On Tuesday the FCC revealed the list of possible station allocations that will be put up for auction on March 26, 2013. 117 new stations will be available in the auction, including 26 from previous auctions that either went unsold or defaulted upon.
While many of the new stations will serve small towns and unranked markets, there are a few diamonds amongst the rocks.
The highest opening bid is $75,000 for a Class A on 100.3 that would be licensed to Lake Park FL. That city is just two towns north of West Palm Beach making it the only new station directly in a Top 50 market.
Next at a $60,000 opening bid is a Class A at 102.7 in Mecca CA. That puts it at the southeastern edge of the Palm Springs market.
A trio of Class A’s are starting at $45,000 opening bids. 99.7 in Silver Springs Shores FL will serve greater Ocala, 105.7 in Sedro-Woolley WA will serve Snohomish County just to the north of Seattle, while a 95.9 will be licensed to Erie PA.
Looking further down the list are a few other stations in ranked markets. 92.7 in Wasco CA will rimshot Bakersfield for a $25,000 opening bid. A $10K opening bid is required for a Class A on 94.9 in Newark MD just outside Ocean City.
As Northpine.com points out, the biggest bargains may be in Grand Portage MN where three allotments are up for a mere $750 opening bid. Located just south of the Canadian border, the three stations can target Thunder Bay where just five commercial stations currently operate. 100kW Class C’s will broadcast on 92.7 and 102.7, while a Class C0 will operate on 96.9.
The full list of all 117 stations to be auctioned can be seen here.
George Greene 
RK
Hopefully, whoever buys the 95.9 in Erie, PA will be aware of CFPL-FM in London, Ontario—only 84 miles away with 300kw. A lot of summer days will see CFPL overpowering this new Erie FM, not to mention many other days when being on the “wrong” side of a building or hill will give you London instead of your local FM.
While London currently shares a 102.3 dial position with Erie, there is a big difference between 12kw(CHST) and 300kw(CFPL).
Who had the bright idea to put in a Class C allotment at 102.7 in Grand Portage MN, which happens to be the very frequency of a station IN Thunder Bay, CILU-FM? Nice trick getting that to work out.