Dismiss Petition To Deny NYC Radio Station License Applications, FCC Says

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit should dismiss the appeal of the FCC decision not granting the license applications of two New York City radio stations because of lack of standing or affirm the FCC's order, said the commission in a brief for appellee filed at the FCC Friday for case 14-1130. The commission granted an application to assign the licenses of the New York radio stations, WLIB(AM) and WBLS(FM), in accordance with an agreement approved by a bankruptcy court, the brief said. The appellants, four residents of the New York City area, filed a petition May 29, 2012, seeking denial of the license application because it would reduce radio programming "geared toward black and local audiences" and encourage more consolidation of media "into the hands of the corporate elite," the brief said. The appellants, on appeal of the commission, said granting the application would violate their Fifth Amendment right to equal protection under the law. The commission concluded the appellants failed to raise substantial and material questions of fact regarding the qualifications of the applicants or to present other evidence that the license assignments would be contrary to the public interest, the brief said. The equal protection argument was dismissed since it wasn't presented to the Media Bureau, which is required by commission rules, it said. Inner City Media (ICMC), the parent company of Urban Radio I, the licensee of the radio stations, was placed into involuntary bankruptcy on Aug. 19, 2011, because it defaulted on its loan obligations, the brief said. In February 2012, the bankruptcy court authorized the sale to YMF Media for all of ICMC's assets, including the two radio licenses, subject to FCC consent, it said. Urban Radio filed an application for consent to the assignment of the licenses to YMF Media's subsidiary, YMF Media New York Licensee, on April 30, 2012, it said. Oral argument hasn't been scheduled.