Sale of KCAL to Viacom Is Approved

Viacom Inc., owner of the CBS and UPN television networks, won approval from U.S. regulators to buy KCAL-TV in Los Angeles from Young Broadcasting Inc. for $650 million.

Viacom will own two stations in Los Angeles, the No.2 TV market in the nation, when the transaction is complete.

Viacom, based in New York, has six months to sell one of seven radio stations in the Los Angeles area to comply with ownership rules, the Federal Communications Commission said in a decision Tuesday.

KCAL is the sixth-ranked station by sales in the Los Angeles area, Viacom has said. Viacom has two TV stations in each of seven U.S. cities and is seeking similar combinations to reach more viewers and boost advertising rates.

Viacom has said KCAL, which doesn’t carry programs by networks such as CBS, will remain an independent station when the purchase is completed this year.

Shares of Viacom, the third-largest U.S. media company, fell 15 cents to $46.29 on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of New York-based Young Broadcasting fell 90 cents to $23.05 in Nasdaq trading.