FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AT TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1996 (202) 616-2771 TDD (202) 514-1888 JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REQUIRES WESTINGHOUSE AND INFINITY TO DIVEST RADIO STATIONS IN BOSTON AND PHILADELPHIA IN ORDER TO GO AHEAD WITH LARGEST RADIO INDUSTRY MERGER IN HISTORY Action Marks Third Challenge of a Radio Merger Since Passage of 1996 Telecommunications Act WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Justice today reached a settlement with Westinghouse Electric and Infinity Broadcasting allowing the two companies to form the nation's largest radio group, but only if the companies divest a radio station in both Philadelphia and Boston. The new group will operate 77 stations in 13 major markets. The Department's Antitrust Division today filed a civil suit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., to block the merger of Pittsburgh-based Westinghouse and New York-based Infinity. At the same time, the Department filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the suit. "We're here to preserve competition, not to prevent mergers," said Joel I. Klein, Acting Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department's Antitrust Division. "If you do a deal that doesn't threaten competition, or you fix the parts of it that do, you won't have a problem with us. That's the message the radio industry should take away from this case." The Department said that Westinghouse's acquisition of Infinity stations in Philadelphia and Boston, giving Westinghouse over 40 percent of the radio advertising revenues in each city, would eliminate competition between them for radio advertisers trying to reach particular demographic groups. After the merger, the alternatives available to advertisers trying to target these demographic groups would be inferior, reducing the advertisers' ability to reach these listeners through competing radio stations. This would allow the merged firm to increase prices to advertisers and to substantially reduce competition for radio advertising revenue in the $179 million Boston market and the $194 million Philadelphia market. The proposed settlement requires the divestiture of WBOS 92.9 FM in Boston and WMMR 93.3 FM in Philadelphia, leaving Westinghouse with five stations in each city. The divestitures reduce Westinghouse's control over radio stations appealing to the affected demographic groups in each city, and preserve the competitive alternatives available to advertisers seeking to reach these listeners. This is the third case in which the Department's Antitrust Division has required merging radio station companies to restructure their deals since passage of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. Klein said that the radio industry is in the midst of rapid consolidation following passage of this Act, which relaxed previous limits on radio station ownership. Although the Act removed certain limits, it explicitly acknowledged the role of antitrust enforcement, explaining that "nothing in this Act... shall be construed to modify, impair, or supersede the applicability of any of the antitrust laws." As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed consent decree will be published in the Federal Register, together with the Department's competitive impact statement. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed consent decree during a 60 day comment period to Craig W. Conrath, Chief, Merger Task Force, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Suite 4000, 1401 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005, telephone (202) 307-0001. ### 96-550