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Connoisseur Media acquires Bonneville’s San Francisco Cluster

The sale was announced on Oct. 7....adding on an additional 4 weeks due to the government shutdown, I woud say an approval (or denial) from the FCC should be expected in the next week or two?
 
The always-objective, never-partisan, follows-the-law-to-the-letter FCC chairman is favorably disposed to the Florida broadcasters his Commission issued the waivers to.

My take is that it's a sale from Beasley to a local broadcaster. The Connoisseur situation would be different. Connoisseur isn't local.

Carr seems predisposed to favor local broadcasters.

Isn't real issue is market concentration?

Once this transaction closes, FMBC & Sun will control stations that have just over 60% of local radio revenue in Ft Myers.

Good point, but I don't think that's FCC jurisdiction. That may be FTC.
 
Good point, but I don't think that's FCC jurisdiction. That may be FTC.

Up until today, ownership concentration in a single market was a driving force within the FCC. Even under previous Republican presidents, the FCC chairmen were conscious of how decisions they made would help define or defray market concentration.
 
Up until today, ownership concentration in a single market was a driving force within the FCC. Even under previous Republican presidents, the FCC chairmen were conscious of how decisions they made would help define or defray market concentration.

Not market revenue. Just number of stations. Two different things.

Its 60% of market revenue. That's not FCC.
 
The FCC has just approved the sale of the San Francisco Bonneville stations to Connoisseur.
KMVQ-FM10840000281230FMSAN FRANCISCO, CA
KMVQ-FM77628290000281231FBSAN FRANCISCO, CA
KUFX-FM31366240000281232FBPLEASANTON, CA
KUFX-FM2654130000281233FBMORGAN HILL, CA
KBLX-FM77628680000281234FBBERKELEY, CA
KBLX-FM57628650000281235FBBERKELEY, CA
KOIT-FM47626990000281236FBSAN FRANCISCO, CA
KBLX-FM286700000281237FMBERKELEY, CA
KBLX-FM37628630000281238FBBERKELEY, CA
KOIT-FM77628260000281239FBSAN FRANCISCO, CA
KOIT-FM67628250000281240FBSAN FRANCISCO, CA
KMVQ-FM67628320000281241FBSAN FRANCISCO, CA
KMVQ-FM57628310000281242FBSAN FRANCISCO, CA
KUFX654150000281243FMSAN JOSE, CA
KMVQ-FM47628300000281244FBSAN FRANCISCO, CA
KMVQ-FM87628330000281245FBSAN FRANCISCO, CA
KOIT-FM87628270000281246FBSAN FRANCISCO, CA
KOIT63800000281247FMSAN FRANCISCO, CA
KOIT-FM57628240000281248FBSAN FRANCISCO, CA
KBLX-FM67628670000281249FBBERKELEY, CA
KBLX-FM47628640000281250FBBERKELEY, CA
 
What's missing here is for someone to file a lawsuit challenging the Connoisseur deal. Judges don't rule until there's a trial.
I don’t see this translaction being as egregious as the Nexstar/Tegna deal.

I’m more inclined to believe that if Connoisseur were forced to sell stations, the count of properties in the area would be reduced. No one is really in the market of buying stations accept for EMF.
 
I don’t see this translaction being as egregious as the Nexstar/Tegna deal.
That ship has kind of sailed. But when the FCC says it will review consolidation deals case-by-case, it's opening those deals up for challenge. The FCC has regulations; if it decides to follow those regulations sometimes and not other times, then it could reasonably be accused of arbitrary and capricious application of those regulations. Such a finding could either call those regulations into question, or call into question the cases where the regulations were not applied.

The Bay Area being what it is, it wouldn't surprise me if an advocacy group challenged the consolidation. Because it's radio, it may not have been noticed by groups inclined to challenge such things. Yet.
 
That ship has kind of sailed. But when the FCC says it will review consolidation deals case-by-case, it's opening those deals up for challenge. The FCC has regulations; if it decides to follow those regulations sometimes and not other times, then it could reasonably be accused of arbitrary and capricious application of those regulations. Such a finding could either call those regulations into question, or call into question the cases where the regulations were not applied.

The Bay Area being what it is, it wouldn't surprise me if an advocacy group challenged the consolidation. Because it's radio, it may not have been noticed by groups inclined to challenge such things. Yet.
I’ve told some of the necessary folks
 
If broadcast radio usage in San Francisco is as low as I think it is, it will help justify the waiver.

So far, Connoisseur has shown itself to be a solid owner, qualified to run the Bonneville stations. No real reason to challenge this waiver.
 
I don't know about KSCO, but I can agree that by and large, radio in SF is garbage.

KCBS is the only station I bother with, and even that isn't what it used to be.

c
 
No real reason to challenge this waiver.
Doesn't mean it won't be challenged, though. With the Commission handing out waivers like a ticket machine in a parking garage, one or more of those waivers will be challenged. Whether such a challenge would succeed is a whole other question. But as long as you can show standing, you can file a suit and at least slow things down.
 
What effort? They run a bunch of syndicated & brokered right wing talk. KGO in its last years gave more of an effort.

If I didn't know better, I'd think it was owned by Salem.
This may be one of the only exceptions on KSCO, I have no idea about their other shows because I stopped listening daily after Rosemary left the morning show. Rich Lieberman was on Zwerling’s “Saturday Special” show once and I listened to that, but it wasn’t my thing, and so long ago I don’t remember what I disliked about it.

Law of the Land is a nonpolitical show hosted by a Santa Cruz lawyer with local call ins. I’ve listened to it for at least 11 years, he’s like a less funny Bill Handel but still is a good host:
 


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