The Federal Communications Commission on Monday approved the transfer of licenses for 200 radio stations to a company controlled by the Fund for Policy Reform, a nonprofit funded by billionaire George Soros.
The panel's two Republican commissioners, Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the committee, and Nathan Simington, opposed the transfer of licenses from the bankrupt radio broadcaster Audacy Inc. to the Fund for Policy Reform in a deal that establishes a four-person board for a new version of Audacy that includes George Soros' son, Alexander Soros, as a member.
The move comes about one week after Republican House Committee on Oversight and Accountability members Reps. James Comer of Kentucky and Nick Langworthy of New York announced an investigation into the FCC's approval of the transfer, which they claim ignored concerns about foreign ownership.
"The FCC appears to be bypassing standard processes and procedures in an unprecedented way to benefit a Democrat megadonor acquiring a major equity stake in hundreds of local radio stations across the country," the legislators wrote in a letter to FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel.
According to the FCC's filing on Monday, four members of the Fund for Policy Reform's board are U.S. citizens, and Audacy CEO David J. Field will continue to serve in his position at the new Audacy and he will sit on the company's board.
"We're big believers in audio, and we're very well positioned to exceed and excel going forward," Field told Bloomberg in an interview. "We've continued to really enhance our ad tech, data capabilities, and content and have emerged as a much stronger company than we were a year or two ago."