SAGA COMMUNICATIONS TELLS FCC NOT TO RENEW THE LICENSES OF 5 LPFM STATIONS IN CHARLOTTESVILLE

Commercial broadcaster Saga Communications has filed a petition telling the FCC not to renew the licenses of five LPFM stations in Charlottesville.

The FCC battle pits Saga, a publicly traded corporation with over 100 station in 27 markets and an annual revenue that tops $133 million, against five separately licensed LPFM stations with a combined revenue of less than $200,000.

A spokesperson for Saga said the reason for this action is that the five LPFMs “are operating illegally” and “acting too much like commercial stations." 

Saga owns and operates six commercial stations (4 FM, 2 AM) in the Charlottesville market.

Mike Frind the GM of one of the stations, WVAI-LP, told Radio Ink [link] “…that’s hogwash and Saga is just trying to bully us.”

Frind said he’s confident that WVIA and the other LPFMs involved in the license purge are operating within FCC rules.  Frind said no idea why Saga CEO Ed Christian is targeting them.

Saga’s Petition to Deny [download it here] claims that the five stations are in violation of FCC rules by entering into a joint operating agreement, airing commercials, duplicating programming and filing documents with the FCC that lacked proper certification. 

Further, Saga alleges that the five stations have acted in a "pattern of abuse" that disqualifies them for renewal of their licenses. The petition also claims that the five LPFM stations are not operating in the public’s interest. Saga seeks a FCC evidentiary hearing where they will put the proof of wrong doing on the table for all to see.

MEET THE “VIRGINIA RADIO COOP"

The Virginia Radio  Coop (VRC) is a non-profit organization created by the stations to provide common support functions including leasing studios and offices, transmitter site rentals and group purchases of equipment and office supplies.

VRC HQ 

Four of the five stations – WXRK-LP, WPCV-LP, WREN-LP and WVIA-LP operate from the same building in a strip mall located at 394 Hillsdale Drive in Charlottesville,  behind a Burger King. 

The fifth station on Saga's list – WKMZ-LP – is a full-time repeater of WREN.

Much of Saga's grievance stems from the relationship that VRC and the stations have with Experience Media Sales [link]. It is a for-profit representation firm owned by Mike McBlair, the morning show host on WREN-LP. Experience Media sells underwriting announcements for each of the five stations.

Saga’s FCC petition says that there must be either an oral or written agreement between the five LPFMs and Experience Media. Saga says that kind od relationship violates FCC rules that prohibit such agreements among LPFM stations. 

Saga quotes a rule in the petition that says: “No LPFM licensee may enter into an operating agreement of any type, including a time brokerage or management agreement, with either a full power broadcast station or another LPFM station.”

But, there is no brokerage or joint management and each of the five stations is operated by a unique board of directors and make all programming and management decisions.

Saga included a rate card (on the right) from Experience Media’s website that lists the prices for underwriting on each station. 

The rate card is no longer on Experience Media’s website.

 

Experience Media says it only accepts underwriting for the LPFMs that comply with the FCC rules.

Plus, Experience Media  says it only accepts underwriting for the LPFMs that are in compliance with FCC rules such as no calls to action.

KEN SAYS: This case is important because there are similar “radio coops” of LPFM stations in other places in the U.S. All types of LPFM stations, including religious stations, operate in this manner. If the FCC rules in favor of Saga, it will have national implications.

Many observers say coops are a prudent for non-profit organizations to save money and increase service.

It is hard to imagine that the LPFM stations have put a serious dent in Saga’s advertising revenue in Charlottesville. Maybe this is a case of a large corporation creating expensive legal disputes to bleed smaller competitors out of business.