Media Bureau Grants Emmis Grandfathering Waiver
The FCC Media Bureau granted waiver to Emmis Communications allowing it to sell its majority interest in a grandfathered group of six radio stations in Austin to minority partner STI Telecable, said an order Friday. The transfer of the group…
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would normally end the grandfathering that allowed Emmis to own the group under current radio local ownership rules, but the bureau is allowing the grandfathering to transfer because the sale is “more akin to a corporate restructuring.” It's in the public interest because it allows the stations to continue essentially under the same ownership and because Austin has a highly competitive and diverse radio market, the order said. “Based on the structure of the market, we do not believe that continuation of the grandfathered combination as part of the proposed transaction will be anticompetitive, nor will it inhibit viewpoint diversity.” The FCC issued another ownership rule waiver last week, to Gray Television (see 1909250064).