Some 48 weeks ago, one of the biggest broadcast television industry transactions in recent times failed to proceed, resulting in a non-consummation. Today, that company has confidently kept its CEO, Dave Lougee, in place while the entity that had hoped to replace him with Deb McDermott contemplated its next move.
On Wednesday, that action happened. Standard General and its head, Soohyung Kim, have sued the FCC and its Chairwoman and Media Bureau Chief, as well as key deal detractors who spoke out against the transaction in front of the Commission. While there are several factors that ultimately led to the FCC’s decision to designate the deal for a hearing in front of an Administrative Law Judge, Kim believes the failure to win Commission approval comes down to one thing: race discrimination at the FCC.
