San Antonio-based Clear Channel, the largest U.S. broadcaster, has been in talks with Providence about changing the terms of the sale of the 56 TV stations, located in cities such as Memphis, Tennessee, and Syracuse, New York.

Julie Fisher, a spokeswoman for Providence Equity Partners, wasn’t immediately available for comment.

“Providence told us it had renegotiated key terms of its deal with Clear Channel but then demanded that the lenders be held to the terms of the deal it had rejected,” Wachovia spokeswoman Christy Phillips-Brown said today in an interview.

“Our efforts to resolve the issue were unsuccessful and we felt it was in the best interest of our shareholders to ask a court to confirm that the prior commitment is no longer in effect,” she said.

Wachovia fell 39 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $33.94 at 10:13 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Clear Channel fell $1.24, or 3.8 percent, to 31.14 on the NYSE.

The case is Wachovia Bank v. Newport Television LLC, 08-CVS- 4056, Superior Court of North Carolina (Charlotte).