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Huge news out of Columbus, Ohio as Dispatch Printing is being spun off to New Media Investment group...including the Columbus Dispatch, weekly newspapers, magazines, and associated properties.

 

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/06/03/0603-dispatch-sold-to-new-media-group.html

 

The Wolfe family will continue to own the Dispatch broadcasting holdings, including WBNS in Columbus, WTHR in Indianapolis, and the RadiOhio network serving radio stations in Ohio.

 

This could be interesting....either the Wolfe family is staying put by spinning off print or looking to expand or merge the broadcast holdings....

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Huge news out of Columbus, Ohio as Dispatch Printing is being spun off to New Media Investment group...including the Columbus Dispatch, weekly newspapers, magazines, and associated properties.

 

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/06/03/0603-dispatch-sold-to-new-media-group.html

 

The Wolfe family will continue to own the Dispatch broadcasting holdings, including WBNS in Columbus, WTHR in Indianapolis, and the RadiOhio network serving radio stations in Ohio.

 

This could be interesting....either the Wolfe family is staying put by spinning off print or looking to expand or merge the broadcast holdings....

 

This is definitely huge news. 110 years of ownership coming to an end. And the Wolfes will continue to own their money-printing real estate ventures and agricultural concerns, so they will certainly have the cash to start station hunting for, I don't know, the first time ever?

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Not to dive into speculation, but I would love to see a CBC-Raleigh / Dispatch merger.

 

Both own DOMINANT stations in growing, educated state capital markets....and both companies have historically been massive investors in their properties, communities they serve, and both have been pioneers of many aspects of broadcasting.

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Not to dive into speculation, but I would love to see a CBC-Raleigh / Dispatch merger.

 

Both own DOMINANT stations in growing, educated state capital markets....and both companies have historically been massive investors in their properties, communities they serve, and both have been pioneers of many aspects of broadcasting.

 

Wow. Good thinking. Imagine... CBC-Raleigh owning WRAL 5, WRAZ 50, WILM 10, WBNS 10 and WTHR 13. Woah! WRAL 5 has made many innovations in news technology and they could spread it to WBNS 10 and WTHR 13.
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First off for a Columbus POV... Wow I didn't see that coming at all!

 

To what that holds, On being Buying bait, WBNS and WTHR looks like major stations to be bought. WBNS is dominate station in Columbus and I think WTHR is the big station in Indy and on this one count Sinclair out because of WSYX. I'm feeling Tenga as a good fit if they are selling.

 

If they are expanding... Look out! A Strong company that isn't afraid to invest in it stations with that legacy to hold on to stations for a LONG TIME. This could be something to watch.

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If they are expanding... Look out! A Strong company that isn't afraid to invest in it stations with that legacy to hold on to stations for a LONG TIME. This could be something to watch.

 

I think that's what Dispatch wants and what they may do.
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On the flipside, they could be ready to expand their holdings. Look what happened with Media General when they sold off their newspapers. All it took was two years for them to nearly quadruple their station holdings through the Young and LIN mergers. Of course, this was all orchestrated by private equity and even more debt...

 

Since Dispatch is a virtually debt-free company with wads of cash and a plethora of holdings, they could go on a spending spree with stations up for sale or willing to sell....

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A few ideas that haven't been said yet:

 

Hearst-would probably be the best, most realistic option if Dispatch decided to sell

 

Meredith-would be perfect for them, and they want to grow too

 

Raycom-Dark horse, would fit them good geographically but I am not sure they are for real with their growth plans

 

Cox-another dark horse, they haven't really bought anything lately, but they have a history in Ohio and it seems like they would fit well

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Not to dive into speculation, but I would love to see a CBC-Raleigh / Dispatch merger.

 

Both own DOMINANT stations in growing, educated state capital markets....and both companies have historically been massive investors in their properties, communities they serve, and both have been pioneers of many aspects of broadcasting.

 

That's a merger where the corporate culture (at least from the outside looking in) and their pattern of management makes them a great fit. An expanded Dispatch, especially a merger like you propose, would be a very fearsome station group because of their track record. I mean, Dispatch is already going to be quite the buyer even if they don't merge with anyone right off the bat.

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I can top that, WBNS & WTHR For Gannett/Tegna.

