OK Applications Involving Apollo Affiliate/Cox Media Group-Northwestern, FCC Asked

Management, representatives for the companies told us. Northwest Broadcasting also is involved. The attorneys "discussed the status of the Terrier Media applications, the public interest showings contained in the applications, the markets included in the applications, and the implications, if any, of the Third Circuit’s recent decision in Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC." Last month's ruling was the FCC's fourth appeals court loss on quadrennial updates to media ownership rules (see 1909230067). Terrier Media representatives discussed why the 3rd Circuit's decision shouldn't "affect the Commission’s review of the pending applications," emailed that company's spokesperson Friday. The deals are in the public interest and got DOJ approval, so Terrier's "confident" the FCC will OK "these transactions," she added. "We are working through the implications, if any, of the recent 3rd Circuit court decision with respect to our pending sale of" Cox Media Group to an Apollo affiliate to form the new CMG, a Cox Enterprises spokesperson emailed Friday. Lawyers for the broadcasters had one meeting with FCC General Counsel Tom Johnson, Media Bureau Chief Michelle Carey, an aide to Chairman Ajit Pai and others. Terrier Media (see 1908300037), seeks to buy TV and radio licenses and permits controlled by Northwest or by Cox and potentially to be up to fully foreign owned. It's buying all of Northwest's TV stations, the Terrier representative confirmed to us. The Cox deal is for all of CMG's stations other than two radio outlets, she said. The lawyer who made the filing posted Friday in dockets including 19-196 didn't answer questions about what specifically was discussed about the transactions. All the Terrier rep would tell us is that foreign ownership didn't come up.