CXR Radio Station Trust Denied Longterm Extension

RADIO ONLINE | Thursday, December 9, 2021 | 1:47pm CT

Federal Communications Commission

The CXR Radio Station Trust, the divestiture trustee of Cox Radio, sought a FCC waiver and extension of its divestiture deadline for Alternative WSUN-FM/Tampa and CHR WPYO-FM/Orlando on November 8. The previous Divestiture Order required CXR to assign the licenses for the stations to an unrelated third party within two years after its acquisition consummated on December 17, 2019. CXR had filed a request seeking to extend the deadline for one year, through December 17, 2022, to complete the required divestiture.

According to CXR's request, the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic makes it necessary and appropriate to grant a one year extension of the current divestiture deadline in order for CXR to obtain fair value for the stations. However, the FCC granted the request in part, otherwise denied CXR's request. The agency did grant a 60-day extension for the limited purpose of extending the divestiture deadline by an additional 60 days, until February 15, 2022, and denied it in all other respects.

The agency says the stations must be assigned by CXR Radio to a long-form unaffiliated buyer by February 15, 2022 and must be consummated within 15 days of Commission approval of the assignment.