station trading

The seller is Trans Amerca Broadcasting Corp., according to the FCC filing.The buyer is Aperio Communications  Broadcasting Corp, which is controlled (70%) by HME Equity Partners LLC,. Its members include Seth Ellis, Grant Hill, David Ellis and John Morgan of Orlando, Fla.; Brian Panish, of Los Angeles; and James Messina of Washington, DC. Kalil & Co. brokered the deal.

New SNL Kagan data shows just $37.1 million in TV station transactions in the first three months of 2015. The company says volume could remain at lower levels through the rest of the year because of the uncertainties surrounding the upcoming FCC incentive auction and its tantalizing potential for huge payouts to station owners.

The sale of KTMW Salt Lake City by Alpha & Omega Communications to Serestar Communications tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

While there a a number of reasons for the almost nonexistent station trading marketplace these days, a big factor is the upcoming spectrum auction. Potential sellers don’t want to commit now before finding out what the market will be for their airwaves once the bidding starts. To get around this, however, station sale contracts are being written with “chump insurance,” which provides some protection for a seller if the buyer sells the station in the incentive auction and makes a killing.

The buyer is Marquee Broadcasting, which also owns WMDT, the ABC affilite in Salisbury, Md. The Athens, Ga.-based university bought the station in 2008 as a commercial station, but converted it to noncommercial use three years later. Maquee will be switching it back to commercial use with diginets.

The sale of KMVT Twin Falls, Idaho, and seven low-power stations by Neuhoff Communications to Gray Television tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

Spectrum aggregator LocusPoint Networks has closed on two station buys. It has bought WMKE-CA Milwaukee (DMA 35) from KM LPTV of Milwaukee (Myoung Hwa Bae, president) for $2.5 million and WLEP-LD Erie, Pa. (DMA 150), from Hapa Media Properties (Kevin Joel Bae, president), also for $2.5 million. Greg Guy of Patrick Communications was the broker of both deals.

The group is purchasing KMVT (CBS) And KSVT (Fox) from Neuhoff Corp. for cash.

Upon closing of the transactions, Scripps and Journal will merge their broadcast operations, creating an expanded Scripps, while simultaneously spinning off and merging their newspaper operations to form a new publicly traded company called Journal Media Group.

The sale of WQVC-CA Greensburg, Pa., by Abacus Television to LocusPoint Networks tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

Over the last several months, TV station dealmaking has slowed considerably. Blame uncertainty over the new FCC local ownership regs, the incentive auction, retrans, reverse comp and a possible rewrite of the Communications Act, say the market experts.

The sale of 38 LPTVs and TV CPs by DTV America Corp. to MIK LLC tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

WQVC-CA Greensburg, Pa. (Pittsburgh, DMA 22), has been sold by Abacus Television (Benjamin Perez, owner) to spectrum aggregator LocusPoint Networks for $1.3 million. The buyer is owned by co-founders Ravi Potharlanka and Bill deKay. Brokers were Greg Guy and Jason James of Patrick Communications.

The sale of WRBU East St Louis, Ill., and WZRB Columbia, S.C., by Ion Media Networks to Northwest Broadcasting tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

Brian Brady’s Cedar Creek Broadcasting is buying the St. Louis and Columbia, S.C., stations that had fallen into bankruptcy under Roberts Broadcasting.

By mid-April, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel likely will be part of a new Milwaukee-based newspaper company — and Milwaukee broadcast icons WTMJ-AM-TV likely will be run from a headquarters in Cincinnati. That is the timetable expected to be set in motion assuming shareholders from Journal Communications and E.W. Scripps approve a merger of the two companies’ broadcast units and a spinoff of the newspaper group. If that happens, both companies will hold special meetings scheduled for March 11 in Milwaukee for Journal shareholders and in Cincinnati for Scripps shareholders.

Two minority-stake owners of low-power WMNT-CA  Toledo, Ohio, filed suit in U.S. District Court alleging the majority owner has attempted to sell the station — and its potentially valuable FCC license — without their knowledge.

