FCC Commissioner criticizes agency’s conditional approval of WADL deal
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said the agency’s decision to conditionally approve Mission’s purchase of WADL exceeded its authority.
Nexstar Media Group ($NXST) is one of the biggest operators of local broadcast television stations in the United States. In addition to more than 160 local stations, Nexstar Media Group operates NewsNation (formerly WGN America), LIN Digital, Zap2It and Antenna TV. The company shares ownership of the Food Network and Cooking Channel with Discovery Networks. Nexstar is based in Irving, Texas.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said the agency’s decision to conditionally approve Mission’s purchase of WADL exceeded its authority.
The FCC has conditionally approved Mission Broadcasting’s purchase of WADL-TV in Detroit, according to an order obtained by The Desk on Tuesday.
The broadcaster says the agency acted outside the scope of its authority and broke with long-standing precedent concerning local marketing agreements.
Faith-based community and the Rainbow Push Coalition have encouraged the FCC to approve the station’s sale to Mission Broadcasting.
The news divisions of the four major broadcast networks and CNN are encouraging both sides to participate this year.
Kevin Adell said he is not convinced the $75 million transfer of WADL to Mission will ever be approved by the FCC, drawing on concerns raised during his latest meeting with the agency.
The channel, available on the CW Network website, offers a marathon of “Penn & Teller: Fool Us”
It will be the fifth time Kevin Adell has met with FCC officials over the proposed sale to a Nexstar-controlled entity.
The largest broadcaster in America says the cable operator seeks to deprive them of certain legal rights.
Mission and Adell Broadcasting have agreed to extend a shot clock for a deal concerning Detroit TV station WADL at the urging of a top FCC official.