As part of the overarching larger merger of the companies, the FCC has approved Alpha Media’s waiver of the Commission’s local radio ownership rules to transfer control of its five licensed stations in the Tyler-Longview, Tex., market to Connoisseur Media.
The waiver request, initially filed on May 19 and amended in June and July, was uncontested.
The transfer covers five commercial FM stations in the Lone Star State: KOOI in Jacksonville, KYKX in Longview, KKUS in Tyler, KOYE in Frankston, and KTLH in Hallsville. The waiver was necessary due to the combination exceeding the FCC’s local FM sub-cap limit by one station in that market.
While Alpha’s existing ownership of all five stations had been grandfathered under prior rules, the proposed change in control triggered the need for regulatory reconsideration.
Connoisseur, which currently holds no attributable interest in any stations in the Tyler-Longview market, argued that the overage was not the result of consolidation efforts but a recent reclassification. Specifically, the re-designation of KOYE and KTLH as “home” to the Tyler-Longview market altered the compliance calculus. Before that change, only three of the five stations were listed under the market’s jurisdiction.
The FCC determined that a waiver was justified under the “good cause” standard, given the lack of competitive harm and the public interest in maintaining stable operations.
The agency emphasized that Connoisseur’s lack of other market holdings meant the deal preserved the current station footprint. It also noted that the Tyler-Longview market remains highly diverse, with at least 18 other licensees operating 29 different formats, and that the Alpha group’s advertising share was not dominant.
Because the waiver was granted, a previously filed application to assign KTLH to a divestiture trust was dismissed as moot.
In May, Connoisseur entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Alpha Media’s 207 stations by way of acquiring, refinancing, and retiring Alpha’s more than $115 million in debt.
