Lee Blasts FCC on Audacy Foreign Ownership Temporary Waiver Approval
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, raised concerns Tuesday about reports that the FCC was on track to approve radio group Audacy’s request for a temporary waiver of FCC foreign-ownership rules. This would allow Audacy to complete a bankruptcy restructuring that includes…
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George Soros-affiliated entities purchasing its stock. An FCC official confirmed that all three FCC Democrats have voted for the item, while Republican Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington are expected to dissent (see 2409170015). The FCC’s “must-vote” clock on Audacy’s request expired last week, but the agency hadn’t announced a final decision as of Tuesday afternoon. “No decision is final until the Commission releases it, which we have not,” a spokesperson said. Lee nonetheless reacted to a New York Post report that the FCC formally adopted the request. “Soros buys 200 radio stations weeks before the election,” Lee said on X. “FCC bypasses [the] review process to approve the purchase. What could go wrong?” The order would delay the foreign-ownership rules review until after the proposed bankruptcy restructuring rather than fully bypass it, as Lee claims. FCC’s consideration of the Audacy request came up briefly during a Thursday House Oversight Committee hearing (see 2409190063). Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., told Carr during the hearing he’s “extremely alarmed” that the FCC potentially could approve the request. It would give Soros, “a major donor” to Democrats, “a free pass to take control of hundreds of local radio stations, flooding the airwaves with leftist propaganda,” Langworthy said.