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Gray buying Hoak & Prime Stations


tyrannical bastard

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Gray closes on Lockwood acquisitions, gets approval for Hoak Media and Mission TV transactions:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gray-receives-all-government-approvals-for-transactions-with-hoak-media-mission-tv-and-lockwood-2014-04-03

The WQCW one was closed on Tuesday. They'd immediately moved its 10pm news from MyZTV to Channel 30 on Monday. I had a feeling that it was going to close, as soon as they'd announce a week prior of that 10pm news move. I'm glad that they're finally move their news to a channel that's also carried on satellite, so it can get more viewers. A better channel to compete with WVAH.

 

My guess is a small third party will buy those stations, with news share agreements remaining in place with Gray/Nexstar.

I'd said earlier that the two deals that would likely would've been greenlighted, despite these entanglements from Wheeler and the FCC, are the Quincy/Granite and the Gray/Hoak deals. Remember last week they did make the amendments that Gray wouldn't have any put/call option or any other financial arrangements with the proposed Excalibur stations. As I might see, they'll probably wait to see if the FCC greenlights the Excalibur applications before they can full close the deal, since they did make those amendments.

 

I think the reason why the KNDX one was squashed because Gray probably would've been responsible for substantial investments and financial backing into the station (even though it never had or proposed to form a JSA), and possibly form a new consolidation with KFYR. And I find it kind of sad because KNDX would've benefitted it from that part of the deal.

 

I strongly doubt that KHAS & KOLN would be greatly consolidated because KHAS viewer is geared towards the central part of the state, further west than Gray's MyNet KSNB. And since Hoak already paid to start HD productions in Hastings, Gray would probably don't have to make too much investing. I would probably move KSNB to the KHAS facility, since they're goal for that channel was to gear towards an audience west of Lincoln anyway.

 

The other two (KAQY & KXJB) would keep it a status quo. Remember KAQY don't air any news, while KXJB airs a shared newscast with KVLY.

 

If I would be Don Ray, I would be putting out a "Public Interest Statement" like Louis Wall of SagamoreHill did for his proposed AOLs in the Quincy/Granite deal. Outline what you're vowing to do with KAQY, KHAS & KXJB. Especially vowing to keep the KHAS's newscast separate from KOLN's, and vowing to keep facilities separate. They'd already stated that Gray won't have the financial backings of the Excalibur stations. But selling some other points might get Don Ray the greenlight somehow. But it shouldn't hold up any further if the DOJ/FTC already cleared any antitrust issues on the Excalibur ones.

 

I'm shocked that the FCC approved these two separate deals from Hoak & KEVN deals, and not the Excalibur ones as of yet. The last time another deal that was separately approved (besides the KMOV/KTVK-KASW deal) was Nexstar's 2013 acquisition of the Smith Media's Vermont stations. And I think they'd approved the WVNY one to Mission before WFFF one to Nexstar.

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Gray is going to have a lot of control over the central Nebraska market.

 

If Citadel is listening, NTV is probably up for sale. It really needs to buy it. Having two ABC affiliates in a DMA like this makes for tough business.

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Gray is going to have a lot of control over the central Nebraska market.

 

If Citadel is listening, NTV is probably up for sale. It really needs to buy it. Having two ABC affiliates in a DMA like this makes for tough business.

 

Gray got the entire Cornhusker state locked from Omaha to Scottsbluff. But that middle passage is where it gets crowded. Getting KHAS would complete their Cornhusker network. Hell, they'd approve the North Platte apps too, where it'll control three out of the four networks.

 

But I thought this not too long ago. Since Lombardo has KLKN now, and I've stated that Citadel may not last long. And Pappas' only major profitable station in their portfolio now is NTV. And let's not forget a certain former executive is buying TV stations at the moment. I would not be surprised if Bob Prather of his newly created media entity Heartland Media, attempts to buy both KLKN & the NTV cluster. It would be a crazy sight to see an owner of a television station that is competiting with another TV station that is owned by a company he used to work for. But should it happens, Lombardo can just deal with WLNE, while Pappas can figure out what to do with the rest of their portfolio, which it looks really good for the speculators.

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Not only that but the sale of the Citadel Iowa TV cluster finally closed, so that's a bunch of cash that Citadel now has and can put toward an acquisition of NTV (and, indirectly, KFXL).

 

Yeah, I understand that aspect that they received the dough after the Nexstar deal. But do you think Lombardo is going to follow through and try to snag KHGI? Yeah he said that he had some unfinished business and such. I'm not saying that they shouldn't get NTV, I'm just saying they might not be keeping KLKN in the longhaul. Yeah they could acquire KHGI and rechristened KLKN to the NTV fold. But I think they're buyers who are willing like Prather to buy TV stations now, than waiting until the crows come home. And both KLKN & NTV fits Prather's portfolio.

