Gannett to acquire Belo

[tw-804 190]

Oh, wow! That's a shock. Now I'm picturing the Gannett open and graphics on WVEC.

[Rusty Muck 4159]

Well, anything's possible with "Today's FCC." When Comcast took control NBC, they were forced to sell KWHY in Los Angeles.

 

This will be about whether or not Gannett still wants to own a newspaper in Phoenix, or control three TV stations (well, actually two and a half. The only local program KASW airs is a replay of KTVK's political roundtable show from the week before).

 

St. Louis will be all about revenue. I take that KSDK and KMOV control almost 50 percent of TV revenue there.

I'm wondering, USA Today notwithstanding (not that it's in THAT great of shape) if Gannett bought Belo specifically for the broadcast stations, and is intending to sell off the newspaper unit as a complete package. Betcha Warren Buffet would relish the opportunity.

 

And it would solve the Phoenix question.

[AaronQ 259]

As someone who live in a city (Charlotte) whose station is owned by Belo (WCNC). HOLY CRAP!!!!!! ​

[TheRob 919]

I must wonder if Belo's investors wanted to get paid. We're approaching the top of the market, so if you want to cash out, now seems like a good time.

[MorningNews 1289]

At least here in Texas WFAA, KHOU, KVUE are well respected stations! Really hope that doesn't change.

[Rusty Muck 4159]

I'm sorry, but what do you mean by this? But what I do find sort of confusing is why no one seemed to "care as much" when Scripps bought all of McGraw-Hill's station. While it was sort of surprising, (I think), no one really flipped out over it and some even thought that it might be beneficial for a few of the stations. But it seems to me as if almost EVERY company after that who bought another company's entire broadcast side or just took them over, shit was flipped and hell was raised.

What I was trying to get as is, we are now starting to see a replay of the massive consolidation of station ownership that befell the radio industry in the late 1990s, where major companies either bought companies or were bought by other big companies. Clear Channel was the last man standing and became "too big to fail."

 

After this merger, for all we know, any group regardless of their stability or standing (I used Scripps as an example even as they effectively started this trend) outside of the network O&Os could just as easily become a takeover target by like-sized groups.

 

Sinclair is in another category.

[Que 73]

What about the Belo Headquarters in Downtown Dallas? Gannett's going to take over that building too?

A.H. Belo will still exist. But I doubt they will need the full building for operations. With any merger, some positions will be consolidated, people will loose their jobs. I don't see Belo retaining full ownership of the building in the next 5-10 years, unless Gannett was to relocate (which is highly unlikely). The building rights sold off can generate much needed cash for A.H. Belo and/or Gannett.

 

But it will be weird knowing WFAA and The Dallas Morning News will now be completely separate.

[TexasTVNews 1366]

 

At least here in Texas WFAA, KHOU, KVUE are well respected stations! Really hope that doesn't change.

 

What about San Antonio's KENS 5, that a well respected station too?

[ColumbusNewsFan 217]

I'm beyond shocked that Gannett is buying Belo. I guess shocker merger and accqusions are the thing.... I wonder what will the 3rd one be? So far we had MG and Young, Belo and Gannett... ???

 

Nothing is out of the relm of "it can't happen" because that deal was firmly in there.

[CLTNewsWatch 4]

As someone who live in a city (Charlotte) whose station is owned by Belo (WCNC). HOLY CRAP!!!!!! ​

Do you think WCNC will change branding again?

[effseesee 101]

 

Wait, perhaps I've missed it, but do we know WHY Gannett and Belo have done this or WHAT sparked it all?

 

$. That's the only reason ever.

 

 

I must wonder if Belo's investors wanted to get paid. We're approaching the top of the market, so if you want to cash out, now seems like a good time.

 

Actually, it's not really the top of the market. Back in 2004, people were paying 12 to 14x cash flow for stations. Today, they're only paying between 8 and 9x cash flow. The fact is that in today's environment, with reverse compensation and retransmission consent, you need to get bigger to retain any leverage.

[Nelson R. 560]

Do you think WCNC will change branding again?

They could. All I know is they need to find an identity and stick to it.

[effseesee 101]

Another thing, Gannett hubs the master control for its stations in Greensboro and Jacksonville. It could mean the master control for the Belo stations will move to those two places, or they create a third hub.

[TexasTVNews 1366]

Gannett memos tells employees what to expect with Belo buy, you can red the entire memo.

