Editing WNUV (section)

===Sale to Glencairn, Ltd.===
[[File:WBFF and WNUV's combined studio and office facility (Baltimore, 2007).jpg|alt=A building with WBFF and WNUV signs|WNUV operates from WBFF's studio in Baltimore.|right|thumb|upright=1.1]]

In August 1993, ABRY announced that it had sold two stations—WNUV and [[WVTV]] in [[Milwaukee]], the latter of which it managed and held an option to buy—to Edwin "Eddie" Edwards, who already owned [[WPNT|WPTT]] in [[Pittsburgh]]. The deal concerned some in the broadcasting industry. Edwards had a close connection to Sinclair Broadcast Group; he had previously worked for the company, and in Pittsburgh, Edwards brokered most of WPTT's broadcast day to Sinclair.<ref name="Balt930821">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122941503/eddie-edwards-owner-of-television-stati/|date=August 21, 1993|page=1E|first=David|last=Zurawik|author-link=David Zurawik|title=Eddie Edwards, owner of television station in Pittsburgh, buys WNUV|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=April 17, 2023|archive-date=April 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417051339/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122941503/eddie-edwards-owner-of-television/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat --> The move represented some turnabout given that two years prior, when Edwards bought WPTT so that Sinclair could purchase Pittsburgh Fox affiliate [[WPGH-TV]], ABRY had filed through a third party a petition to deny on the transaction, alleging that Sinclair exercised continued control by way of seller financing. It had explicitly done so through counsel in fear that Sinclair would retaliate by encouraging program suppliers to bypass WNUV in favor of WBFF.<ref>{{Cite news|date=January 13, 1992|work=Broadcasting|title=Mystery petitioner in Pittsburgh emerges|id={{ProQuest|1014744530}}|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1992/BC-1992-01-13.pdf|page=96|first=Geoffrey|last=Foisie|access-date=April 17, 2023|archive-date=May 22, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522162139/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1992/BC-1992-01-13.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In addition, some program syndicators fretted that possible Sinclair combinations such as WBFF–WNUV gave the company excessive leverage over the buying of syndicated shows in those markets.<ref>{{Cite news|date=August 30, 1993|work=Broadcasting & Cable|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1993/BC-1993-08-30.pdf|id={{ProQuest|225345801}}|title=Sinclair, Edwards buy LMA's from ABRY|first=Geoffrey|last=Foisie|page=31|access-date=April 17, 2023|archive-date=January 31, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131024357/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1993/BC-1993-08-30.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[E. W. Scripps Company|Scripps-Howard Broadcasting]], owner of Baltimore station [[WMAR-TV]], filed a petition to deny on the transfer of WNUV to Edwards in October. It charged that Edwards and Carolyn Smith ({{nee}} Cunningham<ref name="Pitt930422">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123015017/julian-smith-sinclair-tv-group-founder/|date=April 22, 1993|page=B-6|title=Julian Smith, Sinclair TV group founder|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=April 17, 2023|archive-date=April 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417051344/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123015017/julian-smith-sinclair-tv-group-founder/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Thu -->), the mother of the four Smith brothers that owned Sinclair, were being used by the brothers as a vehicle to create what in essence would be a [[duopoly (broadcasting)|duopoly]]—ownership of two TV stations in a market—which at the time was not allowed by the FCC. It cited the structure of the proposed buyer's parent company. While Edwards was the only voting shareholder in Glencairn, Ltd., 70 percent of the non-voting shares in the firm were held by Carolyn Smith, and Scripps's petition to deny also pointed to prior business dealings between her and Sinclair as well as to a proposed [[local marketing agreement]] (LMA) to allow Sinclair to manage WNUV's affairs. The Scripps petition was dismissed by Edwards as an attempt to set up roadblocks to Black ownership of broadcasters and as retaliation for a 1991 challenge by the Smiths to WMAR-TV's [[broadcast license]].<ref name="Balt931014">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122941739/scripps-decries-smith-brothers-tie-to-w/|date=October 14, 1993|pages=1E, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122941769/wmar-owner-calls-on-fcc-to-block-sale-of/ 9E]|first=David|last=Zurawik|author-link=David Zurawik|title=Scripps decries Smith brothers' tie to WNUV sale|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=April 17, 2023|archive-date=April 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417051840/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122941739/scripps-decries-smith-brothers-tie-to/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Thu -->

The original application for Glencairn to purchase WNUV was withdrawn in April 1994, but ABRY continued to express interest in selling the station to Sinclair.<ref name="Balt940427">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122941555/plan-to-sell-wnuv-dies/|date=April 27, 1994|page=2C|first=David|last=Zurwik|title=Plan to sell WNUV dies|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=April 17, 2023|archive-date=April 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417051839/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122941555/plan-to-sell-wnuv-dies/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed --> ABRY then signed an LMA directly with Sinclair for WNUV and WVTV, concurrently with the company selling two stations outright to the firm.<ref name="Pitt940608">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123011515/wptt-owner-seeks-to-buy-more-television/|date=June 8, 1994|pages=D-6, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/pittsburgh-post-gazette-after-losing-out/123011473/ D-7]|title=WPTT owner seeks to buy more television stations|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=April 17, 2023|archive-date=April 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417051839/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123011515/wptt-owner-seeks-to-buy-more-television/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed --> With the LMA in place, Scripps ultimately decided that continued protest was pointless and dropped its objection to a revised version of the sale, leading to WNUV becoming a Glencairn property.<ref name="Balt950825">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122941614/entrepreneur-gains-control-of-wnuv-tv-w/|date=August 25, 1995|page=11D|first=Timothy J.|last=Mullaney|title=Entrepreneur gains control of WNUV-TV: WMAR drops its FCC appeal to block the deal|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=April 17, 2023|archive-date=April 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417051912/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122941614/entrepreneur-gains-control-of-wnuv-tv/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri -->