Analyst: Newsday Buy Should Clear DC Hurdles

Cablevision’s $650 million purchase of Long Island (NY) newspaper Newsday shouldn't face high regulatory hurdles in Washington, according to Stifel Nicolaus analyst Blair Levin. “As best we can determine, the Federal Communications Commission would have no jurisdiction to directly review the transaction because there do not appear to be any communications licenses that would have to be transferred and require regulatory approval," he wrote to clients. The FCC regulates common ownership of newspapers and television or radio stations in the same local market. The agency does not regulate the joint ownership of cable systems and newspapers in the same local market. In his client note, Levin said that if the Justice Department reviews the deal, Cablevision probably would not face a tough ordeal. “We do expect the deal to face some antitrust scrutiny, presumably from the Department of Justice, but because Cablevision does not own newspapers, we believe the DOJ is unlikely to give it a difficult review," Levin said. Levin said that if Cablevision's control of Newsday were to ignite a new round in the media ownership debate, the cable operator would likely come out ahead because Newsday would not end up in the hands of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., owner of the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, and two TV stations in the New York market.
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