 

 

First off for a Columbus POV... Wow I didn't see that coming at all!

 

To what that holds, On being Buying bait, WBNS and WTHR looks like major stations to be bought. WBNS is dominate station in Columbus and I think WTHR is the big station in Indy and on this one count Sinclair out because of WSYX. I'm feeling Tenga as a good fit if they are selling.

 

If they are expanding... Look out! A Strong company that isn't afraid to invest in it stations with that legacy to hold on to stations for a LONG TIME. This could be something to watch.

 

WBNS/WTHR would be great for Gannett, but I was told that WBNS has made alot cuts because their streamlining etc. So these cuts and now this is nothing new for the Wolfes. They will try to keep their family business, but every year we see many companies closing up shop. A few years back Lin try to make a play for WBNS. This will be interesting stay tune....
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A few ideas that haven't been said yet:

 

Hearst-would probably be the best, most realistic option if Dispatch decided to sell

 

Meredith-would be perfect for them, and they want to grow too

 

Raycom-Dark horse, would fit them good geographically but I am not sure they are for real with their growth plans

 

Cox-another dark horse, they haven't really bought anything lately, but they have a history in Ohio and it seems like they would fit well

Not sure about Cox expanding in Ohio. I think they blew that chance when they decided to let Sinclair buy WKRC.

 

I thought that would've been a good pairing with WHIO since both markets overlap each other and adding the Dispatch stations would've given them dominance in that region.

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That's a merger where the corporate culture (at least from the outside looking in) and their pattern of management makes them a great fit. An expanded Dispatch, especially a merger like you propose, would be a very fearsome station group because of their track record. I mean, Dispatch is already going to be quite the buyer even if they don't merge with anyone right off the bat.

 

I imagine the Griffin stations down in Oklahoma would also be a good fit.

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I can name a few things Dispatch can buy:

Sunbeam (WSVN, WHDH/WLVI)

WFMJ

Griffin (KOTV/KQCW, KWTV/KSBI)

Weigel (WDJT, WCIU, etc.)

KFMB

Maybe Drewry if Dispatch dosent mind small markets.

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I can name a few things Dispatch can buy:

Sunbeam (WSVN, WHDH/WLVI)

WFMJ

Griffin (KOTV/KQCW, KWTV/KSBI)

Weigel (WDJT, WCIU, etc.)

KFMB

Maybe Drewry if Dispatch dosent mind small markets.

 

WFMJ is The Vindicator Publishing Company and KFMB is Midwest Television, Inc.

 

Sunbeam? NO, as long as Ed Ansin is alive and as long as his family has control after he dies.

WFMJ? Maybe.

Griffin? NO WAY.

Weigel? Maybe some, including WBND-LD and its South Bend stations.

KFMB? Yeah.

Drewry? KWES, KSWO, KXXV are what I see being sold to Dispatch.

 

Remember... Dispatch has NOT announced selling its TV stations at this time. They are just breaking apart their Print and TV holdings.

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Gannett/Tegna is maxed out unless they swap out some of their weaker properties. Same goes with Tribune and Sinclair.

 

The urge to merge is evident as medium size companies like Media General and Scripps have doubled their holdings by merging wih LIN and Journal. The rising retrans rates and network fees are forcing this as the smaller broadcasters are being left behind because they lack the ability to negotiate like a major conglomerate does.

 

Now if Scripps took hold of WBNS, it would be ironic since Dispatch was at the helm of their newspaper's demise in 1985 (The Dispatch had a JOA with the Scripps-owned Citizens Journal and refused to let it to continue).

 

I think Ohio has a lot of potential.....stations like WFMJ and the micro-markets of Lima and Zanesville would be great Dispatch targets.

 

Weigel would make them a powerhouse in the digital subchannel scene given the success of MeTV and it's strong relationships with suppliers.

 

It could also be a deciding factor in smaller, family owned companies like Woods, Bahakel and Hubbard to buy or sell...

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  • 2 weeks later...

Huge news out of Columbus, Ohio as Dispatch Printing is being spun off to New Media Investment group...including the Columbus Dispatch, weekly newspapers, magazines, and associated properties.

