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File pnmc5021 (.txt & .wp) is in directory \pub\Public_Notices\Miscellaneous. ***************************************************************** ******** FOR FCC RECORD ONLY: $// MO&O, WWNK-FM, Cincinnati, Ohio, FCC 95-154//$ $/ 73.3555(c) one-to-a-market waiver /$ Before the Federal Communications Commission FCC 95-154 Washington, D.C. 20554 In re Application of ) ) Secret Communications Limited ) Partnership ) (Assignor) ) ) and ) BALH-940429GF ) Great American Television and ) Radio Company, Inc. ) (Assignee) ) ) For Assignment of License of ) WWNK-FM, Cincinnati, Ohio ) MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Adopted: April 7, 1995 Released: April 19, 1995 By the Commission: 1. The Commission has before it the above-captioned application for assignment of license of WWNK-FM, Cincinnati, Ohio from Secret Communications Limited Partnership ("Secret") to Great American Television and Radio Company, Inc. ("Great American"), and a related request for waiver of 47 C.F.R.  73.3555(c), the Commission's one-to-a-market rule. The application is unopposed. For the reasons stated below, we will grant the waiver request and the assignment application. 2. Great American is currently the licensee of WKRQ(FM) and WKRC-TV, Channel 12 (ABC), both licensed to Cincinnati, Ohio. The Commission granted Great American a permanent waiver to own both of these stations, as well as a co-located AM station, in 1989. By the instant application, Great American seeks to acquire a second FM station in the Cincinnati market. The transaction would comply with the Commission's revised radio ownership rules. However, grant of the subject assignment application would create a new radio-television combination that requires waiver of the one-to-a-market rule under the "case-by- case" standard, discussed infra at paragraph 3. 3. Request for Waiver of the One-to-a-Market Rule. Great American bases its waiver request on the one-to-a-market standards enunciated in the Second Report and Order in MM Docket 87-7, 4 FCC Rcd 1741 (1989) ("Second Report and Order"), recon. denied in part and granted in part ("Second Report and Order Recon."), 4 FCC Rcd 6489 (1989). Under these standards, the Commission will "look favorably upon" waiver applications involving (1) stations serving the top 25 markets where at least 30 separately owned, operated, and controlled stations will remain following the proposed combination; or (2) "failed" stations (stations that have not been operational for a substantial period of time or are involved in bankruptcy proceedings). Otherwise, the applicants must be evaluated under the more rigorous case-by-case standard. 47 C.F.R.  73.3555(c) note 7. Under this standard, the Commission makes a public interest determination based upon five criteria, though an applicant need not satisfy every criterion. See note 7, infra. The five criteria are: (1) the public service benefits that will arise from the joint operation of the facilities such as economies of scale, cost savings and programming and service benefits; (2) the types of facilities involved; (3) the number of media outlets owned by the applicant in the relevant market; (4) the financial difficulties of the stations involved; and (5) the nature of the relevant market in light of the level of competition and diversity after joint operation is implemented. See Second Report and Order, 4 FCC Rcd 1741, 1753 (1989). Since the Cincinnati market is not in the top 25 markets and since neither of the stations involved is a "failed" station, Great American must justify its request under the "case-by-case" standard. 4. Benefits of Joint Operation. In support of its request, Great American submits a showing which addresses each of the five case-by-case factors. First, regarding the potential public service benefits of joint operation, Great American contends that significant cost savings, economies of scale, and technical, operational, programming, and service benefits will be realized if the Commission allows the proposed combination. Great American anticipates moving WWNK-FM's operations to Great American's headquarters and assimilating WWNK-FM into Great American's existing management and staffing structures. It estimates that combining the operations of WWNK-FM with those of WKRQ and WKRC-TV will clearly save in excess of $855,000 annually and believes that the total savings and benefits from joint operation may total over a million dollars annually. Great American indicates that the consolidation of WWNK-FM with WKRQ and WKRC-TV will result in numerous programming benefits to the public. For example, WWNK-FM's news gathering capabilities will be greatly enhanced through access to Great American's existing news services and facilities. It will also have access to Great American's meteorologists and WKRC-TV's Doppler 12 Weather Center. Currently, WWNK-FM has no on-site weather service and no contract for outside weather reporting. Additionally, combined operations will result in increased public service programming and non-broadcast public service efforts for WWNK-FM. In support of this point, Great American lists the numerous community projects and public interest campaigns it has been involved in during the last two years and indicates the intent to expand such efforts through WWNK-FM. 5. Type of Facilities. WWNK-FM is a Class B FM station operating at 32 kw effective radiated power (ERP) from an antenna 183 meters height above average terrain (HAAT). WKRQ is a Class B facility operating at 16 kw ERP from 267 meters HAAT and WKRC- TV is an ABC-affiliated VHF television station operating on Channel 12 at 316 kw ERP and an antenna height of 305 meters HAAT. Great American, in support of its contention that the subject facilities do not dominate the market, asserts that WWNK- FM, WKRQ, and WKRC-TV operate with facilities that are substantially comparable to all other television stations and Class B FM stations in the Cincinnati market. Commission records confirm these assertions. 