 

Gannett Employee FAQ

 

1. Why is Gannett buying Belo?

 

We have been successfully transforming Gannett into a diversified multi-media company with broadcast, digital and publishing components across high-growth markets nationwide, and this is another important step in the process. Belo’s strong and complementary portfolio is a terrific strategic fit. Like Gannett, Belo has a rich history in the news business dating back more than a hundred years. Belo also shares our purpose and passion for delivering the news and information that matter most to the communities we serve. After the close of the combination, Gannett will strengthen our position as the number one local media company in America. Until the deal closes, however, it’s business as usual.

 

2. How does this combination advance Gannett’s competitive position?

 

This combination creates the 4th largest owner of major network affiliates – a true Broadcast “Super Group,” nearly doubling our broadcast assets (including stations to be serviced by Gannett through sharing arrangements) and expanding our national footprint into new, high growth markets. It also increases our network diversity, as together with Belo, we will become the #1 CBS affiliate group and the #4 ABC affiliate group, as well as strengthen our position as the leading NBC affiliate. Additionally, the combination allows Gannett’s successful Digital Marketing Services to expand to new, growing markets with millions of small businesses.

 

3. What does this mean for our Publishing and Digital divisions?

 

This combination is about much more than Broadcast. It significantly expands the reach of Gannett overall. We will have a presence in 111 communities across the country, including in more than two-thirds of the top 25 markets. This expanded footprint will give us an even greater opportunity to leverage our hometown advantage and strong brand leadership across all of our businesses – Publishing, Broadcast and Digital.

 

4. How long will the integration take?

 

We expect to close this deal by the end of the year. Importantly, until that time, nothing changes with Belo and Gannett remaining two separate companies. The Board and management know Belo’s business very well and believe that the integration process should be smooth and straightforward. Following the close, we will begin the integration, and we’ll provide you with further information as the integration progresses.

 

5. Will their entire operation fold into the broadcast division operation?

 

Gannett will be providing support services to stations in the Louisville, Phoenix, Portland, St. Louis and Tucson DMAs and these stations will be separately owned. In all of the remaining DMAs, the Belo stations will be fully integrated into the broadcast division’s operations, which will be led by Dave Lougee.

 

6. How does this announcement impact my day-to-day job?

 

Until the deal closes, we will continue to operate as separate companies and it is business as usual for Gannett employees.

 

7. As a Gannett employee, does this provide an opportunity for me?

 

We believe this combination opens up a number of new doors and will provide increased opportunities across the new organization. This combination increases our network diversity and significantly expands Gannett’s geographic footprint and reach, allowing us to extend our strong brands into new, high-growth markets.

 

8. Are there any overlaps between our broadcast assets and Belo’s? Will Gannett have to sell any stations?

 

As part of the deal, we are restructuring ownership of the Belo stations in 5 markets, Phoenix, St. Louis, Portland, Louisville and Tucson. We expect that the stations affected will be serviced by Gannett through shared service agreements or similar sharing arrangements.

 

9. When will we learn more details about the integration of Belo’s operations with ours?

 

The Board and management are squarely focused on bringing the deal to a close as quickly as possible. After that, we will begin the integration, and we will be sharing additional information with you about that process and how it will unfold following the close.

[Samantha 2876]

The use of shadow companies is limited to markets where there are cross-ownership issues (Gannett owns dailies in Louisville and in Salem, OR), multi-station issues (Phoenix and St. Louis), and the stations are already LMA'd out (Tucson; Raycom operates KMSB/KTTU).

[Breaking News 802]

I always thought Belo was a healthy broadcasting company, and Gannett as well, but I would of thought the headline would of say "Belo buys Gannett" ,but not the other way around.

 

The St. Louis market going to suck because there 2/11 & 4/5 so no real competition, but Gannett placed a memo this morning.

However there needs to be a couple of players added to the game. Scripps Howard needs some CBS affiliates in their portfolio...KMOV 4 would be greatly added to the Scripps Howard Company.

 

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/gannett-memo-tells-employees-what-to-expect-with-belo-buy_b93805

 

 

Cox Media could pick up KTVK 3TV, and both stations can continue, and enough with these SSA, JSA, LMA, etc...Another player that should emerge beside Cox & Scripps should be Hearst, because Hearst as well could buy KMOV 4 & KTVK 3.

 

When we heard Sinclair was going after Fisher; Sinclair will gut Fisher Stations newsrooms like a fish, and hope this deal will no go through, but wanted Gannett to buy Fisher Stations, but with the Belo merger I would like to see Hearst getting those Fisher Stations instead.

