Adell Broadcasting‘s quest to gain FCC approval of its proposed $75 million sale of a full-powered UHF facility presently serving as Detroit’s MyNetwork TV affiliate is getting an unprecedented fifth push at the FCC.
The latest session, to be held via Zoom, involves one of the Commission’s key Democrats.
The minority shareholders of Adell Broadcasting will be participating in a virtual meeting with Geoffrey Starks on Thursday (3/28) at 11:30am Eastern.
“This will be my fifth meeting with the FCC … this is unprecedented,” Adell CEO Kevin Adell told RBR+TVBR late Tuesday.
In May 2023, Adell signed off on the sale of WADL-38 in Detroit to the Wichita Falls, Tex.-based licensee that is 51% controlled by Board Chairman Nancie Smith and 49% held by President Dennis Thatcher was agreed upon by the proposed buyer and seller. Paperwork was uploaded to the FCC’s LMS for review and the Commission’s approval.
That OK has yet to happen, and it likely has to do with the FCC’s current review of Mission Broadcasting’s cozy relationship with Nexstar Media Group and its Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture tied to WPIX-11 in New York.
This frustrates Adell, a firebrand independent owner whose other media holdings include conservative Talker WFDF-AM and The Word Network, the latter serving as the largest African-American religious network in the world. That’s why The Rev. Jesse Jackson Jr. has been working on Adell’s behalf to push the WADL sale approval to Mission forward.
Jackson on Monday (3/25) wrote to Starks, as well as Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioners Nate Simington, Brendan Carr and Anna Gómez, concerning the pending license transfer application for WADL.
On Wednesday, Jackson wrote again to the five vote-makers on the Commission, saying, “With the long Easter weekend approaching, we wish to ensure continuity in our communications and avoid any further delay in scheduling a meeting that is pivotal for the minority shareholders represented by the RainbowPUSH Coalition (RPC).”
RainbowPUSH and Jackson acknowledged with gratitude Starks’ “prompt and favorable response” to their request for a meeting on Thursday. “His willingness to engage with us is a testament to his dedication to creating a fair and balanced opportunity for all parties involved.”
Jackson continued, “In this spirit of progress, we seek to confirm similar meeting arrangements with the rest of the Commissioners. It is essential that we seize the opportunity provided by the extended transaction deadline, to discuss the vital interests of the minority shareholders and to work towards a resolution that upholds the principles of fairness and inclusivity.”
With Good Friday and Easter Sunday approaching, schedules could be demanding, Jackson acknowledged. “Nevertheless, we respectfully request that arrangements for a meeting be expedited to ensure that the minority shareholders’ concerns are addressed without further delay.”
The WADL sale process has seen Gregory Masters and Jessica Rosenthal of Wiley Rein serve as Mission’s legal counsel. Adell’s legal counsel in this transaction is Coe Ramsey and Patrick Johnson of Raleigh-based Brooks Pierce.
