The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Monday approved a license deal delivering leftist billionaire George Soros control over 200 Audacy radio stations; dissenting commissioners called it “unprecedented.”
Breitbart News reported last week the Democrat majority at the FCC “fast-tracked” a deal to allow Soros to acquire more than 200 radio stations despite Republican objections.
Soros reportedly took foreign investment to make his bid for the 200 Audacy radio stations, which covers 40 media markets, and asked the commission to make an exception to the normal review porcess.
This is reportedly the first time a fast-tracked deal has gone through the commission without a typical national security review process, which normally would take up to a year or more.
FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said in a written statement on Monday:
In this decision, we approve the assignment of licenses held by Audacy, which has been under the control of a bankruptcy court, to the new Audacy, so that the company can emerge from bankruptcy proceedings. The process we use to facilitate this license transfer is identical to the one recently used by the agency in the bankruptcy proceedings of Cumulus Media in 2018, iHeart Media in 2019, Liberman Television in 2019, Fusion Connect in 2019, Windstream Holdings in 2020, America-CV Station Group in 2021, and Alpha Media in 2021. To suggest otherwise is cynical and wrong, as this precedent clearly demonstrates. 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.
FCC Republican-nominated commissioners slammed the decision to fast-track the order, believing it ignores the national security needs to review the deal.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said in a written statement:
The Commission’s decision today is unprecedented. 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. 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.
…
Federal law requires applicants with excessive foreign ownership to file a
petition for declaratory ruling at the same time that they seek FCC approval for the relevant license
transfers, they must then complete that process before the FCC can approve the assignment of licenses,
and that process must enable Executive Branch agencies with national security and specific policy
expertise to weigh in.
Carr added, “Did they obtain approval from the FCC for their excessive foreign ownership? No, they did not. Did the Applicants afford the Executive Branch agencies with national security and relevant policy expertise an opportunity to consider their application as well as the source and amount of foreign investment? No, they did not.”
FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington said in a written statement, “First, I just have to point out: a Commission eager to fast-track a billion dollar broadcast media reorganization, disregarding foreign ownership concerns, is the same Commission that has gone back to the well several times to impose and re-impose foreign sponsorship identification rules on our smallest independent broadcast license holders every time they place local church content on the air. Just saying.”
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on X @SeanMoran3
