The FCC announced today that it has approved interrelated deals that will give Bonten Media Group an ABC-Fox duopoly in Greenville-New Bern-Washington, N.C., the nation's 105^th largest TV market.

According to filings at the FCC:

• Piedmont Television is selling Fox affiliate WFXI along with its WYDO satellite in the market to Esteem Broadcasting for $5.9 million. Esteem is wholly owned by David Bailey of Marshall, Ill.
  
  
• At the same time, Piedmont is selling certain tangible assets of the stations to Bonten for $23.5 million.
  
  
• Finally, Bonten has agreements with Esteem that will allow it to operate WFXI-WYDO is tandem with its ABC affiliate in the market, WCTI.

In essence, the deals valued WFXI-WYDO at $29.4 million and puts Bonten is control of all the stations.

Reached by phone, Bonten CEO Randy Bongarten said that the deals have not yet closed.

Bonten picked up WCTI as part of its $230 million purchase of Blue Stone Television earlier this year.

That deal also included stations in seven other markets: Tri-Cities in Tennessee and Virginia; Chico-Redding, Calif.; Abilene-Sweetwater, Texas; Missoula, Mont.; Butte-Bozeman, Mont.; Eureka, Calif.; and San Angelo, Texas.

Piedmont, a Charlotte, N.C.-based TV group, is in the process of selling all of its stations.