 

Allbritton Stations have said they want to sell and it been speculated that WJLA would be apart of ABC/Disney, I could see Lin TV picking up the rest of those stations except ABC 33/40 Birmingham market which Lin TV owns CBS42. Scripps could pick up ABC 33/40.

 

Then there Local TV which also plans to sell as well too, and not just one group but many groups should buy. Tribune picks up the former FOX O&Os, Meredith pick up the (3) Virginia stations, Gray pick up the smaller market stations, WREG, goes to Scripps, because they need some CBS affiliates in their portfolio and Gannett pick up KFOR.

 

There will be more owners merging down the road and I could see Scripps & Cox becoming one, but we shall see what will happen next???

[24994J 5269]

My meaningless and unfounded opinion on the situation:

1. From what I've picked up, Gannett doesn't seem as bad as we made them out to be just a few years ago.
   
2. At least this isn't Sinclair.
   

[CircleSeven 1944]

You gotta be kidding me?! As a native North Texan; born and raised here in Dallas area, I just don't know if I'm going to like this. What is the future with the Belo stations including WFAA? Will there be a name change from Belo to Gannett? There's going to be a whole lot of questions that needs to ask.

Okay like last week, with Young & Media General, which is true merger, with most of the Young heads keeping their positions, but they will use the 'Media General' name. Gannett is buying out Belo. So after the consummation, WFAA and the other Belo stations will be owned by Gannett. So all the Belo TV stations will be under the Gannett name.

 

Depends on who gets the Allibitron stations (sans WJLA) and the LocalTV stations.

 

And does this trend start to make groups like Scripps (who themselves swallowed up the McGraw-Hill group) buyers or takeover targets? Young was an obvious target even with KRON, but Belo selling is shocking as hell.

Still, all this M&A is getting silly. Be prepared, tomorrow we could all wake up only to see crazy headlines like "Scripps to merge with Sinclair" or "Nexstar to acquire Cox" or stuff like that. Also, I am shocked that Belo would go bye-bye; it's one of the best-run station groups in my opinion.

I remember reading something in Febraury that Belo wanted to expand within a year 'as they make sense'. But I'm just as shocked as you with this news. It might seemed foolish. But like I posted earlier on the rise of the super-groups. These smaller groups aren't going to last on their own, as they say. So that's why you see Allbritton & Local TV and other firms getting out now. As Myron pointed out later on this thread:

 

What I was trying to get as is, we are now starting to see a replay of the massive consolidation of station ownership that befell the radio industry in the late 1990s, where major companies either bought companies or were bought by other big companies. Clear Channel was the last man standing and became "too big to fail."

 

After this merger, for all we know, any group regardless of their stability or standing (I used Scripps as an example even as they effectively started this trend) outside of the network O&Os could just as easily become a takeover target by like-sized groups.

 

Sinclair is in another category.

It also can be a bad thing once retransmission consent time comes about between the station groups and the cable carriers. And if there's no deal at a certain time, even more stations could be in the dark. That's going to be another problem, down the road.

 

I must wonder if Belo's investors wanted to get paid. We're approaching the top of the market, so if you want to cash out, now seems like a good time.

Just like the shareholders at Fisher. They want to cash-in and get the hell out of dodge. It's just sad that they don't want to keep the company alive. They figure there's more money around so its a very opportune time to cash-in. And to me it doesn't make any sense. Which brings me to this.

 

I'm sorry, but what do you mean by this? But what I do find sort of confusing is why no one seemed to "care as much" when Scripps bought all of McGraw-Hill's station. While it was sort of surprising, (I think), no one really flipped out over it and some even thought that it might be beneficial for a few of the stations. But it seems to me as if al most EVERY company after that who bought another company's entire broadcast side or just took them over, shit was flipped and hell was raised.

I don't think many of us were bitching about the LIN/New Vision deal was announced. But once Sinclair & Nexstar started their buying fiend, many folks on this board have raised a whole lot of holy hell. Yes its asinine for one company to run an unprecedented 140 stations. But like I stated on an earlier thread, we can bitch and moan all we want, and we can call these companies names. And when we hear Sinclair get another group again, guess what we're gonna do? We're going to bitch and moan again. Why? Because Sinclair owns too much?!! But it won't stop these companies like Sinclair from doing what they're going to do. We just need to watch and see the sparks fly if and when they fall under their own stewardship.

