The third FCC comment process authorized to help determine whether or not regulatory approval of Standard General‘s effort to acquire TEGNA, with the important non-voting equity investment of Apollo Global Management, is now closed.
With rumors swirling that a February 22 must-close date for the deal will be extended for three weeks and high-profile Members of Congress questioning the transaction, Standard General Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer Soohyung Kim offered a statement — and an interview opportunity — to the press as part of his latest effort to get the Commission to say yes.
RBR+TVBR obliged, and asked Soo to share what he believes is the biggest sticking point at the FCC for the deal — the creation of a new No. 2 licensee of broadcast TV stations, retransmission consent “resets” at such stations as WFXT-25 in Boston, or perhaps the very involvement of Apollo as it is the majority shareholder of Cox Media Group?
Soo answered the questions posed by Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson, and we’re pleased to present them in this InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM.
The media teleconference, which started late, saw Soo take queries after delivering a statement that again saw Standard General exude confidence, reinforcing previous statements outlining its rationale for making the offer to acquire TEGNA — its “long-standing commitment” to local television.
Soo again noted the experience of incoming CEO Deb McDermott, and how investing in TEGNA can make it a stronger longer competitor. He said, “We have never reduced local content investment. We’ve increased newsroom staffing at our current stations by 28% overall since acquiring them and in our 12-year history in the broadcast space we have added 40,000 hours of local news at the station we operate.”
Yet, in December binding, formal commitments to not reduce jobs in TEGNA newsrooms for 24 months after closing were offered as a latest attempt to sway the Commission into favoring its proposed purchase of TEGNA. A statement regarding retransmission consent rates “and not to step up” these rates also surfaced. On the call, Soo called these commitments “we are simply formalizing what we intended and communicated from the beginning.”
That hasn’t stopped Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from raising their concerns over the deal, even as Soo Kim and McDermott note how women and minorities will make a great leap forward if the deal is completed, increasing diverse ownership in a highly significant way.
Then, there is The NewsGuild-CWA, the National Association of Broadcast Employees and TechniciansCWA (NABET-CWA), Common Cause and United Church of Christ, which in April 2022 came together to challenge the TEGNA deal.
With an enterprise value of $8.6 billion, it’s a blockbuster deal Soo says has come under greater scrutiny than other big-dollar deals of late. Yet, the structure of the Standard General deal — in particular Apollo’s financing — perhaps makes it more unique than other deals. The FCC could very well be eyeing this as part of its scrutiny, while Standard General has a “higher ticking fee” with TEGNA’s consent to extend the closing date beyond February 22, 2023.
TO LISTEN TO ADAM R JACOBSON’S Q&A SESSION WITH SOOHYUNG KIM, PLEASE CLICK THE EMBEDDED PLAYER BELOW, OR THE PODCAST PLAYER AT THE TOP OF THE RBR.COM HOMEPAGE.
Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Soohyung Kim” on Spreaker.
