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Cox sells majority TV interest to Apollo


The Frog

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They used to own them before Cox bought it from them.

They did, but they almost sold WHBQ in 2007 when Fox put 8 of their O&Os up for sale so they could finance the purchase of the Wall Street Journal. (but Local TV was forbidden from purchasing a WHBQ since they already owned WREG at the time)

 

Also, this isn't the 90s/2000s anymore where a network could own a station somewhere around the Top 50 range (BTW the only reason why Fox is still in both Austin and in Gainesville respectively is because 1 is a Semi-Satellite repeater for WOFL in Orlando and the other is because Austin is not only the capital of Texas, which helps KDFW and KRIV out when it comes to political coverage in the Lone Star State but also Austin is a very important secondary market for the Dallas Cowboys, so you won't see Fox give KTBC up that easily and as long as WOGX remains as a semi-satellite for WOFL, Fox will continue to own WOGX)

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They did, but they almost sold WHBQ in 2007 when Fox put 8 of their O&Os up for sale so they could finance the purchase of the Wall Street Journal. (but Local TV was forbidden from purchasing a WHBQ since they already owned WREG at the time)

 

Also, this isn't the 90s/2000s anymore where a network could own a station somewhere around the Top 50 range (BTW the only reason why Fox is still in both Austin and in Gainesville respectively is because 1 is a Semi-Satellite repeater for WOFL in Orlando and the other is because Austin is not only the capital of Texas, which helps KDFW and KRIV out when it comes to political coverage in the Lone Star State but also Austin is a very important secondary market for the Dallas Cowboys, so you won't see Fox give KTBC up that easily and as long as WOGX remains as a semi-satellite for WOFL, Fox will continue to own WOGX)

 

And I watch WOGX a lot, even if its a semi-satellite and even if the news comes from Orlando (which I like too since I visit Orlando very often).

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With all due respect, the notion of Sinclair being under “probation” is utter conjecture and cannot be proven or disproven.

 

You are correct...

Sinclair is NOT on probation.

 

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That was then, this is now.

Memphis hasn't changed economically, it's not a top-20 market, and they don't have any professional sports teams. Plus LocalTV owned WREG in 2008, which prevented Fox from selling it to them back then.

 

There's absolutely no justification to Fox wanting WHBQ back.

 

Edit: yes, I forgot the Grizzlies. But it has no bearing on WHBQ whatsoever.

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Memphis hasn't changed economically, it's not a top-20 market, and they don't have any professional sports teams. Plus LocalTV owned WREG in 2008, which prevented Fox from selling it to them back then.

 

There's absolutely no justification to Fox wanting WHBQ back.

Is the NBA a real sport or are we going to omit the NBA?, You do realize that Memphis does have the Grizzlies as their pro sports franchise right?

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Is the NBA a real sport or are we going to omit the NBA?, You do realize that Memphis does have the Grizzlies as their pro sports franchise right?

 

It has zero bearing on WHBQ, since FOX does not broadcast NBA Games, and the FOX RSN's are about to be spun off (or possibly kept by New Fox since Disney can't own them over antitrust guidelines)

Now if ABC was in the market for stations....

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It has zero bearing on WHBQ, since FOX does not broadcast NBA Games, and the FOX RSN's are about to be spun off (or possibly kept by New Fox since Disney can't own them over antitrust guidelines)

Now if ABC was in the market for stations....

I think Myron was referring to the City of Memphis itself but, it's always had no bearing on WHBQ was that way even when Fox owned them. I think Fox made a big mistake in hanging on to WHBQ when they sold off the 8 former O&Os. Yes, Local TV couldn't get WHBQ at the time but Meredith could've gotten WHBQ (so could Nexstar before the WATN purchase and other groups that either weren't in Memphis at the time or aren't in the Memphis market right now)

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Memphis hasn't changed economically, it's not a top-20 market, and they don't have any professional sports teams. Plus LocalTV owned WREG in 2008, which prevented Fox from selling it to them back then.

 

There's absolutely no justification to Fox wanting WHBQ back.

 

I hope your real life job does not require attention to detail because you make a lot of mistakes. Memphis has the Grizzlies, an NBA team.

