Looking for opportunities for a new FM station? The FCC has just released a list of new FM channels to be auctioned in the next FM auction, scheduled to begin on March 27, 2012, along with the proposed rules for that auction. On the list of channels, the proposed minimum bid for each channel is also set out. If the Commission follows the schedule used in prior auctions, we should expect that the deadline for the "short-form" application to participate in the auction (which basically contains information about the ownership of the applicant and a list of the channels in which they are interested) will be due in early 2012, likely sometime between January 1 and January 15, 2012. The upfront payment of the necessary minimum bids would then likely be due around February 20, 2012 or so. In another Notice of Proposed Rulemaking released late last week, the FCC also proposed to delete a number of FM channels that have gone unsold in previous auctions.