great length, a strategy that was later realized with the launch of Act III. McGrath was promoted to vice president on December 12, 1987. Act III launched in early 1986; it made its debut by acquiring Fox affiliate WNRW in the Piedmont Triad from the TVX Broadcast Group, controlled by Gene Loving, for $11 million. TVX had signed an affiliation deal with Fox; a clause in this deal stipulated that if TVX sold one of its underperforming stations, Fox could disaffiliate from that station. This was not the case in the Piedmont Triad, because WNRW's rival station WGGT (now WMYV) was in bankruptcy, but it still ran a comparatively low-budget schedule. This solidified Act III's strategy of acquiring stations in mid-tier DMAs, with the added spin of affiliating with the fast-growing Fox network which was rapidly emerging as a force in Broadcasting. Later on, by the next year, in 1987, it bought out its second station WTAT in Charleston, South Carolina from a local group led by Terry Trousdale for $4.8 million. WTAT's acquisition will restructure ownership to gain majority control but will retain stations limited partners. The next year, Act III acquired on October 12, 1987, the company acquired WRGT and WVAH from Meridian Broadcasting for $22 million. The transaction also included a construction permit for channel 11 in Charleston, WV. The move was followed by two more acquisitions. Act III acquired WZTV in Nashville, from Multimedia, Inc., and WUHF in Rochester, New York, acquired from Malrite TV for $12 million. In 1988, Act III bought out WRLH from Busse Communications, and also acquired WVRN's assets, and integrated into WRLH's programming schedule, which effectively go dark by September, which claimed it was $7-$8 million. It was finalized by September 15. That same year, Act III mounted an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to acquire WDBD in Jackson, Mississippi, and WZDX in Huntsville, Alabama, from Media Central, Inc. formerly under the control of Mort Kent but then in Chapter 11 proceedings. In 1987, Act III successfully petitioned the FCC to allow it to move WVAH from channel 23 to the last VHF frequency in the market, channel 11. WVAH's signal on channel 23 was not strong enough to reach the entire market—a 61-county behemoth occupying rugged terrain in three states. The FCC granted the request, and WVAH moved to channel 11 on April 11, 1988. This sort of deal-making characterized Act III