 

Yeah, I'm hearing that they want to slow down but I'm not hearing Lombardo saying that he wants to expand, unlike Prather, which he has stated that they're could be a couple of more deals in the horizon. I strongly think this is Prather's one to lose, and Citadel should cash in the KLKN chips and go home.

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Yeah, I understand that aspect that they received the dough after the Nexstar deal. But do you think Lombardo is going to follow through and try to snag KHGI? Yeah he said that he had some unfinished business and such. I'm not saying that they shouldn't get NTV, I'm just saying they might not be keeping KLKN in the longhaul. Yeah they could acquire KHGI and rechristened KLKN to the NTV fold. But I think they're buyers who are willing like Prather to buy TV stations now, than waiting until the crows come home. And both KLKN & NTV fits Prather's portfolio.

 

Yeah, I'm hearing that they want to slow down but I'm not hearing Lombardo saying that he wants to expand, unlike Prather, which he has stated that they're could be a couple of more deals in the horizon. I strongly think this is Prather's one to lose, and Citadel should cash in the KLKN chips and go home.

 

But who wants WLNE? I don't see anyone who wants both WLNE and KLKN in the same deal.

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If I had a vote on who wants to buy WLNE, I say Gannett or Cox Media Group.

 

Neither. I wish Freedom just kept them, then they'd be under Sinclair.

 

WLNE would require significant investment to be brought up to Gannett or Cox standards, and I don't think neither company is willing to make that investment. And I understand Lombardo upgraded them to HD when he took over, but he has significantly cheapened the station even worse than Sinclair would have. He laid people off, switched to the MMJ format, hired younger talent to replace the likable and experienced team, got rid of Fred Campagna, half-assed their HD upgrade, and really the overall feel of the station is just subpar at best. A lot more negatives then positives have happened under his watch. They have great people working there, it's not their fault in the slightest, it's just Citadel and Lombardo do not give WLNE the cash they need to be a significant factor in the market. Then they wonder why their ratings are so bad?

 

It would be nice if a quality group took over, but I don't see it happening. However, if it were to happen and he does sell, I would really like to see Scripps buy the station. I'm sure if they did, and the sale was announced, the staff there would be jumping for joy that they actually have a quality owner, much like the staff at WKBW probably did when they found out their station was being sold to Scripps.

 

One can only dream...

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Providence should be able to sustain 3 news operations given its size, but if no one wants WLNE (a very distant third place station), it might just end up in a speculator's hands. With either WJAR or WPRI for sale, I am sure the one Media General decides not to take will be the prize possession.

 

As for Gray (the main topic here), they have no stations at all in the Northeast.

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Neither. I wish Freedom just kept them, then they'd be under Sinclair.

 

WLNE would require significant investment to be brought up to Gannett or Cox standards, and I don't think neither company is willing to make that investment. And I understand Lombardo upgraded them to HD when he took over, but he has significantly cheapened the station even worse than Sinclair would have. He laid people off, switched to the MMJ format, hired younger talent to replace the likable and experienced team, got rid of Fred Campagna, half-assed their HD upgrade, and really the overall feel of the station is just subpar at best. A lot more negatives then positives have happened under his watch. They have great people working there, it's not their fault in the slightest, it's just Citadel and Lombardo do not give WLNE the cash they need to be a significant factor in the market. Then they wonder why their ratings are so bad?

 

It would be nice if a quality group took over, but I don't see it happening. However, if it were to happen and he does sell, I would really like to see Scripps buy the station. I'm sure if they did, and the sale was announced, the staff there would be jumping for joy that they actually have a quality owner, much like the staff at WKBW probably did when they found out their station was being sold to Scripps.

 

One can only dream...

I could see Nexstar going in to buy WLNE if Lombardo is willing to sell.
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I could see Hearst being interested in WLNE since it has other nearby ABC affiliates (WCVB, WMUR, WMTW).

 

Funny because Pulitzer had owned that station at one point, and most of their stations are now owned by Hearst.

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  • 4 weeks later...

NEW M&A This Afternoon!!!!!

 

TVNewsCheck stated minutes ago that Gray is buying KEVN Rapid City, SD from Mission TV, LLC for $7.75M.

TVNewsCheck state late today that Gray has closed on Rapid City's KEVN, and its satellite, KIVV.

 

It has also announced that Gray will acquire certain assets of Prime Cities Broadcasting's KNDX, and it will form a Local Marketing Agreement (which will end once Gray acquires another station in the Bismarck market (case in point, once that Hoak deal is finalized, they will own NBC affiliate KFYR)). Gray will acquire outright the Prime Cities LP stations KNDX-LP & KXND-LP, which after regulatory approvals, it will be completed by the third quarter.

