FCC Rejects WOR-AM Sale Challenge

The FCC rejects a challenge to the transfer of Talk WOR-AM, New York, from Buckley Broadcasting to Clear Channel filed by Connoisseur Media of Long Island. Connoisseur filed an Informal Objection to both the WOR transfer and the renewal of the license of CHR-Top40 "Z100" WHTZ-FM. Last month, as we reported at the time, the FCC approved the transfer of heritage talker WOR-AM, New York, to AMFM Radio Licenses, a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications, giving the company its first AM in the market to go along with its five FM’s. The sale price was $30 million. Connoisseur subsequently contended that Clear Channel's Aloha Station Trust had not divested all of the stations placed in the trust when Clear Channel went private in 2008. Connoisseur argued that Clear Channel and the Aloha trust failed to divest all the trust stations within six months as contemplated in the Divestiture Order. The company also argued that Trust stations do not compete aggressively with other stations and are merely "warehoused" to the detriment of the public interest. The remedy, claimed Connoisseur, was for the Commission to establish a final divestiture period of six months, during which all remaining Trust Stations must be sold or risk the licenses being revoked. Connoisseur also asked the Commission to postpone processing the Clear Channel applications until the Aloha divestiture issues raised by the Informal Objection were resolved. In its response Clear Channel says that Connoisseur's objections to both the trust divestiture process and the CC applications is a "strange and incongruous pairing." It noted that the Aloha divestiture process is the primary focus of Connoisseur's filing. But the Aloha Station Trust is not a party to either application, is not proposing to acquire WOR-AM and it is not the licensee of WHTZ-FM. The FCC found that Connoisseur failed to establish a substantial and material question of fact that granting the applications would be inconsistent with the public interest. It also found that Clear Channel is qualified to hold the WOR-AM and WHTZ-FM station licenses and that grant of the Assignment Application is consistent with the public interest.