Following petitions to deny and a pending civil court case over South Florida Public Media Group’s $6.45 million purchase of Hip Hop “104.7 The Flame” WFLM Palm Beach Shores/West Palm Beach from JDD Radio, the FCC has approved the acquisition.
South Florida Public Media Group manages Public News/Talk 91.3 WLRN-FM Miami, 91.5 WKWM Marathon/Key West, and 101.9 W270AD West Palm Beach as well as their Classical service on WLRN-HD2 and WKWM-HD2 and WLRN-TV for The School Board of Miami-Dade County, which has been legally protesting the acquisition through both the FCC and legal avenues. Originally known as Friends of WLRN Inc, which served as the fundraising arm of WLRN since 1974, SFPMG rebranded and took over full operational management of the stations in 2022.
The School board alleged that the money used to purchase WFLM were raised by donors are for the exclusive benefit of WLRN and there is no other source of income and that the acquisition is a breach of contract and fiduciary obligations as manager and fundraiser of the stations as any use of the WLRN endowment or donor-raised funds would constitute a misappropriation of funds. It also said that WFLM will irreparably harm them as it would create a direct format competitor.
SFPMG countered that its ownership and spectrum lease of WHR866 to Clearwire Spectrum Holdings II LLC gives it enough funds to finance the purchase, although the school board claims that money should also be going to it.
The FCC today denied the school board’s Petition To Deny against the purchase and granted the acquisition of the station by South Florida Public Media Group moving any final closing of the deal to come from resolution of the civil case as a private contractual matter and not anything that warrants the commission to rule on.
The commission wrote, “Absent a final court judgment raising issues within the Commission’s jurisdiction or an injunction specifically prohibiting the filing or processing of the Application, we do not withhold consent to an otherwise acceptable application. A grant under these circumstances simply reflects that the parties are qualified and that the proposed transaction complies with the Act and the Commission’s rules and policies; it is permissive only and does not prejudice any relief that may ultimately be awarded in the civil suit. Based on the record before us, the School Board has not otherwise raised a substantial and material question of fact warranting further inquiry in the Application. Accordingly, we find JDD qualified to assign, and SFPMG qualified to hold, the Station license, and therefore conclude that grant of the Application serves the public interest. We emphasize that our approval of the assignment of the Station license to SFPMG does not foreclose any relief to which Petitioner might ultimately be entitled based upon a final ruling in the ongoing civil court proceeding.”
