ATVA Asks FCC to Block Mission Station Purchase
The FCC should block Adell Broadcasting's sale of WADL Mount Clemens, Michigan, to the Nexstar-sidecar Mission Broadcasting because Nexstar would be the party in control of the station, said the American Television Alliance in comments filed Tuesday. Nexstar declined to…
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comment. Owning the Detroit-area WADL outright would place Nexstar above the national ownership cap, ATVA said. Nexstar lists Mission’s stations as its own in its website and reports Mission’s stations as part of its financial results. Under the terms of the proposed deal, Nexstar would guarantee financing, have an option to buy WADL for no additional funds, negotiate retransmission consent for WADL, sell all the station’s advertising, and assist the station’s operations, ATVA said. “Any one or two of these things might be sufficient to raise real party in interest questions,” said ATVA. “All of them together leave little doubt that Nexstar, not Mission, will control WADL.” DirecTV made similar arguments about Nexstar’s relationship with Mission in an antitrust case in U.S. District Court in Southern New York (see 2305250001). “Unless and until Nexstar and Mission revise the transaction documents to prevent Nexstar from asserting control, the Commission should not grant the proposed transaction,” ATVA said.