 

Although, all these Mergers & Acquisitions, I wonder if they're fearful of the outcome of those incentive spectrum auctions next year. Now I'm not for it. But I don't see anyone complaining about NRJ TV, LLC (which has ties to the folks that own/operate Titan TV Broadcast Group), OTA Broadcasting, LLC or LocusPoint Media, and some others Spectrum Speculators, who are buying anything, just for the 'airspace'; and hoping to cash-in even more to surrender those TV licenses to the FCC. And then the FCC can re-sell it to those wireless carriers for broadband use. But not after broadcast stations would have to move channels, as the FCC is taking another 20 channels off the grid. So that means, what we saw four years ago yesterday, will happen again in the next few years. It's like with the 18 channels off the grid (channel 52-69) those wireless companies are saying it's not enough?

 

All I can say to the Belo stations is: prepare for Gannettization. :lol: Also, no more of this "Spirit of Texas" or "Spirit of Louisiana" stuff, it's all "This is Home" for you guys now. Also, prepare for black box graphics and droves of viewer complaints because of said boxes.

I thought there was hope that it won't happen. I still have a certain "hope" that WFAA/KHOU as I call them the "Spirit" stations to get spared. But then we saw what happened to

back on January 25, after dropping that Terry Esau-composed theme, after 17 years of usage. WFAA have used multiple themes, using the familiar logo for going on almost three decades. Should they cave-in to the "Gannett-ization", this would be a huge blow to Quarter-Past-Six clan, after they've completed a more carefully thoughtful, unrushed, second installment of Propulsion, after the first version was extremely rushed in late 2006.

 

Yeah, its probably a safe bet that this is a foregone conclusion. But I still have hope for those two Spirit stations to keep those themes alive. I just can't picture those two stations using those damn Gannett Color-Bars Graphics.

 

I also have hope that WHAS would keep Newschannel, as they've been using that theme since '91. But Gannett could standardized this station first with the Graphics and the This Is Home theme.

 

Overall, this will be a very interesting trip. I just hope they're won't be any mass layoffs, as we've been hearing from many of the other M&As.

[Samantha 2876]

 

Cox Media could pick up KTVK 3TV...

 

Cox owns the dominant cable system in Phoenix. I think the FCC frowns upon cable/OTA TV combos in many cases.

[effseesee 101]

 

Cox owns the dominant cable system in Phoenix. I think the FCC frowns upon cable/OTA TV combos in many cases.

 

Nope. Cox purchased KOKI in Tulsa last year despite being the cable provider in that city.

 

Doesn't really matter. Cox isn't buying 3TV.

[TexasTVNews 1366]

I've contacted WFAA ABC 8 this afternoon via facebook, and this is their response:

 

Thanks for writing us. We hope to hear some of those answers as well. The news just broke for most of us here at WFAA as well and we'll be hearing more details soon. The deal isn't expected to be completed until the end of the year so those answers may be slow coming, but we're not going away!

 

Thanks again for the note!

[Jterry 43]

 

I've contacted WFAA ABC 8 this afternoon via facebook, and this is their response:

 

Thanks for writing us. We hope to hear some of those answers as well. The news just broke for most of us here at WFAA as well and we'll be hearing more details soon. The deal isn't expected to be completed until the end of the year so those answers may be slow coming, but we're not going away!

 

Thanks again for the note!

 

Yeah, I wouldn't have expected them to know anything themselves at this point. The reaction this morning by employees on the Belo side (and Gannett as well) was as truly stunned as everybody here.

[TexasTVNews 1366]

Even Ed Bark (Unclebarky.com) was surprised about the announcement.

http://unclebarky.com/dfw_files/ad3f3d6517d0c36c00be0a21cd5f3727-2805.html

[swillh2k2 203]

 

Nope. Cox purchased KOKI in Tulsa last year despite being the cable provider in that city.

 

Doesn't really matter. Cox isn't buying 3TV.

 

Neither is Hearst (as someone posted earlier)--doesn't fit their profile. Don't think they'd be interested in purchasing an independent by itself even though it is one of the stronger indies in the US. If anything, they'd buy KPNX (Gannett won't be selling it, but that's more in line with what Hearst would be interested in).

[CircleSeven 1944]

Now I know why the three other markets will go to the new shell company. Gannett owns newspapers in not only in Phoenix, but in Tucson (Tucson Citizen), Salem (Statesman Journal) and Louisville (The Courier Journal). And of course it would take eons to get a waiver to allow Gannett proper to own the station. Of course in Phoenix & Tucson, Belo have a duopoly in both markets. St. Louis doesn't have a Gannett-owned newspaper but both stations (KSDK & KMOV) are THE top-2 highest-rated stations. It would really be interesting to see the FCC paperwork once they file all of that in the coming days.