WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission has approved license transfers for three stations to subsidiaries of Sinclair. The decision involved WEYI-TV, Saginaw, Michigan, WGTU(TV), Traverse City, Michigan and WHAM-TV, Rochester, New York.
DirecTV had opposed the transfers, arguing in part that the deals would give Sinclair more power to demand higher retransmission fees, which in turn would increase pay TV programming costs for consumers.
More specifically the transfers involved:
- The assignment of the license of WEYI-TV, Saginaw, Michigan, from HSH Flint (WEYI) to Sinclair subsidiary WEYI Licensee, LLC.
- The assignment of the license of WGTU(TV), Traverse City, Michigan, from Traverse City (WGTU-TV) Licensee, Inc., a subsidiary of Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation (Cunningham), to Sinclair subsidiary WGTU Licensee, LLC.
- The assignment of the license of WHAM-TV, Rochester, New York, from Deerfield Media (Rochester) Licensee, LLC (Deerfield) to Sinclair subsidiary WHAM Licensee, LLC.
When the applications were first filed, the deals would have required an exemption from FCC ownership rules. However, as previously reported, a Federal court ruling in the Zimmer Radio case overturned a longstanding prohibition on owning two of the top four stations in the market.
In its filing opposing all three transfers, DirecTV continued to oppose the deals. It argued that it had standing to file a petition in opposition because the transfers would raise retransmission fees and cause the operator direct economic harm. DirecTV contended that “[n]othing in Zimmer Radio alters the Applicants’ affirmative obligation to show that the proposed license transfers are in the public interest.”
In addition, it argued that local television consolidation gives broadcasters more leverage to charge higher retransmission fees, which leads to higher bills for multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) customers.
DirecTV also contended that Sinclair did not meet FCC standards that the transactions provide verifiable benefits because Sinclair only provided vague and non-measurable assertions that “synergies” would enable Sinclair to invest in the acquired stations and expand programming.
In its ruling the Media Bureau found that DirecTV did meet the requirements for standing but rejected its other arguments.
"[W]e find that the proposed transactions fully comply with the Commission’s rules, including the post-Zimmer Radio Local Television Ownership Rule, and there are no issues or potential public interest harms identified in the record that would require further consideration.," the Media Bureau noted in a letter to the applicants affirming the license transfers. "Notably, while the Commission will consider transaction-specific objections to otherwise rule-compliant transactions, we find that DIRECTV has failed to advance any such objections. Accordingly, we conclude that grant of the Applications will result in public interest benefits and serve the public interest, convenience, and necessity."
More information is available here.
