Globalist billionaire George Soros is asking the FCC to waive its rule on foreign ownership of U.S. radio stations so he quickly can buy the Audacy radio empire, which is second in number of stations only to iHeart radio.
Election interference?
The 93-year-old Soros in February pumped $400 million into Audacy. The network reaches 165 million monthly listeners and includes conservative shows from hosts including Sean Hannity, Dana Loesch, Mark Levin, Glenn Beck, and Erick Erickson.
"But their influence is likely to be muted if the billionaire takes over and imposes his agenda, as has happened with other media acquisitions," the New York Post reported on Tuesday.
Soros is pressing the FCC to make an exception to its rule where foreign company ownership of U.S. radio stations is not allowed to exceed 25%. To take control of the Audacy network of stations, most of the money from Soros Fund Management comes from abroad.
Anna Gomez was confirmed by the Senate on Sept. 7, 2023 and sworn in as the FCC's fifth and final commissioner, giving Democrats a 3-2 majority.
“The FCC should not create a special Soros shortcut,” FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, a Republican, told The Post this week.
Rep. Chip Roy, a Texas Republican, warned in April of the special treatment Soros is seeking from the FCC:
But instead of going through the usual petition for declaratory ruling process, which would enable the FCC to review and assess those foreign ownership interests as part of its transaction review, the Soros group has asked the FCC to waive that process and put it off until sometime down the road — indicating that those foreign stakeholders will be given ‘special warrants’ in the meantime.
The Soros group says that skipping the foreign ownership review at this time will enable the FCC to expedite its approval of the Soros applications and thus allow them to more quickly realize their ownership interests in, and take the reins at, these hundreds of local radio stations across the country.
Audacy has 220 stations including New York’s WFAN and 1010 WINS, as well as Los Angeles-based KROQ, according to bankruptcy filings.Related: King George (Soros) isn’t buying up corrupted U.S. media outlets – he already owns them, April 24, 2024
Sources told The Post Soros’s stake is equal to about 40% of the company’s senior debt, which could yield effective control of the media giant when it emerges from bankruptcy.
“When it comes to a broadcast station acquisition of this size and magnitude – hundreds of radio stations across more than 45 markets – the FCC needs to run its full and normal review process,” Carr said. “The FCC should not be skipping steps or waiving required agency processes.”
A source with knowledge of the deal told The Post: “The idea that George Soros is buying hundreds of local radio stations right before a national election and will keep broadcasting Sean Hannity and other conservative talk radio hosts on Audacy is not credible.”
