Mission Broadcasting Withdrawing From WADL Deal

Mission Broadcasting is withdrawing from its proposed $75 million purchase of WADL Mount Clemens, Michigan, according to documents obtained Wednesday by Communications Daily. The FCC approved the sale in April but with a host of conditions that would essentially prevent Nexstar from operating the station through a local marketing agreement, as had been planned. The FCC order “constitutes a law that prohibits the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the purchase agreement,” Mission said in a letter to WADL owner Adell Broadcasting. The order conditionally granting the sale said that if Mission didn’t accept the conditions, the matter would be designated for hearing. The transaction won’t be consummated, “thus obviating any basis for a hearing,” Mission told the FCC in a rejection of grant filing Wednesday. Broadcast attorneys have told us that they expect that the dissolution of the deal would lead to the FCC not moving forward with the hearing, but it’s not certain how the agency will proceed. Last year, a hearing on the Standard General/Tegna deal was terminated on the deal’s breakup. Attorneys have said that a hearing proceeding could be a threat to the licenses held by Mission and Nexstar. Adell Broadcasting CEO Kevin Adell told us he believes a hearing would have been a “dumb risk” for Mission and Nexstar and said he isn’t bothered by the deal’s dissolution. “It doesn’t matter to Kevin Adell,” he said. Adell said Nexstar still needs to find a home for the CW network in the Detroit market by the end of August, and that he believes his company could reach a deal with Nexstar to carry the network through a local marketing agreement. Adell had previously threatened to pursue legal action against Mission if the deal weren't consummated. He didn't comment Wednesday on whether he was still planning to pursue the matter in court. Nexstar and Mission didn’t immediately comment.