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It now appears that Graycom has found new homes for all the stations that needed to be divested, https://seekingalpha.com/news/3384335-gray-sets-divestitures-eight-markets-raycom-deal

 

Here's the List:

Lockwood (4): WTNZ, WFXG, WPGX, WDFX, all of which are FOX stations and would result in a duopoly in Knoxville.

Scripps (2): KXXV/KRHD, WTXL

Tegna (2): WTOL, KWES

Marquee (1): WSWG, the only Gray station that'll be divested.

 

As for Lockwood, just when we believe that they're about to cash out they turn around and add to their portfolio and will gain a duopoly in Knoxville with independent WKNX.

 

A message to Sinclair, see how simple a divestiture can be when you sell to existing companies and not your car dealer.

 

At this point in the ill-fated Sinclair-Tribune deal, they were still denying they would even need to divest and making no plans for it. It took like 8 months just to sell to their friends and car dealers.

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I bet the CBS affiliation is included in the sale of WSWG to Marquee, because it looks like Gray wants a very smooth transaction and the DOJ might object to one station (WALB) carrying all three of ABC-NBC-CBS in the Albany market.

 

According to Wikipedia, there are two silent low power stations in Albany. If that's accurate, Marquee could buy one of them and set up a scenario with CBS using two full power rimshots and a LPTV in the city center, as Allbritton did with ABC in Birmingham.

 

A COL change might be required for WSWG, since it's licensed to Valdosta which is technically in the Tallahassee market.

The two LDs, WQDU & W38EM, are currently licensed to DTV America Corporation, according to RabbitEars, whom Gray has done business with previously.

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You know, with WTOL becoming WKYC's soon-to-be sister station, Tegna better take a real look at the Ohio TV Markets if they want to expand (Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, and Youngstown). Because with the addition of KWES, Tegna will cover 87% of Texas stations. So, Tegna Media better start buying top market Ohio stations, STAT!

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Come 2019, C Clarity will invade NewsWest 9 and WTOL 11 News. Welcome to Tegna Texas, KWES and welcome to the Tegna family Toledo 11 (I still call it that). I wonder if Tegna has its eye on other Raycom Media stations in Texas or other Raycom Media stations in the US... To be continued.

It will always be Toldeo11 for me as well. Same goes for WJW "Newscenter8". This gives WTOL some good close by sister stations WZZM, WKYC, and WGRZ.

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They never held operational control over it, though I'm not sure they wanted to keep it anyway. That trade has got to be one of the most ludicrously one-sided deals ever, and somehow they got Belo to include cash in it!

Which really the only good that came out of that deal for Scripps was acquiring full operational control of the Food Network

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There is little else to be gained. Amarillo and Lubbock are not conflicts for Gray, and they couldn't acquire KXXV anyway.

Speaking of the Deathstar, they should sell existing Raycom station KMSB's license.

 

If Gannett got WTOL in 1998, they would have ended up with Deathstar IDs, broken fax machine graphics coming 10 years after the acquisition, and USA Today graphics in 2013 to replace them. As far as the closest currently soon-to-be-sister stations are concerned, WKYC used the Deathstar IDs from 1995-1999. I don't know about WZZM. Did WZZM ever use the Deathstar IDs?

 

Also, I actually thought up about TEGNA getting WTOL/WUPW. My prediction came true!

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You know, with WTOL becoming WKYC's soon-to-be sister station, Tegna better take a real look at the Ohio TV Markets if they want to expand (Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, and Youngstown). Because with the addition of KWES, Tegna will cover 87% of Texas stations. So, Tegna Media better start buying top market Ohio stations, STAT!

How long will Dispatch hold out? KFMB is proof that Tegna will take radio with TV, and WBNS-FM is a revenue monster.

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Which really the only good that came out of that deal for Scripps was acquiring full operational control of the Food Network

 

The house that Emeril built and that Rachael Ray, Alton Brown, and Guy Fieri renovated versus broadcast assets in San Antonio. Scripps won that trade, no contest.

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How long will Dispatch hold out? KFMB is proof that Tegna will take radio with TV, and WBNS-FM is a revenue monster.

The better question would be is how long can these smaller groups can hold out?

The house that Emeril built and that Rachael Ray, Alton Brown, and Guy Fieri renovated versus broadcast assets in San Antonio. Scripps won that trade, no contest.

Scripps was fortunate enough to get the Food Network, had they kept KENS, there would be no Rachael Ray, or Alton Brown, or Guy Fieri, or Robert Irvine, the list just goes on and on

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Lockwood clearly purchased all of Raycom's "Problem Children" (WTNZ, WPGX. WFXG and WDFX)

The sad thing is, this severs the link to WSFA (for a 9pm show in Dothan) as well as WTOC (since they power the WFXG show) AND continues the 9pm drought for Panama City.

Could Gray swoop in and trade out NBC in Augusta & Dothan, and CBS in Panama City to Lockwood? That way, it gives Gray natural duopolies that can co-exist instead of programming on top of each other....

 

WTNZ will probably absorb the WKNX operation now rather than leave it up for sale.

 

Poor WTOL...another station about to be Tegn-ized with those hip graphics and weird music.

 

I can see why Scripps wants WTXL. Sinclair should have gotten the message in Tallahassee and given a damn about WTWC (since it's a state capital, and an important one too!)

