Draper Media is asking the Federal Communications Commission to waive its local radio ownership limits as part of a proposed $2.5 million acquisition of five radio stations from Forever Media that would create a nine-station cluster in the Salisbury, DE-Ocean City, MD market.<\/p>\n
Draper Media has filed to buy country \u201cChicken 101.3\u201d WCHK-FM, hot AC \u201cEagle 97.7\u201d WAFL, classic hits \u201c97.1 The Wave\u201d WAVD, news-talk \u201cDelaware 105.9\u201d WXDE, and classic hits \u201cCool 930 AM\u201d WNCL. The deal also includes the Milford, DE-licensed translator W271CX at 102.1 FM, which simulcasts WNCL, and a construction permit for the Milford, DE-licensed translator W238DJ at 95.5 FM.<\/p>\n
It is a market where Draper is well established. It already owns four stations in market No. 127, including AC WBOC-FM (102.5), classic rock \u201cBig 107.7\u201d WGBG, country \u201cCoast Country 103.9 3\u201d WRDE, and rock \u201c93.5 The Beach\u201d WZBH. The company also owns TV stations WBOC-TV and WRDE-TV in the area.<\/p>\n
As a result, the deal would expand Draper\u2019s existing Salisbury-Ocean City radio holdings from four stations to nine, including eight FMs. That exceeds the FCC\u2019s current ownership cap in the market, which permits ownership of no more than seven stations, including no more than four AMs or four FMs. That has led Draper to file a waiver request<\/a> with the FCC arguing the combination would strengthen, rather than diminish, local service and competition.<\/p>\n Making Case For Nine<\/p>\n The Salisbury-Ocean City market contains 41 radio stations owned by 19 different groups, according to Draper\u2019s waiver request. It says the market remains highly competitive, noting iHeartMedia currently leads with roughly one-third of market revenue and more than 40% of audience share, while Draper ranks second. Even after the acquisition, Draper says iHeart would remain the market leader in both revenue and ratings.<\/p>\n Yet Draper argues the additional scale would allow it to better compete with other radio operators as well as digital audio platforms. It suggests that scale will give it the resources to invest more heavily in local programming.<\/p>\n \u201cThe proposed transaction will significantly enhance local service to listeners in the metro while maintaining a highly diverse and competitive market,\u201d the company writes.<\/p>\n The broadcaster also points to recent FCC decisions granting ownership waivers in Fort Myers<\/a> and San Francisco, saying those cases demonstrate the Commission\u2019s growing willingness to depart from ownership caps when applicants show public interest benefits. In particular, Draper compares its proposal to the waiver granted earlier this year allowing Connoisseur Media to acquire nine FM stations<\/a> in San Francisco, arguing the situations are similar because several of the stations at issue sit on the edge of their Nielsen markets.<\/p>\n A central piece of Draper\u2019s argument involves the three Milford, DE-licensed stations \u2014 WAFL, WCHK-FM and WNCL. Although FCC rules count them as part of the Salisbury-Ocean City market because Milford straddles Sussex and Kent counties, Draper says Nielsen and BIA do not treat them as Salisbury stations and they contribute little to no competition within the metro. The waiver argues that the stations primarily serve the Milford area rather than the broader Salisbury market, making their inclusion under the ownership cap the result of what it calls \u201can unusual quirk\u201d in FCC rules.<\/p>\n No Format Changes<\/p>\n