Difficult SC Question

[chaitanya.mehrotra]

Though he had had success broadcasting his controversial radio program on highly regulated terrestrial airwaves, Howard Stern opted out of terrestrial broadcasting in favor of the less regulated satellite radio medium.
A Though he had had
B Though he has had
C Even though he had
D Having had
E Having achieved

DOUBT: WHY IS C WRONG ?

oa A

[Frankenstein]

Hi,
had is the past participle form of 'have'. If had had confuses you replace 'had' with achieved, then the statement will be:
Though he had(past perfect) achieved....
C becomes Even though he achieved(Simple past).
We are talking about two actions in the past, and these two actions happen one after the other. So, we use past perfect.

Hence, A

[chaitanya.mehrotra]

@ Frankenstein

Can u share some examples of such usage of had had... it doesnt sound right to me when u try to read with had had in the sentence?