station trading

The FCC said on Monday it approved Time Warner’s sale of WPCH Atlanta to Meredith Corp. for $70 million, a transaction that could help speed Time Warner’s planned merger with AT&T.

The sale by Max Media of WNKY Bowling Green, Ky., to Marquee Broadcasting tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA/Kelsey.

Marquee Broadcasting is paying $5.6 million for Max Media’s NBC-CBS affiliate WNKY Bowling Green, Ky. (DMA 181), according to the FCC filing. Marquee also owns WMDT Salisbury, Md.; WGDV-LD and WEVD-LP Dover, Del.; and WGTA Toccoa, Ga. Kalil & Co. brokered the deal.

Max Media has filed an application to sell NBC-CBS affiliate WNKY Bowling Green, Ky. (DMA 181), to Marquee Broadcasting. Marquee also owns WMDT Salisbury, Md.; WGDV-LD and WEVD-LP Dover, Del.; and WGTA Toccoa, Ga. The price was not disclosed. Kalil & Co. brokered the deal.

The sale by Louisiana Media Co. of WVUE New Orleans to Raycom Media tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA/Kelsey.

Tom Benson’s Fox affiliate will be the first station in the market for Raycom, which has operated it since 2013.

By my labored calculations, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s plan to restore the UHF discount would allow 10 of the 11 largest station groups to reach more than 60% of U.S. TV homes if they are so inclined. In fact, Ion already has. The exception is Tegna, which would be capped at 56.7%.

The Wall Street Journal reports that FCC Chairman Ajit Pai will today announce plans to loosen the national cap on TV station ownership at an FCC meeting in late April by restoring the UHF discount. The cap now limits stations to a reach of no more than 39% of TV homes. Restoration of the discount, which would allow groups like CBS and Sinclair to exceed 65%, is expected to touch off another round of station consolidation. Journal subscribers can read the full story here.

The sale by Cranston Acquisition of KMCC Laughlin, Nev., and a translator to Entravision Holdings tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA/Kelsey.

Many FCC-watchers expect deregulatory minded FCC Chairman Ajit Pai will raise the station ownership limits, and station groups like Sinclair, Nexstar, Gray and Tegna are good bets to be buying. But what about the Big Four networks? With the possible exception of CBS, I don’t see them as ready to pounce on the shopping opportunity that Pai may hand them.

21st Century Fox is weighing options to help derail a potential takeover of Tribune Media by Sinclair Broadcast Group, people familiar with the situation say. Fox is deliberating over possible choices after having been approached by several parties that are interested in acquiring Tribune directly or as part of a consortium, the sources say.

The Spanish-language broadcaster already owns KINC Las Vegas, but its FCC filing says the deal is exempt from the FCC’s prohibition against owning two stations in a market.

The sale by Dove Broadcasting of KDMI Des Moines, Iowa, and WJFB Lebanon, Tenn., to Radiant Life Ministries tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA/Kelsey.

Sinclair Broadcast Group appears ready to acquire all of Tribune Media Co.’s assets, which include stakes in the Food Network and the WGN cable network, as well as 42 TV stations nationwide, several sources say.

Edge Spectrum Inc. (ESI) announced today the acquisition of 60 operating low-power television stations and 10 LPTV construction permits from Three Angels Broadcasting Network (3ABN) in a move that the companies said “will […]

Despite rumors of a Sinclair tie-up, Tribune Media is unlikely to sell off the whole company, according to Jefferies analyst John Janedis.

Sinclair Broadcast Group has made overtures to Tribune Media to discuss a potential combination, people familiar with the matter said today, a deal that would hinge on existing FCC ownership regulations being relaxed. A deal between Sinclair and Tribune, which have market capitalizations of $3.6 billion and $3 billion, respectively, would combine two of the country’s largest TV station owners.

The sale by Time Warner of WPCH Atlanta to Meredith Corp. tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA/Kelsey.

TCT Ministries (Garth Coonce, president) is buying the religious-formatted low-power station from spectrum aggregator LocusPoint Networks (Ravi Porharlanka and Bill deKay) for $2 million. Greg Guy of Patrick Communications was the broker.

Meredith has been operating the Time Warner-owned independent through joint sales and shared services agreements since 2011. T ime Warner is in the process of merging with AT&T and WPCH is its only station. Disposing of WPCH might help Time Warner side-step FCC review of the merger, which the parties have been pushing for in Washington.

The sale by Diversified Communications of two TVs to Gray Television tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA/Kelsey.

It adds CBS affiliate WABI Bangor, Maine, and ABC affil WCJB Gainesville, Fla., to its station portfolio. Gray says: “We expect that the stations will produce two-year, blended broadcast cash flow margins greater than 50%.”

The sale by Casa Media Partners of KQCK Cheyenne, Wyo., to Christian TV Network tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA/Kelsey. 

With deregulation in vogue again, new FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is poised to revamp the commission’s ownership rules. My suggestion is he should adopt the NAB’s proposal to allow common ownership of multiple stations in all markets, but only two Big Four network affiliates. If he can, he should also set a new, higher coverage cap that makes no distinction between V’s and U’s after a lot of input on what that cap should be.

The $4.6 billion deal will leave the resulting Nexstar Media Group with171 full-power stations in 100 markers covering nearly 39% of U.S. TV homes.

The $278 million in deals adds stations in Green Bay, Wis., and Davenport, Iowa, as well as three in Fairbanks, Alaska. It now owns 100 stations covering 10.1% of the U.S.

The sale of K19JB-D Lake Charles, La. By DTV America Corp. to Lake Charles Television LLC tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA/Kelsey.

The sale of KCBJ-LP Juneau, Alaska, by Juneau Alaska Communications to Gray Television tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA/Kelsey.  

The sale of six Alaska stations to Gray Television tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA/Kelsey.

The sale by Jenifer Juarez of K09XZ Lewiston, Mo., to SagamoreHill of Ottumwa tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA/Kelsey.

The sale by Three Angels Broadcasting of K26JQ-D Lincoln, Neb., to Flood Communications tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA/Kelsey.

The sale by Spirit of Prayer Ministries of Wo4dQ-D Wilmington, N.C., to Morris Multimedia tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA/Kelsey. 

The sale by ZGS of WTMU-LP Boston to Comcast/NBC tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA/Kelsey.

It appears that NBC Boston (with the still unconfirmed call letters of WBTS) may reach the market’s viewers through Telemundo affil WNEU after the station group buys low-power WTMU.

The sale by DTV America 1 of W15DZ-D Augusta, Ga., to DTV America Corp. tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA/Kelsey.

The Justice Department says Nexstar must sell seven stations in six markets to buyers vetted by Justice as a condition of approving the $4.6 billion Media General acquisition.

The sale by Weiss, Randall & Adrienne of multiple low-power stations to Gray Television tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA/Kelsey.

The sale by Telecinco of K14NV-D Sioux City, Iowa to Flood Communications tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA/Kelsey.

Dish Network and the American Cable Association continue to put pressure on Nexstar’s $4.6 billion purchase of rival broadcaster Media General. Meeting with the FCC along with officials for the International Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance, the pay TV industry reps asked the agency to impose “baseball-style” arbitration for approval of the deal.

The company’s execs say a number of commission actions recently have been positive for broadcasters. Gray EVP Kevin Latek said he’s anxious for the incentive auction to be over so Gray can return to buying stations.