FCC waives through temporary TV twofer

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The 583M acquisition of three television stations by Raycom from Lincoln Financial Company filed last November was not without complications. The deal, which included WBTV-TV Charlotte NC (CBS/3); WCSC-TV Charleston SC (CBS/5); and WWBT-TV Richmond VA (NBC/12), created a duopoly in Richmond with WTVR-TV CBS/6 (and as if that wasn’t enough, Raycom also held an SSA with WUPV-TV CW/65). The company is not even going to attempt to slide the combination past the Commission on a permanent basis. And it wants to keep WWBT. So the company asked the FCC for six months to continue owning and operating WTVR while searching for a qualified buyer. It promised to operate the stations completely independently during the waiver period, notes that it already has four nibbles from prospective buyers, and adds that it has a binding agreement with DOJ to sell WTVR. Under these circumstances, the FCC has granted the six months.