The sale of WKUW-LD White House, Tenn., by Budd Broadcasting Co. to DTV America Corp. tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

Nexstar Broadcasting Group announced today that it intends to offer, subject to market and other customary conditions, $250 million in new senior notes due 2022 in a private offering. Nexstar said it intends to use the proceeds to fund the proposed acquisitions of three television stations in three markets from Landmark Television and Landmark Media Enterprises; Meredith Corp. and Sagamore Hill; and Pappas Telecasting, to pay related fees and expenses and for general corporate purposes.

The sale of KCWV Duluth, Minn., by George S. Flinn III to JSD Properties LLC tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

Diana Wilkin has joined the media brokerage and investment banking firm Patrick Communications as partner. She brings more than 20 years of experience in broadcasting, having served in senior management […]

The sales of WOCW-LP Charleston, W.Va., and K23KK-D Rapid City, S.D., by Gray Television to DTV America Corp. top the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

The sale of WGPS-LP Fort Myers, Fla., by WGPS of SW Florida LLC to DTV America Corp. tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

The sale of K16JI-D, K41MD-D, K18JQ-D Casper, Wyo., by Frank Digital Broadcasting to Gray Television tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

The rush to acquire TV stations by media companies’ continued in 2014 and resulted in strong financial pay offs for them. From January to November 2014, 171 stations changed hands, at cost of about $5 billion, according to consulting firm BIA/Kelsey. This follows a wave of consolidations that took place in 2013, when about 300 TV stations were purchased, at a total value of more than $8 billion.

Industry Veterans Named as General Managers — Henry Price at WVTM Birmingham, Ala., and Timothy Morrissey at WJCL Savannah, Ga.

The $86 million buy of the Fox affiliate from Media General was part of a divestiture deal involved in obtaining federal regulatory approval of Media General’s merger with LIN Media.

The sale of K49EO Modesto, Calif., by Regal Media Inc. to DTV America Corp. tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

Richmond-based Media General Inc.’s $1.6 billion merger with LIN Media should be completed at the end of this week after receiving the go-ahead from the FCC on Friday. The deal, announced in March, creates one of the nation’s largest broadcast TV groups, which will own and operate or service 71 stations in 48 U.S. markets. The new Media General will reach 27.5 million, or 23%, of U.S. television households.

The sale of K29GL Lincoln, Neb., by King Forward Inc. to DTV America Corp. tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

The FCC’s approval completes the regulatory review of the merger, valued at about $270 million. The Justice Department last week approved the transaction on condition that the combined company would sell WEVV Evansville, Ind., because otherwise, its market share in that city would increase from about 42% to 60%. As part of the approval, the commission says Nexstar can continue to operate KYLE Bryan, Texas, as a satellite of KWKT Waco, Texas.

The sale of KLAS Las Vegas and two translators by Landmark Media to Nexstar Broadcasting Group tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

The sale of KFXL Lincoln-Hastings-Kearney, Neb., by KFXL Broadcasting LLC to Pappas Telecasting Co. tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey

Two minority-stake owners of Toledo low-power TV station WMNT-CA have asked the FCC to halt a pending agreement to sell the station to a New York-based media firm. In a petition, Jonathan James and Jerry Jones, who collectively own 19% of WMNT, say that they want the sale put on hold until the FCC can investigate aspects of the sale agreement that they claim have been kept secret by the station’s majority owner, Jesse Weatherby.

The purchase of the CBS affiliate from Landmark Media Enterprises will boost Nexstar’s holdings to 110 stations with coverage of 18% of U.S. TV households.

The sale of W46DK Birmingham, Ala., by King Forward Inc. to DTV America Corp. tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey

The sale of KZDF-LP Santa Barbara, Calif., by Jericho Partners LLC to CNZ Communications tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

The sale of KASW Phoenix plus three translators by Sagamore Hill Broadcasting and Sander Media to Nexstar Broadcasting Group tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

Nexstar is adding the CW affiliate in Des Moines-Ames, Iowa, to its growing portfolio, buying it from Pappas Telecasting.

The nearly $2 million deal transfers the NBC affiliates in Helena and Great Falls, Mont., from Intermountain West Communications.