The acquisition expands Raycom Media’s reach and presence in Florida with $68.5 million buy. It also owns Fox affiliates WFLX in West Palm Beach and WPGX in Panama City. Heartland Media steps in to buy the last of Calkins' stations, WAAY Huntsville, Ala., for $13.5 milllion.
DMAS 11 & 107
Raycom Closes On WWSB And WTXL
Raycom Media’s $68.5 million purchase of WWSB Sarasota, Fla. (DMA 11), and WTXL Tallahassee, Fla. (DMA 107), from Calkins Media Group, closed today.
Both stations are ABC affiliates.
Raycom last year had agreed to pay $82 million deal for the two stations plus Calkins’ WAAY Huntsville, Ala. However, the Department of Justice blocked the WAAY acquisition because Raycom already owns the NBC affiliate in Huntsville, WAFF.
Calkins ended up selling WAAY to Heartland Media for $13.5 million, according to Heartland’s Bob Prather, who said he anticipates closing on that deal today.
WWSB and WTXL “exemplify the commitment to local news and community service that is ingrained in every Raycom Media station,” said Pat LaPlatney, Raycom Media president-CEO. “We are pleased to bring their talented teams on board and look forward to continuing their tradition of dedication to their viewers and business partners.”
“Raycom Media’s Florida portfolio is significantly enhanced by our expansion into the vibrant Suncoast communities and the important State Capital news center of Tallahassee,” said Don Richards, Raycom Media Group VVP.
BRAND CONNECTIONS
The acquisition expands Raycom Media’s reach and presence in Florida. It also owns Fox affiliates WFLX in West Palm Beach and WPGX in Panama City.
Broker Kalil & Co. represented Raycom in the deal.
Comments (6)
Patrick Burns says:
May 1, 2017 at 2:49 pm
I have never understood this deal.
Florida is a guaranteed growing mkt. Two stations in this great state.
Affiliations and ever growing retail sales. You trade this for cash to hope you can save your newspaper business.
Raycom is one smart buyer for sure !!!
The 2018 congressionals await , oh yeah !!!!
Cheryl Thorne says:
May 1, 2017 at 3:00 pm
Calkins is one of the worst companies in the Media industry run by a bunch of Print hacks!!! They’lll be out of business one day..Why anyone is buying local TV stations is a mystery based on what they are going to go through in the next 5 years…
Patrick Burns says:
May 1, 2017 at 9:48 pm
TV will be challenged for sure but with re-trans, direct retail, political, event money, production income, diginet income and also direct ad sales , then add in political, you still have a serious business.
Digital will be ruing the day they touted themselves so hard. I have used Facebook extensively for clients & not one can attribute a sale to Facebook. Lets see, sound is off during video, only 3 seconds on average is watched ( their figures ) , they lie & slip in geographies you did not buy, they are not accountable to the FCC for affidavit accuracy,etc. Ask the former owner of the Berlin NH radio group back in the 80s what double billing on coop cost him, his licenses.
Digital is way for young persons to hang out & older people to pretend their young. It is a fad , remember Alta Vista, look it up & you will see what I am driving at.
TV is fed by Hollywood and the studios own all the best ideas & book titles, they are the power, Facebook wishes they had that potency.
Rey Chavez says:
May 1, 2017 at 4:56 pm
Sarasota is not market 11. It is market 11 adjacent. Certainly doesn’t bill likes it’s in market 11.
Teri Green says:
May 1, 2017 at 5:37 pm
Sarasota is in the Tampa St Petersburg TV DMA
Patrick Burns says:
May 1, 2017 at 9:40 pm
Skip the Mkt DMA theory crap , take the retail sales by contacting cty govt and figure your actual retail sales by seeing collected taxes for a year or qtr. If tax rate is 7% you do the inverse of the 7 % to get REAL retail sales. But skip the Algebra, Sarasota & its feeder towns are thriving retailers buy TV time. This station should be billing on a napkin guess about 5 to 7 million in direct only business. I hope raycom gets in there hard & kicks some serious sales reps butts & starts to bill nicely !!