station trading

The purchase of the Harrisburg, Pa., ABC affiliiate from Sinclair is part of Sinclair’s promise to the FCC to smooth the way for approval of Sinclair’s purchase of all of Allbritton’s stations.

Meredith Corp. has agreed to purchase the Springfield, Mass., ABC affiliate (which also airs Fox programming on a subchannel) from Gormally Broadcasting for $53.8 million.

The sale of four low-power stations by Excalibut Broadcasting to Gray Television for $2.5 million tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

To comply with the FCC’s new local ownership rules, the broadcaster has shut down some stations, moving programming to subchannels, and hired the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council to find new owners for six stations it is giving up. Gray has now closed on all announced transactions, except for three stations in Montana for approximately $2  million.

Spun off from Gray’s purchase of Hoak Media, the three stations and two satellites are the group’s first in Panama City, Fla., and Grand Junction, Colo. Nexstar got them for $33.5 million.

The owners of Univision Communications, in their search for an exit, have held preliminary discussions in recent weeks with several media companies, including CBS Corp. and Time Warner Inc., according to people familiar with the matter. The asking price is said to be more than $20 billion.

Minority-owned Marshall Broadcasting Group, headed by Pluria Marshall, will launch new local news and sports programming at the Fox affiliates in Shreveport, La.; Odessa-Midland, Texas; and KLJB Quad Cities, Iowa, as well as minority oriented public affairs programming.

The sale of WBMG-LP Moody, Ala.,, by Tiger Eye Broadcasting Corp. to DTV America Corp. for $100,000 tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

The three stations — WCIV Charleston and WCFT-WJSU Birmingham — are now owned by Allbritton Communications, which Sinclair is buying, and were to be operated by sidecar companies. But those plans were dashed when the FCC earlier this year cracked down on the use of JSAs and SSAs. Today’s action, Sinclair said, is designed to win speedy approval of the Allbritton deal.

The sale of KMTF Helena, Mont., by Meridian Communications’ Rocky Mountain Broadcasting Co. to Gray Television for $150,000 tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

A plethora of mega-deals over the last 12 months has reordered TVNewsCheck’s annual ranking. While the top three spots remained the same as last year — occupied by Fox, CBS and Sinclair — the rest of the top 10 is much changed with five companies gone through M&A activity.

The sale of KOHD Bend, Ore., by Zolo Media to Telephone & Data Systems Inc. for $261 million tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

The $215 million deal for the Texas stations breaks down to two ABC and Fox affils and one each from CBS and NBC, with an additional NBC affil on a subchannel. After closing, London COO Phil Hurley will continue to run the stations.

It’s paying $2 million for KTVH (NBC) and KMTF (CW) in Helena, and KBGF Great Falls (NBC).

The sale of KSBS-CD Denver by Denver Digital Television to Channel 3 TV Co for $900,000 tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

It closes on KEVN Rapid City, S.D., and adds assets in Minot-Bismarck, N.D., as well as LMAs there.

Registration opened today for the 31st Annual SNL Kagan TV and Radio Finance Summit to be held on June 3 in New York City. Produced by SNL Knowledge Center, SNL’s […]

The sale of WGXA Macon, Ga., by Frontier Radio Management to Sinclair Broadcast Group for $33,000,000 tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

The sale of W33BY-CA Detroit by Highland Park Broadcasting to LocusPoint Networks for $1,629,200 tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

Sinclair Broadcast Group announced Wednesday that it has engaged Moelis & Co. as its financial adviser in connection with the company’s potential sale of CBS affiliate WHP (CBS) in Harrisburg, Pa., together with the right to provide services to WLYH (CW) Harrisburg, WMMP (MNT) Charleston, S.C., and WABM (MNT) Birmingham, Ala. The potential sale of the stations had been previously proposed to the FCC in order to smooth the way for approval of its proposed $985 million purchase of Allbritton Communications’ television stations that it wants to close by July 27.

The sale of KTUD-CD by Las Vegas TV Partners to Mako Communications for $65,000 tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

The first quarter continued the previous year’s pattern of more than a billion dollars’ worth of activity each quarter. The largest deal by price, the merger between Media General Inc. and LIN Media, was valued at $2.6 billion.

The commission approves the purchase of seven stations in six markets, but in light of the FCC’s changes in rules covering sharing agreements, other parts of the complex deal involving sidecar companies have been modified and are still under agency review.

