FCC Grants Sale of ACME Stations, Denies TWC Petitions

The Federal Communications Commission has approved the sale of two ACME stations in Wisconsin and Ohio to LIN and to an owner whose station is being run by LIN.

The FCC April 8 approved the sale of CW affiliates WCWF(DT) Green Bay-Appleton (WI) and WBDT(DT) Dayton (OH) to LIN. The first to LIN under a failing station waiver -- LIN has already been operating it under a shared services agreement -- and the second to WBDT Television, LLC, which LIN has also been running under a shared services agreement and where LIN already own WDTN. TWC had argued, in part, that the deals should not go through because the resulting duopoly and combination of ownership and management would give LIN too much leverage in retrans agreements, since LIN had signaled it planned to combine retrans negotiations for the paired stations. In addition, WCWF and WBDT had previously been must-carry stations. The FCC concluded that WCWF had met the FCC definition of failing station, and that bargaining collectively for the station's retrans payments did not violate FCC rules. It also concluded that the WBDT sale broke no FCC rules, and that TWC's claims of potential harm from the combined negotiation as speculative. "Despite its claims to the contrary, it is apparent that TWC's real concern is its desire for reformation of the must-carry and retransmission consent process."