Pay up, or power down. That is the choice facing a Chattanooga, TN broadcaster who the Federal Communications Commission says owes several years of unpaid annual regulatory fees. Sarah Fryar’s religious WJOC (1490) allegedly owes $16,752.12 to the FCC for not paying its regulatory fees in 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.
The FCC is giving Fryar 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.
The good news for the station is that it has an outstanding balance. The Media Bureau says that WJOC earlier made an overpayment of $7,644 on these debts, which may be applied to the delinquent regulatory debt if the station approves…