critical deadline for broadcast station auction wannabes is March 29, when stations execs will have to decide whether to commit to participate in the auction’s initial round.