The Australian Broadcasting Authority will conduct an auction to allocate one new FM commercial radio licence for Sydney on Thursday 15 April 2004. An auction for a new FM commercial radio licence for Brisbane will be held on Thursday, 22 April 2004.
The ABA received six applications for the Sydney licence and eight applications for the Brisbane licence. The names of the applicants may be found in the attached backgrounder.
The auction for the Sydney licence, which is to provide a service on FM 95.3 MHz, will be held at The Pavilion, Darling Park, 201 Sussex Street, Sydney. Registered applicants must check in between 1pm and 1.45pm, with the auction expected to commence at 2pm.
The auction for the Brisbane licence, which is to provide a service on FM 106.9 MHz, will be held at the Raffles Room, Stamford Plaza, Corner Edward and Margaret Streets, Brisbane. Registered applicants must check in between 1.30pm and 2.15pm, with the auction expected to commence at 2.30pm.
There is a reserve price of $1 million for each of the licences.
Members of the public and the media are welcome to attend the auctions, however, only registered applicants may bid for licences.
The auction, technically a ‘licence allocation exercise’, will be conducted in accordance with the price based allocation system determined by the ABA under section 36 of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992.
Media contact Donald Robertson, ABA Manager Media and PR on (02) 9334 7980.
Registered bidders for the commercial radio broadcasting licence SL1150481 for Sydney
Registered bidders for the commercial radio broadcasting licence SL1150703 for Brisbane
How are commercial broadcasting licences allocated?
The Broadcasting Services Act 1992 requires the ABA to develop a price-based system to allocate licences for commercial radio and TV broadcasting services that use the broadcasting services bands.
The price-based allocation system developed by the ABA is governed by the Commercial Broadcasting Licence Allocation Determination (available on the ABA website).
Applications for a licence for a new commercial broadcasting service are invited after the ABA decides to make a new service available in a licence area plan.
An applicant for a commercial broadcasting licence must be a company formed in Australia or in an external territory, which has a share capital.
How does the price-based allocation system work?
If the ABA registers more than one application for an advertised licence, the registered applicants will bid for the licence at a licence allocation exercise.
The highest bidder must pay a deposit of 10 per cent of the price bid immediately following the auction.
Successful bidders for commercial licences must pay the balance of the price of the licence between 45 and 47 days after the auction. The ABA will allocate the licence as soon as is practicable after full payment is received.
If a successful applicant fails to meet any of the requirements of the Determination that govern the licence allocation processes, the licence will not be allocated to the applicant. The ABA may then re-offer the licence for allocation.
What happens once an applicant is successful in getting a licence?
Successful applicants for commercial licences must commence a service within one year of being allocated the licence (or within a longer period with the ABA’s permission).