The cable trade association says consumers typically pay higher retransmission consent fees while receiving diminished local news services under such deals.
Belo Turning Over KMSB, KTTU To KOLD
On Tuesday, Belo Corp. announced a shared services deal for its Tucson, Ariz., duopoly of KMSB (Fox) and KTTU (MNT) that will put operations of the two stations in the hands of Raycom Media’s KOLD (CBS). The only Tucson employees who will remain with Belo are those in sales. All other Belo jobs will be eliminated.
Belo Reports 7% Drop In 3Q Revenue
Again, the big downer was political, but excluding that, total spot came in 2% lower. In addition,a double-digit percentage increase in combined retransmission and Internet revenue was offset by declines in network compensation and miscellaneous revenue.
DirecTV is demonstrating the negotiating power that comes with having more than 19 million pay TV subscribers. After striking a broad carriage deal with Fox Networks Group, the satellite TV provider has also managed to keep distributing TV stations owned by Belo Corp. after the broadcaster threatened to pull its feeds from DirecTV.
The $212 million that Scripps agreed to pay McGraw-Hill for its station group justifies higher valuations for other stations groups like Belo and Sinclair, says Wells Fargo analyst Marci Ryvicker.
Back-Office Systems Need Foward Thinking
Before his sudden and tragic death last April, Belo’s Steve McIntosh argued for a new generation of traffic and billing systems that would integrate all the services that broadcasters are now offering. “By continuing the status quo we chain ourselves to the past and forgo — or at least severely limit — our ability to capitalize on what the future may hold,” he wrote.
Exclusives
The TV group’s stations will supply advertising on Yahoo starting this summer in Dallas-Fort Worth; Seattle-Tacoma, Wash.; Portland, Ore.; New Orleans; Spokane, Wash.; and Boise, Idaho.
Belo 2Q Revenue Up 2.1%
Core local and national spot revenue was affected by a 6.6% decrease in automotive revenue due to the disruption in auto supply related to events in Japan. Excluding automotive revenue, its core spot revenue was up 5%, while retrans and Internet revenue rose by double digits.
NOLA Stations Prepare For Next Big Storm
Leaving nothing to chance after the 2005 trauma of Hurricane Katrina, WDSU and WWL have beefed up their studios and transmitter sites, put together worst-case scenario strategies and made off-site arrangements for when the next disaster strikes the Crescent City. This is the fourth in a series of articles appearing this week that collectively constitute a TVNewsCheck Special Report on Severe Weather News. The other stories in the series are below.
Local News Must Be More Than Weather
Stations must also distinguish themselves when the forecast is clear and sunny and there is no gunman running amok downtown. Too few do. With the recession behind and a strong 2012 ahead, my hope is that every station owner and manager sets aside more money this year for enterprise reporting and that it pays off in great stories that bring honors to the station, the group and to broadcasting. I also hope they pay off in higher ratings and revenue.
Belo Corp. has deployed Harmonic Inc.’s Electra 8000 multichannel universal encoders to deliver expanded HD and SD television services. Belo stations reach more than 14% of U.S. television households in […]
Belo 1Q Total Spot Dips 4.2%, But Core Is Flat
Total revenue for the pure-play station operator was down 2% as revenue from barter and trade advertising, network compensation, Internet advertising and retrans grew 10%.
Belo 4Q Revenue Rises By 20%
Political drives a 22% boost in total spot revenue, with local up 1.2% and national up 7.1%. Internet, retrans and other revenue was up 13%
Belo Corp. has standardized on Digital Alert Systems’ DASDEC-II digital EAS/CAP encoder/decoder across all their TV stations. The network-centric DASDEC-II emergency messaging system, an FCC-certified EAS management platform that is […]
