WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- The U.S. Justice Department said it has filed a lawsuit to block Cumulus Media Inc.'s proposal to buy Citadel Broadcasting Corp. on antitrust concerns.
The purchase would specifically "lessen competition for radio advertising in Flint., Mich., and Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle, Pa." the department said.
Regulators said the purchase could proceed if Cumulus Media were to divest three radio stations in two markets.
"The divestitures required by the consent decree will enable radio advertisers to continue to receive the benefits of competition in Harrisburg and Flint," said Sharis Pozen, acting assistant attorney general in charge of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division.
Cumulus, one of the country's largest radio companies, goes "head-to-head" with Citadel for advertising dollars in Michigan and Pennsylvania, the department said. To keep competition fair, "Cumulus must divest two stations in Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle and one station in Flint," the department proposed as a settlement to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington.
