Standard General's latest legal maneuvers are “highly unlikely” to succeed in rescuing Standard General’s proposed acquisition of Tegna, which is close to being killed by a long regulatory review, according to former FCC chief of staff Blair Levin.
Nearly a year after Tegna agreed to be acquired, the Federal Communications Commission’s Media Bureau designated the deal to be sent to an administrative law judge for a hearing, a process unlikely to be completed before Standard General’s financing agreements expire on May 22.
Levin, now policy adviser to New Street Research, noted that the deal must now go through several decision-makers.
He said there is no deadline by which an administrative law judge is required to make a ruling. If the judge does not make a timely ruling, the matter would go to the full FCC.
Levin predicted FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel is unlikely to bring the matter to a commission vote. That would lead Standard General and Tegna to file an extraordinary writ in a U.S. District Court.
If there were an FCC vote as the companies have sought, Levin said, it would likely be a 2-2 tie, “leaving the matter in limbo, with the parties again filing an extraordinary writ with the District Court.”
What happens in federal court? Levin figures the court wouldn’t get the matter until April. That close to the deal’s expiration, the court could decide any decision would be irrelevant and, without a decision from the FCC, it could decide the case is not ripe for judicial review, Levin said.
If the court decided to rule on the merits, “even if the court agrees with the legal arguments in [Standard General and Tegna’s] petition, it cannot compel the FCC to approve the license transfer.”
The next step would be the U.S. Court of Appeals, but Levin said he is dubious the case would get there before the deal’s financing expires.
But even if the appeals court took the case and ruled in favor of Standard General and Tegna, the appeals court can’t force the FCC to transfer a license, Levin said. “The matter would have to return to the FCC, where again, the chair controls the timing.” ■
