As It Turns Out

It would appear that the big proposed swap between Clear Channel’s WBBG/106.1 Niles and WREO/97.1 Ashtabula has fallen apart in mere days.

OK, so we were skeptical when anonymous commenters alluded to it on the item immediately below this.

But sure enough, both applications are listed as “dismissed” as of this evening on the FCC web site, with a dismissal date of today.

Here’s the link to the WBBG application, and the link to the WREO application, both of which show the “dismissed” status.

Since we did not learn of this through sources connected to Clear Channel, we don’t know what’s happening “behind the scenes” here – that would prompt the company to lose the application a mere ten days after it was filed.

The prompt timing would lead us to believe that the company itself made the move to call for the dismissal of both applications – the FCC just doesn’t move that fast if it is actually in the process of considering an application.

Clear Channel was also responsible for the dismissal of their one-time application to move WWVA/1170 Wheeling WV to Stow OH, likely due to market cap considerations.

Since this would be a one-station-for-one-station swap, that would not come into play as far as we know.

The only “X” factor here is the pending sale of the Clear Channel Ashtabula cluster, which includes WREO, to Tom Embrescia’s “Sweet Home Ashtabula”. We had presumed that Mr. Embrescia would pick up the moved-north 106.1 in replacement, and had presumed that he was aware of this planned move…