FCC Puts Pandora KXMZ Purchase On Hold Over Foreign Ownership Concerns

Hold On There

The grant of the application of PANDORA RADIO LLC's purchase of Top 40 KXMZ (HITS 102.7)/BOX ELDER, SD from CONNOISSEUR MEDIA LICENSES, LLC has been rescinded by the FCC's Media Bureau and processing of the application has ceased.  A letter from Media Bureau Chief PETER H. DOYLE to the parties says that the Commission "find(s) that the foreign ownership methodology described in the Response is inadequate to support PANDORA's certification of compliance with the foreign ownership limitations of Section 310(b)(4) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended."  Specifically, DOYLE said that while PANDORA's response to concerns about foreign ownership relied upon mailing addresses as proxies for shareholder citizenship, "n the broadcast context a mailing address is not a sufficiently reliable indicator of citizenship.... Such use of mailing addresses may result in a clearly foreign shareholder, such as a company incorporated under the laws of another country, being treated as a U.S. shareholder."  The letter also warns PANDORA to be consistent in which data it uses, telling the company that if it uses recent data to show a foreign shareholder has dropped below the threshold for attribution, it must use the same time frame to show that other shareholders did not rise above the same threshold.  The application is now on hold until PANDORA can show foreign ownership compliance acceptable to the Commission; the question of ownership arose in a challenge to the sale filed by ASCAP.

In other filings with the FCC, the price for the previously-announced sale by WOYK, INC. of Sports WOYK-A/YORK, PA to YORK PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL CLUB, LLC, owner of independent minor league baseball's YORK REVOLUTION, is $500,000, according to the contract filed with the FCC.  $350,000 of the total will be in cash at closing, and $150,000 will be in a promissory note at 6% with quarterly interest-only payments and a balloon principal-plus-remaining-interest paid in three years.

M&M BROADCASTERS, LTD. is donating KTAE/HICO, TX to FIRST DALLAS MEDIA, INC. (CRISWELL COLLEGE and FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF DALLAS, TX).  The donation is valued at $375,000.

CSSI NON-PROFIT EDUCATIONAL BROADCASTING CORPORATION is selling the construction permit for FM translator K238BQ/CLEBURNE, TX to GARY L. MOSS for $70,000.

DANIEL PELTZ is selling FM translator W286CS/WAVERLY, NY to RADIGAN BROADCASTING GROUP, LLC for $2,500. The translator will rebroadcast Talk WEBO-A/OWEGO, NY.

KEVIN NELSON is transferring the construction permit for FM translator K280FZ/BLACK HAWK, CO to CLEAR CREEK RADIO, INC. for no consideration.

BANGOR BAPTIST CHURCH is donating FM translator W291CO/ELLSWORTH, ME to LIGHTHOUSE RADIO NETWORK, INC.

CUMULUS LICENSING LLC has requested a Silent STA for WLZR-A/MELBOURNE, FL due to continuing copper theft at the station's site.

SOUND OF LIFE, INC. has asked the FCC for an extension of its Silent STA for FM translator W235AY/TROY, NY while it awaits completion of construction at a new site.

TUGART PROPERTIES, LLC has requested an extension of its Silent STA for WHTD-A/MOUNTAIN CITY, GA because the station's transmitter site was sold and "a technical analysis is underway to determine long term plans.... it has proven to be nearly impossible to locate an alternate site that provides coverage over the city of license."  TUGART has also filed for an extension of the Silent STA for WNGA/CLERMONT, GA because of a lost lease at its licensed transmitter site and while it awaits construction at a new site.

SYNERGY BROADCAST NORTH DAKOTA, LLC has filed for an extension of its Silent STA for KQLZ/BEULAH, ND due to delays in its frequency swap and concerns about the tower's ability to hold the antenna.

And CLEAR CHANNEL's ALOHA STATION TRUST, LLC has closed on the donation of Southern Gospel WSHE-A/COLUMBUS. GA to MMTC BROADCASTING, LLC.

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