The FCC chairman’s contention that eliminating joint sales agreements will open up new opportunities for minority and women to become TV station owners ignores the fact that TV broadcasting is no longer a business for small operators, regardless of their gender or color. It’s a business for behemoths with negotiating clout. On the other hand, if Wheeler called off the incentive auction tomorrow, there would be all kinds of TV stations available for all kinds of buyers, including minorities and women.

The merger of Media General Inc. and LIN Media for $1.6 billion tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

Media General and LIN have pledged to sell or swap stations in five markets to comply with FCC ownership rules. The companies, which announced their $1.6 million merger Friday morning, have overlapping stations in Providence, Savannah, Birmingham, Mobile and Green Bay.

Sinclair has proposed dropping the use of sidecars as part of its effort to push its acquisition of Allbritton through the FCC. Sinclair says it will sell three stations that it now owns — WHP Harrisburg-Lancaster, Pa.; WMMP Charleston, S.C.; and WABM Birmingham, Ala.– to independent third parties. The company assured the FCC it would not enter any operational or financial agreements with any of the buyers.

The parties say the combination will create the second-largest pure-play TV station group with 74 stations in 46 markets, reaching 23% of TV homes. LIN shareholders are receiving $27.82 per share in Media General stock or cash. LIN CEO Vincent Sadusky (left) will become CEO of Media General once it has absorbed LIN.

Instead of prohibiting new JSAs and forcing current ones to unwind in two years unless they can get a waiver, the NAB said the commission should set conditions for legitimate station sharing deals, including requiring the brokered licensee to retain control over at least 85% of the station’s programming; keep at least 70% of ad sales revenue and “maintain at least 20% of station value in the license itself.

In a public notice, the FCC’s Media Bureau says it’s particularly concerned about same-market sharing deals that include contingent financial interests. Commissioners Ajit Pai and Michael O’Rielly say they’re opposed to the such a move.

Berkshire Hathaway’s acquisition of Post-Newsweek’s ABC affiliate in Miami is part of a larger $1.2 billion deal involving a stock swap between Berkshire Hathaway and Post-Newsweek parent Graham Holdings and some cash. The deal values WPLG at $364 million. Post-Newsweek President Emily Barr reassures employees that the group’s other five stations are not for sale .”When you are asked (and you will undoubtedly be asked) if Post-Newsweek Stations is for sale, you can emphatically state we are not,” she says.

The sale by Chambers Communications Corp of LPTV stations in California and Oregon to Heartland Media for $29 million tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

Former Gray CEO Bob Prather’s new Heartland Media is adding Chambers Communications’ ABC affiliates in Eugene and Medford-Klamath Falls.

The sale by Blue Bonnet Communications of four LPTV stations in Texas to London Broadcasting for $1.8 million tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

The $177 million purchase of the CBS affiliate from Gannett and Sander Media closes following the receipt of regulatory approvals.

Despite speed bumps from the FCC (plans to kill JSAs and SSAs) and Aereo, many industry observers think the station trading market will heat up, with speculation that possible players include not only the usual suspects (Sinclair and Nexstar) but also Post-Newsweek, LIN, Meredith, Media General, Raycom and Sunbeam.

An FCC filing shows the price for the deal involving nine stations announced two weeks ago is $190 million. The stations are WEEK (NBC) Peoria/Bloomington, Ill. (DMA 117); WPTA (ABC-CW) Fort Wayne, Ind. (DMA 109); KBJR (NBC-MNT) and its satellite, KRII, in Duluth, Minn.-Superior, Wis. (DMA 139); and WBNG (CBS-CW) Binghamton, N.Y. (DMA 157).

The sale by Granite Broadcasting of two stations in Michigan and New York to Scripps Media for $110 million tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

The sale by Lockwood Broadcasting of two stations in Ohio and West Virginia to Gray Television for $5,500,000 tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

It’s purchasing WEEK Peoria-Bloomington, Ill.; WPTA Fort Wayne, Ind.; KBJR and its satellite, KRII, Duluth, Minn.-Superior, Wis.; and WBNG Binghamton, N.Y. In addition, Quincy will provide operating services to WHOI and WAOE Peoria-Bloomington, Ill., as well as to stations to be acquired by SagamoreHill Broadcasting: WISE Fort Wayne, Ind., and KDLH Duluth, Minn.-Superior, Wis.