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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 52 / Friday, March 19, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
standard under SBA rules is that such a business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees.329 For this industry, U.S. Census Bureau data for 2012 show that there were 967 firms that operated for the entire year.330 Of this total, 955
firms had employment of 999 or fewer employees.331 Thus under this category and the associated size standard, the Commission estimates that the majority of wireless telecommunications carriers except satellite are small entities.
21. Television Broadcasting. This Economic Census category comprises establishments primarily engaged in broadcasting images together with sound. 332 These establishments operate television broadcast studios and facilities for the programming and transmission of programs to the public.333 These establishments also produce or transmit visual programming to affiliated broadcast television stations, which in turn broadcast the programs to the public on a predetermined schedule. Programming may originate in their own studio, from an affiliated network, or from external sources. The SBA has created the following small business size standard for such businesses: Those having $41.5
million or less in annual receipts.334
The 2012 Economic Census reports that 751 firms in this category operated in that year.335 Of that number, 656 had annual receipts of $25,000,000 or less.336 Based on this data we therefore estimate that the majority of commercial television broadcasters are small entities under the applicable SBA size standard.
22. The Commission has estimated the number of licensed commercial television stations to be 1,377.337 Of this 329 13

CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517210.
Census Bureau, 2012 Economic Census of the United States, Table EC1251SSSZ5, Information: Subject Series: Estab and Firm Size:
Employment Size of Firms for the U.S.: 2012 NAICS
Code 517210. https factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/
table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/51SSSZ5//
naics517210.
331 Id. Available census data does not provide a more precise estimate of the number of firms that have employment of 1,500 or fewer employees; the largest category provided is for firms with 1000
employees or more.
332 U.S. Census Bureau, 2017 NAICS Definitions, 515120 Television Broadcasting, https
www.census.gov/cgi-bin/sssd/naics/
naicsrch?input=515120&search=
2017+NAICS+Search&search=2017.
333 Id.
334 13 CFR 121.201; 2012 NAICS code 515120.
335 U.S. Census Bureau, Table No. EC1251SSSZ4, Information: Subject SeriesEstablishment and Firm Size: Receipts Size of Firms for the United States: 2012 515120 Television Broadcasting.
https factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/
ECN/2012_US/51SSSZ4//naics515120.
336 Id.
337 Broadcast Station Totals as of June 30, 2018, Press Release MB, rel. Jul. 3, 2018 June 30, 2018
Broadcast Station Totals Press Release, https

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total, 1,258 stations or about 91% had revenues of $41.5 million or less, according to Commission staff review of the BIA Kelsey Inc. Media Access Pro Television Database BIA on November 16, 2017, and therefore these licensees qualify as small entities under the SBA
definition. In addition, the Commission has estimated the number of licensed noncommercial educational television stations to be 384.338 Notwithstanding, the Commission does not compile and otherwise does not have access to information on the revenue of noncommercial educational broadcast services stations that would permit it to determine how many such stations would qualify as small entities. There are also 2,300 low power television stations, including Class A stations LPTV and 3,681 TV translator stations.339 Given the nature of these services, we will presume that all of these entities qualify as small entities under the above SBA small business size standard.
23. We note, however, that in assessing whether a business concern qualifies as small under the above definition, business control affiliations 340 must be included. Our estimate, therefore, likely overstates the number of small entities that might be affected by our action, because the revenue figure on which it is based does not include or aggregate revenues from affiliated companies. In addition, another element of the definition of small business requires that an entity not be dominant in its field of operation.
We are unable at this time to define or quantify the criteria that would establish whether a specific television broadcast station is dominant in its field of operation. Accordingly, the estimate of small businesses to which rules may apply does not exclude any television station from the definition of a small business on this basis and is therefore possibly over-inclusive. Also, as noted above, an additional element of the definition of small business is that the entity must be independently owned and operated. The Commission notes that it is difficult at times to assess these criteria in the context of media entities and its estimates of small businesses to which they apply may be over-inclusive to this extent.
docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC352168A1.pdf.
338 Id.
339 Id.
340 Business concerns are affiliates of each other when one concern controls or has the power to control the other or a third party or parties controls or has the power to control both. 13 CFR
21.103a1.

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24. Radio Stations. This Economic Census category comprises establishments primarily engaged in broadcasting aural programs by radio to the public. Programming may originate in their own studio, from an affiliated network, or from external sources. 341
The SBA has established a small business size standard for this category as firms having $41.5 million or less in annual receipts.342 Economic Census data for 2012 show that 2,849 radio station firms operated during that year.343 Of that number, 2,806 firms operated with annual receipts of less than $25 million per year.344 Therefore, based on the SBAs size standard the majority of such entities are small entities.
25. According to Commission staff review of the BIA/Kelsey, LLCs Media Access Pro Radio Database as of January 2018, about 11,261 or about 99.9% of 11,383 commercial radio stations had revenues of $41.5 million or less and thus qualify as small entities under the SBA definition.345 The Commission has estimated the number of licensed commercial AM radio stations to be 4,633 stations and the number of commercial FM radio stations to be 6,738, for a total number of 11,371.346
We note the Commission has also estimated the number of licensed noncommercial FM radio stations to be 4,128.347 Nevertheless, the Commission does not compile and otherwise does not have access to information on the revenue of noncommercial stations that would permit it to determine how many such stations would qualify as small entities. We also note, that in assessing whether a business entity qualifies as small under the above definition, business control affiliations must be included.348 The Commissions estimate therefore likely overstates the number of small entities that might be affected by 341 U.S. Census Bureau, 2017 NAICS Definitions, 515112 Radio Stations, https www.census.gov/
cgi-bin/sssd/naics/naicsrch?input=515112&search=
2017+NAICS+Search&search=2017.
342 13 CFR 121.201; NAICS code 515112.
343 U.S. Census Bureau, Table No. EC1251SSSZ4, Information: Subject SeriesEstablishment and Firm Size: Receipts Size of Firms for the United States: 2012 NAICS Code 515112, https factfinder.
census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/
51SSSZ4//naics515112.
344 Id.
345 BIA/Kelsey, MEDIA Access Pro Database viewed Jan. 26, 2018.
346 Broadcast Station Totals as of June 30, 2018, Press Release MB Jul. 3, 2018 June 30, 2018
Broadcast Station Totals, https docs.fcc.gov/
public/attachments/DOC-352168A1.pdf.
347 Id.
348 Business concerns are affiliates of each other when one concern controls or has the power to control the other, or a third party or parties controls or has power to control both. 13 CFR
121.103a1.

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