Court Grants Viacom Stay
By Ted Hearn -- Multichannel News, 4/9/2001 12:35:00 PM
A federal court issued an order Friday blocking the Federal Communications Commission from forcing Viacom Inc. to sell TV stations to comply with FCC ownership rules.
Viacom, owner of 35 TV stations, reaches 41 percent of TV households. The FCC gave the company until May 4 to identify the stations it intended to sell to reach the 35 percent cap on households reached.
Viacom, NBC and Fox are challenging the 35 percent cap in the same court that issued Friday's stay, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
In a two-page order, the court said Viacom met the 'stringent standards for a stay' and barred the FCC from forcing Viacom to sell the stations 'pending further order of the court.'
In a prepared statement, Viacom said it was 'extremely pleased' with the stay, adding that the 35 percent cap was 'unfair and unwarranted in light of the highly competitive nature of the television-station business.'
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