South Florida Public Media Group is one step closer to growing its radio holdings. The Federal Communications Commission has approved an application the group filed to buy urban AC “The Flame 104.7” WFLM West Palm Beach from JDD Radio. In doing so, the FCC rejected a petition filed by South Florida public media powerhouse WLRN that had sought to deny the transfer.
“After careful consideration of the record, we find that grant of the application is not inconsistent with the public interest, convenience, and necessity,” Audio Division Chief Albert Shuldiner writes in the eight-page decision. He says that many of the issues that have been raised in the dispute are a private contractual matter, better resolved in the Miami-Dade County, FL court where the two sides have also been laying out their case.
The pending $6.45 million deal was announced last June, but it soon became ensnared in a dispute among public media operators. The Miami-Dade County School Board, which owns NPR affiliate WLRN-FM Miami (91.3) petitioned the FCC seeking to have the sale blocked. They accused the not-for-profit group which has managed WLRN since 2022 of attempting to use money that it had from WLRN to buy WFLM. The board accused the group of misrepresenting to the FCC that they had sufficient funds to operate the station if allowed to buy it. Instead, the school board said the money it does have are part of an endowment meant to run WLRN.
The school board also filed suit in Florida court against South Florida Public Media Group seeking to block the sale from advancing, alleging it violated its existing contract arrangement with the Miami public broadcaster. It has accused SFPMG of diverting millions of dollars to its expansion plan. It has also sought to block the entity from using any donor lists that it accessed while managing WLRN.
But South Florida Public Media Group has said it relies on revenue from its Commission-authorized EBS lease — separate from its management role with WLRN — and that the school board has no legal claim to those funds. The group also said by converting WFLM into a noncommercial station, they will be able to reach as many as 800,000 listeners — including many who cannot currently access local public radio programming.
But WLRN has disputed that claim, saying the station operates “with a service area that substantially overlaps that of the station being assigned.” The board argues operating WFLM as a noncommercial educational station would create direct competition for listeners and donor support in areas where WLRN’s signals overlap with WFLM’s coverage.
The Media Bureau agreed with the school board’s that WLRN has a potential economic competitor due to signal overlap and similar NPR-style programming. However, it finds its petition failed to raise a substantial and material question of fact warranting further inquiry. Shuldiner says the FCC decision is based simply with whether the parties are qualified and that the proposed transaction complies with federal law. Based on the record before us, the School Board has not otherwise raised a substantial and material question of fact warranting further inquiry in the application,” he says.
Even with the FCC approval, the court case is continuing to move forward. Court documents show the two sides were to have met in a mediation session on Thursday (Feb. 26). And both sides are scheduled to be back in court March 11.
