US FCC approves Citadel-Walt Disney radio deal
By Rachelle Younglai
WASHINGTON, March 22 (Reuters) - The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday gave approval to Citadel Broadcasting Corp. CDL.N to acquire 24 Walt Disney Co. (DIS.N) radio stations on the condition that Citadel divest 11 of its currently-owned stations.
The approval came more than a year after Las Vegas-based Citadel offered to buy Disney's ABC radio assets in a deal worth $2.7 billion.
The acquisition will give Citadel a foothold in the country's biggest radio markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco.
The deal did not include ESPN Radio and Radio Disney.
To comply with FCC radio-ownership rules, Citadel agreed to transfer control of 11 of its stations in seven markets including Oklahoma and Albuquerque.
Commissioner Robert McDowell, a Republican, said competition will be improved by Citadel's divestiture and called it a "terrific buying opportunity" for new entrants to get into the radio market.
Democratic Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein also cited Citadel's commitment to seek out qualified women and minority owners along with its promise of business reforms to make negotiations between radio stations and music companies more transparent.
Earlier in March, Citadel along with Clear Channel Communications Inc. (CCU.N), CBS Corp. (CBSa.N) and Entercom Communications Corp. (ETM.N) agreed to pay $12.5 million to settle investigations by the FCC into whether they received secret payments to play certain songs.
The four big U.S. radio station owners did not admit to any wrongdoing, but agreed to set aside 4,200 hours of free radio time for independent musicians.
