III's stations were now the only general-entertainment stations in their markets, except for Nashville. Bert Ellis left Act III in early 1992 to form Ellis Communications and continue to pursue station acquisitions eventually building a group of 13 TV stations, two radio stations and Raycom Sports. Local marketing agreements In the late 1980s Act III pioneered the concept of the local marketing agreement, or LMA for short. Under an LMA, one station would buy all or most of another station's broadcast day and take over its operations, but the other station would technically remain under separate ownership. The senior partner in the LMA would then program the other station with shows that it didn't have time to air. Act III, however, was not interested in this concept. It was the approval of the LMA concept that allowed Act III to consolidate ownership and control of programming in small markets, significantly enhancing the value of its stations. This revolution in broadcasting was the first step in the FCC's eventual de-regulation of station ownership and the lifting of the 12-station cap on ownership that had existed for decades prior to Act III's initiatives. Management The management team of Act III Broadcasting from its formation in 1985 through 1991 consisted of Tom McGrath, Chairman who was president and chief operating officer of Norman Lear's holding company, Act III Communications; U. Bertram Ellis, Jr. (aka Bert Ellis), chief executive officer; Bill Castleman, President and Chief Operating Officer; Dick Kantor, EVP and Head of Programming; and Blair Schmidt-Fellner as CFO. All of Act III's station acquisitions and other transactions were conducted during this period. McGrath was succeeded by Hal Gaba in late 1990; Bill Castleman was succeeded by Dick Kantor and Blair Schmidt-Fellner was succeeded by John DeLorenzo and Warren Spector. Ellis left in early 1992 to form Ellis Communications. Sale to ABRY ABRY Partners, a Boston-based investment firm, already owned two Fox network affiliates when the company entered into an agreement to acquire Norman Lear's controlling interest in Act III Broadcasting in early September 1991. The remaining shareholders, including Prudential Insurance, agreed to roll over their shares into the new company. However, the deal fell apart shortly thereafter, with CEO Bert Ellis declaring the deal "dead as a doornail." Ellis left Act III in early 1992 to form Ellis Communications, and the group was put under the leadership of long-time Lear and Perenchio associate