FTC/DOJ OK With KTVK/KASW Sale

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Meredith's approximately $130 million purchase of KTVK and KASW in Phoenix from Gannett has gotten early termination of its antitrust review.

That came in a notice Friday from the Federal Trade Commission, which puts out a list of the deals submitted for review that will not require conditions or be blocked by either the FTC or Justice, which vet deals over a $75 million valuation for possible anticompetitive concerns.

Since the FCC usually coordinates its public interest review with Justice—which traditionally handles TV station antitrust reviews—the deal is likely to get a clean bill of health from the FCC, too, though an FCC spokesperson said the deal is "still under review."

John Eggerton
John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.