 

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/06/03/0603-dispatch-sold-to-new-media-group.html

 

The Wolfe family will continue to own the Dispatch broadcasting holdings, including WBNS in Columbus, WTHR in Indianapolis, and the RadiOhio network serving radio stations in Ohio.

 

This could be interesting....either the Wolfe family is staying put by spinning off print or looking to expand or merge the broadcast holdings....

This is definitely huge news. 110 years of ownership coming to an end. And the Wolfes will continue to own their money-printing real estate ventures and agricultural concerns, so they will certainly have the cash to start station hunting for, I don't know, the first time ever?

IMO I have a feeling that the Wolfe family will exit the media business altogether. Something tells me this is similar to Graham Holdings where the family/company is reinventing itself around other assets. Plus, I think this might dovetail into some estate planning. I don't know I could be wrong but, I think this is a first step in the dismantling of Dispatch.

 

I can name a few things Dispatch can buy:

Sunbeam (WSVN, WHDH/WLVI)

WFMJ

Griffin (KOTV/KQCW, KWTV/KSBI)

Weigel (WDJT, WCIU, etc.)

KFMB

Maybe Drewry if Dispatch dosent mind small markets.

This kind of shows just how far behind the 8 ball they are if their goal is to focus on broadcast and "scale up" to match the big boys. Majority of the mid size players that would bring a nice chunk of stations without being too large are gone. It's mostly small fish left now. IDK, maybe they are content with their 2 stations and they are private so they aren't under any investor pressure.

 

Gannett/Tegna is maxed out unless they swap out some of their weaker properties. Same goes with Tribune and Sinclair.

 

The urge to merge is evident as medium size companies like Media General and Scripps have doubled their holdings by merging wih LIN and Journal. The rising retrans rates and network fees are forcing this as the smaller broadcasters are being left behind because they lack the ability to negotiate like a major conglomerate does.

 

Now if Scripps took hold of WBNS, it would be ironic since Dispatch was at the helm of their newspaper's demise in 1985 (The Dispatch had a JOA with the Scripps-owned Citizens Journal and refused to let it to continue).

Gannett/Tegna has some room to work with. Excluding the serviced stations, they are at roughly 24% with the UHF discount and roughly 29% without the UHF discount. Hypothetically, even if they acquired the all the remaining serviced stations outright (exempting the duopoly issue in Tucson for the moment) they'd have plenty of cap room for a WBNS and/or WTHR acquisition.

KGW: 1.014%

WHAS: 0.574%

KMSB/KTTU: 0.377% (0.189% w/ UHF discount)

WBNS: 0.803% (0.402% w/ UHF discount)

WTHR: 0.951%

I'm still tempted to start a pool to see how many days post split it will take for Gannett/Tegna to acquire the Sander stations. Anyway, if Dispatch is divesting their broadcast holdings as well I'd put Gannett/Tegna on the list of likely suitors along with Scripps and Raycom. Of course Scripps would require a divesture in Indy that the aforementioned Gannett/Tegna could help out with.

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Gannett/Tegna has some room to work with. Excluding the serviced stations, they are at roughly 24% with the UHF discount and roughly 29% without the UHF discount. Hypothetically, even if they acquired the all the remaining serviced stations outright (exempting the duopoly issue in Tucson for the moment) they'd have plenty of cap room for a WBNS and/or WTHR acquisition.

KGW: 1.014%

WHAS: 0.574%

KMSB/KTTU: 0.377% (0.189% w/ UHF discount)

WBNS: 0.803% (0.402% w/ UHF discount)

WTHR: 0.951%

I'm still tempted to start a pool to see how many days post split it will take for Gannett/Tegna to acquire the Sander stations. Anyway, if Dispatch is divesting their broadcast holdings as well I'd put Gannett/Tegna on the list of likely suitors along with Scripps and Raycom. Of course Scripps would require a divesture in Indy that the aforementioned Gannett/Tegna could help out with.

 

A sale of KMSB or KTTU would not be to Tegna. Given that the stations—and the license owners—are in Arizona, I actually kind of think that Sander and Tucker will hold onto those. Obviously selling to American Spirit, the Raycom shell, is out of the question.

 

That said, I do expect a quick buyback of KGW and WHAS.

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