 

I think Myron was referring to the City of Memphis itself but, it's always had no bearing on WHBQ was that way even when Fox owned them. I think Fox made a big mistake in hanging on to WHBQ when they sold off the 8 former O&Os. Yes, Local TV couldn't get WHBQ at the time but Meredith could've gotten WHBQ (so could Nexstar before the WATN purchase and other groups that either weren't in Memphis at the time or aren't in the Memphis market right now)

 

Fox wanted to get rid of WHBQ. Local TV, who bought the other stations could not buy it because they already owned a station in the market. They just couldn’t find a buyer for it, it’s that simple, not Nexstar, not Meredith, not anyone. Why the heck would they want to buy a station they tried so hard to get rid of?!

 

You seriously need to chill with your posts. You’re like a weird mix of mardek1995 (with all the random hypotheticals) and DonDonP1 (with the repetitiveness).

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I think Fox made a big mistake in hanging on to WHBQ when they sold off the 8 former O&Os. Yes, Local TV couldn't get WHBQ at the time but Meredith could've gotten WHBQ (so could Nexstar before the WATN purchase and other groups that either weren't in Memphis at the time or aren't in the Memphis market right now)

Fox wanted to sell the stations in 2007 as a single group, simple as that. They weren't ever going to sell piecemeal, so Meredith wasn't in their radar, and LocalTV had the stronger station in WREG, so they weren't going to sell that.

 

Done and done.

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Quick history lesson, y'all:

 

Fox only bought WHBQ because it was on the block in 1995, and they wanted to strengthen their overall affiliate base after landing the NFC rights (not to mention stations that had strong news departments).

 

It's also why Fox invested into Savoy Broadcasting - forcing those stations, mostly in small to mid-sized markets, to switch affiliations - and bought small-market stations like WGHP and WBRC (both of which had been in the New World deal via their buyout of Citicasters, but were placed in a trust with Fox buying them before the rest of the New World chain).

 

All those deals helped gain an additional footing for Fox with the legacy "big 3" networks, alongside the landmark New World station deal.

 

It does not mean that Fox would want to own small-market stations like WHBQ in the present day. They know they're better off having those stations be owned by other groups like Cox, Gray or whomever.

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Quick history lesson, y'all:

 

Fox only bought WHBQ because it was on the block in 1995, and they wanted to strengthen their overall affiliate base after landing the NFC rights (not to mention stations that had strong news departments).

 

It's also why Fox invested into Savoy Broadcasting - forcing those stations, mostly in small to mid-sized markets, to switch affiliations - and bought small-market stations like WGHP and WBRC (both of which had been in the New World deal via their buyout of Citicasters, but were placed in a trust with Fox buying them before the rest of the New World chain).

 

All those deals helped gain an additional footing for Fox with the legacy "big 3" networks, alongside the landmark New World station deal.

 

It does not mean that Fox would want to own small-market stations like WHBQ in the present day. They know they're better off having those stations be owned by other groups like Cox, Gray or whomever.

There was also the fact that at the time, there were serious plans for Memphis to have their own NFL team, the Hound Dogs, but the plans didn't take off.

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I think the closest NFC teams are the Falcons in Atlanta and the Cowgirls in Dallas

 

And the Saints. They're closer to Memphis than the Cowgirls are.

I think y'all meant Cowboys, just saying

 

How about them Cowboys!

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Regarding WHBQ...

 

They suffered from some serious neglect through their history through their trainwrecks of ownership, even through Fox. While they upgraded the on-air product, the infrastructure behind it was not conducive to putting out a quality product.

That's when Cox stepped in and did some badly needed behind-the-scenes upgrades, along with the visual changes.

 

Memphis just happened to be part of the package, and when Fox wanted KTVU so badly, Cox was willing to trade for Memphis and Boston. Since Cox has taken over, they've upped the ratings to #2 and driven WMC into third place in some time slots (all while WREG has become the new #1 station) Whether it's inertia of the other 2 stations, Cox giving a damn about WHBQ has certainly helped.

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  • CircleSeven changed the title to Cox sells majority TV interest to Apollo

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