Facing major pushback, the FCC has given the greenlight for WEEI’s owner Audacy to transfer its licenses to a George Soros-backed nonprofit, as the company emerges from bankruptcy.
The FCC’s approval on Monday came about seven months after U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas OK’d Audacy’s reorganization plan — which included Soros’ investment firm becoming the biggest shareholder of Audacy. Soros is the billionaire backer of Democratic politicians and causes.
The company’s reorganization plan is slicing more than $1.6 billion of Audacy’s debt — an 80% cut from $1.9 billion to $350 million. Audacy has more than 200 local radio stations, including WEEI, which has seen a major drop in ratings over the last several years.
The decision from the FCC on Monday was opposed by two commissioners, who blasted the license transfer timeline.
“The Commission’s decision today is unprecedented,” Commissioner Brendan Carr wrote in his dissent. “Never before has the Commission voted to approve the transfer of a broadcast license—let alone the transfer of broadcast licenses for over 200 radio stations across more than 40 markets—without following the requirements and procedures codified in federal law.
“Not once,” he added. “And yet the Commission breaks this new ground today without seeking public comment on altering our established regulations, without actually changing the rules on the books, and without seeking the feedback of other federal agencies with relevant equities.”
But FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel called this approval an “identical” process to the one recently used by the agency in the bankruptcy proceedings of Cumulus Media in 2018, iHeart Media in 2019, and others.
“To suggest otherwise is cynical and wrong, as this precedent clearly demonstrates,” the chairwoman added. “Our practice here and in these prior cases is designed to facilitate the prompt and orderly emergence from bankruptcy of a company that is a licensee under the Communications Act.”
Audacy will continue to be led by David Field, its current president and CEO, and its existing management team. Field will also serve on the company’s new board of directors.
“We are pleased to have successfully achieved all of our restructuring goals, emerging with an outstanding balance sheet, delivering industry-leading growth, serving our listeners and advertisers with excellence and honoring our commitments to employees and partners,” Field said in a statement.
“Today, Audacy embarks on our next chapter, capitalizing on our position as a scaled, multi-platform audio leader, differentiated by our exclusive, premium audio content, including our unrivaled leadership in sports audio, powered by our industry-leading financial strength and focused on accelerating our innovation and digital transformation,” Field added.
Other than WEEI, Boston radio stations under the Audacy umbrella include Mix 104.1 and Magic 106.7.
