LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Federal Communications Commission has granted L.M. Communications of Kentucky, LLC’s application to acquire two Lexington-area FM stations from Clarity Communications, Inc. for $550,000.
The Media Bureau’s daily actions public notice, released Nov. 6, lists grants issued Nov. 5 for WLXO 105.5 FM, Mount Sterling, and WZNN 96.1 FM, Paris. The stations are currently branded as “105.5 Hank FM” and “96.1 The Hound.”
The FCC action clears the regulatory stage, but it does not by itself transfer the licenses. No consummation notice was posted through Nov. 9, so Clarity remains the legal licensee until the parties close and notify the commission.
Grant includes requested ownership relief
The application, FCC file number 0000301015, included a request for case-specific relief from the local radio ownership limits. The proposed structure would add the two FMs to LM’s Lexington group, which includes WBVX 92.1, WGKS 96.9, WCDA 106.3, WBTF 107.9 and WLXG 1300, along with FM translator W223CV at 92.5.
That would increase the commonly controlled group from five full-power stations to seven: six FMs and one AM. W223CV is a translator and is not counted as a separate full-power station.
In its waiver showing, LM said the acquisition would increase its share of 2025 local radio revenue from 19% to 26%. It said iHeartMedia held 56% and Cumulus Media 13% of the market’s $13.1 million in radio revenue. Those figures are the applicant’s representations to the FCC, not independent audience-share findings.
WLXO and WZNN have already been operated and managed in connection with LM under a local marketing arrangement. Closing would convert that operating relationship into legal license ownership; it should not be recorded as a completed ownership change until the FCC accepts a consummation notice.
What the decision means
The grant is significant because it approves a fact-specific ownership structure above the ordinary FM subcap without changing the nationwide local-radio rule. It gives larger groups and independent buyers another example of the competitive and financial evidence the FCC may accept in a waiver request, but it does not establish automatic relief for other markets.
For ownership databases, Clarity Communications, Inc. should remain attached to WLXO and WZNN until closing. After consummation, the legal-licensee record should move to L.M. Communications of Kentucky, LLC, with Lynn Martin’s LM Communications as the ultimate ownership group. Companywide station totals remain subject to a full license-by-license review.