6. Number of Outlets Owned. The proposed combination will result in Great American owning two FM stations and one television station in the same market. Great American has demonstrated that there are at least 15 commercial radio stations that provide a principal community grade of service to the area defined by the combined principal community contours of WWNK-FM and WKRQ. It has also demonstrated that the combined audience share of stations WWNK-FM and WKRQ is 10.3 percent. See note 3, supra. 7. Economic Status. Great American concedes that "none of the stations here is in financial distress." Waiver Request at 27. Nonetheless, Great American emphasizes that this factor, i.e. presence of financial difficulties, "is not entitled to substantial weight when a strong showing has been made that the public interest would otherwise be served by grant of a waiver." Waiver Request at 27 (citing Great American Television and Radio Co., 4 FCC Rcd. at 6349). 8. Competition and Diversity in the Market. The fifth factor is the nature of the relevant market in light of the Commission's concerns about diversity and competition. To determine the number of broadcast outlets in the market the Commission considers the number of separately owned and operated "voices" and the degree of cable and other non-broadcast media penetration. As to the market definition within which to count the number of broadcast stations, in the context of a one-to-a- market waiver, we consider "the relevant TV metro market for radio stations and the relevant ADI [Arbitron Area of Dominant Influence] TV market for TV stations." Second Report and Order, 4 FCC Rcd at 1760, n.101. The Cincinnati ADI, which includes 771,000 television homes, is ranked 31st in the country and contains 9 television stations, licensed to eight separate owners. It contains 26 FM stations and 14 AM stations, for a total of 40 AM and FM stations, licensed to 33 separate owners. Great American also submits that the Cincinnati ADI has 8 daily newspapers, 61 weekly newspapers, and numerous national magazines with significant circulation. Great American also asserts that there are 28 cable operators and, as of March 1994, cable penetration in the Cincinnati market was 59 percent. Great American concludes that, due to the abundance of electronic and print media in the Cincinnati market, "[a]quisition by Great American of one additional radio station would have no discernable effect on either media diversity or competition in the Cincinnati market." Waiver Request at 8. 9. Discussion. In evaluating a request for a waiver of the one- to-a-market rule, "our goal in all situations is to permit the public to benefit from such efficiencies of operation as may be achieved through the use of common facilities and staff, consistent with the maintenance of diversity and vigorous competition within the market areas involved." Second Report and Order Recon., 4 FCC Rcd at 6491. We conclude that Great American's showing in support of a waiver of the one-to-a-market rule meets our case-by-case criteria, and that a waiver in this instance is in the public interest and would not have an adverse effect on diversity and competition in the Cincinnati market. 10. In the past, the Commission has held that significant cost savings and economic efficiencies are "precisely the type of public interest benefit from common station ownership which we envision as warranting a waiver of the one-to-a-market rule . . . ." Great American Television and Radio Co., 4 FCC Rcd at 6349. Great American has shown that joint operation of the stations will result in cost savings of at least $855,000 dollars annually. It has also clearly demonstrated the potential for enhanced programming and other public service benefits for WWNK- FM if the assignment is approved. For example, the proposed combination will significantly strengthen WWNK-FM's news and weather reporting ability. It will also enable WWNK-FM to avail itself of Great American's resources and notable experience in public service programming and public interest campaigns. 11. Furthermore, Great American has demonstrated that the proposed combination will not create any undue concentration of ownership or control of the broadcast media in the Cincinnati market. After the assignment is approved, the Cincinnati market will be served by 40 radio stations and 9 television stations. Of those stations, 39 will remain separately owned and operated, with Great American owning two FM stations and one television station. In addition, as Great American has pointed out, other "voices" in the market are plentiful, including, inter alia, 8 daily newspapers, 61 weekly newspapers, and 28 cable operators. Cable penetration is 59 percent. With respect to the facilities involved, we note that the proposed combination does not present issues of market dominance inconsistent with the public interest given the substantial competition in the Cincinnati market. Thus, we are persuaded that the common ownership and joint operation of WWNK-FM, WKRQ, and WKRC-TV will not adversely affect diversity and competition in the Cincinnati market. 12. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, That the request for a waiver of the Commission's one-to-a-market rule, 47 C.F.R.  73.3555(c), IS HEREBY GRANTED; and having found the applicants fully qualified, the application for assignment of license (BALH-940429GF) of WWNK-FM, Cincinnati, Ohio from Secret Communications Limited Partnership to Great American Television and Radio Company, Inc. IS HEREBY GRANTED. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION William F. Caton Acting Secretary