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I just noticed, KXXV and WTXL are already using Inergy!

I'm not sure if Scripps will keep Inergy by the time they get new graphics near the end of this year. But this is, at least in a way, ironic.

 

The last time Scripps was in Texas was when they owned newspapers in small Texas markets like Corpus Christi. Like all other Scripps newspapers, when they merged with Journal their spin-off Journal Media Group got them. Now they are part of New Gannett, a spin-off of TEGNA (formerly old Gannett), who is the other major broadcasting group involved in the Graycom conflicts.

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They'll want to be now.

No, I meant they didn't want any dealings with Sinclair period, even if they offered them the Tribune spinoffs.

 

Now since those "Heathens" are in an indefinite time-out, everybody else can come out and play. LOL.

Here's the List:

Lockwood (4): WTNZ, WFXG, WPGX, WDFX, all of which are FOX stations and would result in a duopoly in Knoxville.

 

As for Lockwood, just when we believe that they're about to cash out they turn around and add to their portfolio and will gain a duopoly in Knoxville with independent WKNX.

Mark my words. I know Gray wants to close out this deal quickly & swiftly. But once this Raycom deal is over, I would not be surprised if Nexstar take advantage of the top-4 "case-by-case" rule and try and snag a couple of these Lockwood outlets. Specifically, WPGX & WDFX.

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No, I meant they didn't want any dealings with Sinclair period, even if they offered them the Tribune spinoffs.

 

Mark my words. I know Gray wants to close out this deal quickly & swiftly. But once this Raycom deal is over, I would not be surprised if Nexstar take advantage of the top-4 "case-by-case" rule and try and snag a couple of these Lockwood outlets. Specifically, WPGX & WDFX.

 

Dear Chris Ripley, I hope you are watching this deal closely. We are less than two months in and they already have a clear pathway to approval. No whining, no fighting.

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It's clear they really emphasize the divestments, and were watching the Sinclair mess closely from this paragraph:

 

By divesting television stations in each of the nine overlap markets, Gray ensures that the Gray/Raycom combination will not reduce competition in those local markets and otherwise complies with regulatory requirements. Gray will not have any joint sales, joint retransmission, shared services, or local marketing arrangements with any divested station. Additionally, Gray will not hold an option to repurchase any divested station, nor will Gray finance or guarantee any purchaser’s indebtedness. In short, following consummation of the transactions, the divested stations will operate independently of Gray and under the full control of their new owners.
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I think this was done because Raycom is upgrading their website design.

 

WAFF just switched, interesting that they are upgrading all of their websites when they are being bought by Gray, who uses a different website service than Raycom...

Unusually it doesn't look like it's a WorldNow site anymore.

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It now appears that Graycom has found new homes for all the stations that needed to be divested, https://seekingalpha.com/news/3384335-gray-sets-divestitures-eight-markets-raycom-deal

 

Here's the List:

Lockwood (4): WTNZ, WFXG, WPGX, WDFX, all of which are FOX stations and would result in a duopoly in Knoxville.

Scripps (2): KXXV/KRHD, WTXL

Tegna (2): WTOL, KWES

Marquee (1): WSWG, the only Gray station that'll be divested.

 

As for Lockwood, just when we believe that they're about to cash out they turn around and add to their portfolio and will gain a duopoly in Knoxville with independent WKNX.

 

A message to Sinclair, see how simple a divestiture can be when you sell to existing companies and not your BFF or car dealer.

 

The questions are... will WTNZ continue to air news produced by WBIR? We'll see. Also, will Lockwood finally migrate WFXG into a 100% fully functioning in-house news department (the 10pm still comes from WTOC)? Will Lockwood finally give in to provide WPGX with local newscasts that Panama City desperately needs (9pm)? Finally, will WDFX stop airing 4 and 9pm news from WSFA since WSFA and WTVY will be together?

 

It looks like the WCTV/WSWG thing is over which means no more weekend morning news in S.W. Georgia is coming, WTOL and KWES are going to crap and WTXL may finally got a good owner + KXXV is perfect under Raycom but will probably be bad under Scripps.

 

Just my thoughts and questions.

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Come 2019, C Clarity will invade NewsWest 9 and WTOL 11 News. Welcome to Tegna Texas, KWES and welcome to the Tegna family Toledo 11 (I still call it that). I wonder if Tegna has its eye on other Raycom Media stations in Texas or other Raycom Media stations in the US... To be continued.

WMBF, WECT, and WCSC probably comes to mind.

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The questions are... will WTNZ continue to air news produced by WBIR? We'll see. Also, will Lockwood finally migrate WFXG into a 100% fully functioning in-house news department (the 10pm still comes from WTOC)? Will Lockwood finally give in to provide WPGX with local newscasts that Panama City desperately needs (9pm)? Finally, will WDFX stop airing 4 and 9pm news from WSFA since WSFA and WTVY will be together?

 

It looks like the WCTV/WSWG thing is over which means no more weekend morning news in S.W. Georgia is coming, WTOL and KWES are going to crap and WTXL may finally got a good owner + KXXV is perfect under Raycom but will probably be bad under Scripps.

 

Just my thoughts and questions.

 

Re: going to crap, I think WNWO would beg to differ what "crap" means.

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