 

Prime Cities my play on for a little while, but I'm thinking there might be a decent chance that Don Ray could come back and try for KNDX again.

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  • 1 month later...

From the "Gray expands in Nebraska thread":

^This is directly related to the deal being discussed in this thread. But, it looks like there will be no need for Excalibur to acquire KHAS anymore. The station will shut down tomorrow with all of it's programming moving to Gray-owned KSNB.
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Update: Its also happening in Bismarck. KNDX/KXND will move to KFYR & KQCD, DT2 streams.

 

Would it have been possible for KHAS and KSNB to be satellites of each other? Or do the signals overlap too much?

KHAS overlaps the eastern half of KSNB signal. So I don't even thing they'll even attempt for a satellite authority KHAS also overlaps nearly all of KGIN's signal. So they need to preserve the NBC service using KGIN's service on 11.2..

 

But this is the second time where a Group annonuce that a TV station have to go dark, because they haven't received the greenlight because of a sharing arrangement. And I strongly thought with all those amendments they've done, they would've had a greenlight. I wished they would've maybe revised the wording of the SSA document, then maybe they'll have a shot. They've removed key agreements (option & put/call) in their applications before April, and it's two months later and no greenlight. I'm hoping KHAS signal would be off temporarily in case the FCC grants the application. But its a shame that more stations have to go dark and move their digital streams in another TV station, degrading the picture quality.

 

The FCC needs to find a compromise for sure, otherwise more weaker stations will fall by the wayside. No one wants to buy a weak standalone station...

From the Kearney Hub today:

In a statement, the station said it did not make the change because of conflict with a cable or satellite provider.

 

“There is no dispute with any cable or satellite provider, who are really great partners with us,” KHAS General Manager Ulysses Carlini Jr. said. “Rather, this over-the-air channel change will have minimal impact on viewers directly yet allow us to better serve Central Nebraska going forward.”

Well we know it's not because of a retrans dispute. Of course Wheeler loves this shit because he doesn't care for broadcasters, and loves that more TV stations are going dark and that's another station that can be used for the wireless broadband companies, even if that station is in a smaller market. He also ain't for compromises either. Lucky enough he considered Commissioner Clyburn's JSA waiver compromise. He would love to see KHAS go to a speculator. That frequency could move that frequency to Kansas City where they might need that spectrum. But wait, KHAS is a VHF signal physically on channel 5. Most speculators are grabbing at the UHF signals. I'm not sure if it matters or not.

 

This is a sad day for Cornhusker country, and North Dakota.

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Three things that I think are being underthought:

  • This means no NBC service in Kearney. Gray will need to start a translator there because KSNB does not reach that area of the market.
  • But KSNB *does* reach Lincoln, and the potential is there for Gray to encourage Lincoln cable providers to switch from WOWT to KSNB.
  • That, in turn, would put pressure on Citadel and Pappas to finally combine their ABC operation. With KOLN, KSNB and KFXL as market-wide operations, the two stations splitting the market does not make business sense. I've been saying for years that I'm surprised Pappas has not sold yet. Despite potential complications, KHGI, KFXL and KLKN combined would not only be able to produce a split newscast for each half of the market, but they would offer advertisers the same market-wide reach. In addition the combined ABC service would still reach into North Platte, much like KOLN (with KNPL-LD) and KSNB (with KNOP).

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The FCC needs to find a compromise for sure, otherwise more weaker stations will fall by the wayside. No one wants to buy a weak standalone station...

The time for that was before March 31st vote. The FCC didn't/won't compromise and refuses to address these issues as part of the overall ownership rules. So, here we are. Grab yourself a bucket of popcorn and watch the waves come rolling in. This is likely the first of many.

 

Three things that I think are being underthought:

  • This means no NBC service in Kearney. Gray will need to start a translator there because KSNB does not reach that area of the market.
  • But KSNB *does* reach Lincoln, and the potential is there for Gray to encourage Lincoln cable providers to switch from WOWT to KSNB.
  • That, in turn, would put pressure on Citadel and Pappas to finally combine their ABC operation. With KOLN, KSNB and KFXL as market-wide operations, the two stations splitting the market does not make business sense. I've been saying for years that I'm surprised Pappas has not sold yet. Despite potential complications, KHGI, KFXL and KLKN combined would not only be able to produce a split newscast for each half of the market, but they would offer advertisers the same market-wide reach. In addition the combined ABC service would still reach into North Platte, much like KOLN (with KNPL-LD) and KSNB (with KNOP).

They will continue simulcasting the primary stream of KSNB on the ".2's" of KOLN/KGIN. So, they will still have NBC. They will however lose access to the combo of MNT/MeTV (via OTA) as that will move to the ".2" of KSNB.
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