FCC Denies Petitions Opposing WQXR/New York Sale

RADIO ONLINE | , , | :am CT

The FCC has rejected several informal objections and a petition to deny the transfer of New York Times-owned Classical WQXR-FM/New York to Univision's WADO License Corp. Those filing objections feared that the station sale might not preserve its Classical format in the listening area. However, the Commission said that it is well-settled policy that the agency does not scrutinize or regulate programming.

In its ruling, the FCC said that a change in programming is not a material factor that should be considered by the Commission in ruling on applications for license transfer. Additionally, the agency is not authorized to deny a proposed assignment based on the comparative service that a party other than the proposed assignee might provide to the public.

The FCC found that the Objectors had not raised a substantial and material question of fact warranting further inquiry. The Commission further found that WADO is qualified to hold the station's license and that grant of the Assignment Application is consistent with the public interest.