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Disney Execs reported to be visiting Cox stations


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I could see WHIO as part of the deal too even tho it’s a CBS affiliate, id believe cox would want to sell it to someone who will keep its roots and tradition. Cox originated from Dayton and WHIO has dominated Dayton since it’s been on air. 

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6 hours ago, Myron Falwell said:

It sounds simple on paper, but something like that is no sure thing. Remember that Fox tried to pull together a bid with Blackstone for Tribune last year and it wasn't enough.

They didn't even submit a bid, did they?

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On 12/17/2018 at 10:21 PM, dabnis74 said:

I could see WHIO as part of the deal too even tho it’s a CBS affiliate, id believe cox would want to sell it to someone who will keep its roots and tradition. Cox originated from Dayton and WHIO has dominated Dayton since it’s been on air. 

Dayton is wayyyy too small-market and in the literal shadows of Cincinnati. And it's as big a city as Toledo and Flint, two markets ABC couldn't wait to get out of when they had the chance.

If... IF... IF... ABC is a serious bidder for some Cox stations, it's only going to be for WSB-TV, WSOC and WFTV. That's it. No more.

And honestly, if Cox really is so desperate to pull out of broadcast television (but remain in radio and newspapers, two mediums permanently crippled by consolidation), what do it really say about the industry? Are they that desperate that they will throw those three stations to a network traditionally uninterested in M&As at whatever price they offer?

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16 minutes ago, Myron Falwell said:

Dayton is wayyyy too small-market and in the literal shadows of Cincinnati. And it's as big a city as Toledo and Flint, two markets ABC couldn't wait to get out of when they had the chance.

If... IF... IF... ABC is a serious bidder for some Cox stations, it's only going to be for WSB-TV, WSOC and WFTV. That's it. No more.

And honestly, if Cox really is so desperate to pull out of broadcast television (but remain in radio and newspapers, two mediums permanently crippled by consolidation), what do it really say about the industry? Are they that desperate that they will throw those three stations to a network traditionally uninterested in M&As at whatever price they offer?

If Disney couldn’t wait to get out of Toledo and Flint, why do they still have a station in Fresno? That’s a market that’s too small to matter to them, no?

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3 minutes ago, Georgie56 said:

If Disney couldn’t wait to get out of Toledo and Flint, why do they still have a station in Fresno? That’s a market that wouldn’t matter to them, no?

Fresno is a legacy CapCities market, and they elected to retain it when they bought ABC.

Toledo and Flint only existed in their portfolio so as to provide insurance in the event that Scripps couldn't cut a deal with them for WXYZ and WEWS (and WMAR, WFTS, KNXV, etc.). Something CBS didn't think of doing, and it burned them badly in Detroit, and damn near burned them even worse in Milwaukee.

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On 12/14/2018 at 10:27 PM, NEOMatrix said:

"Live. Local. Late breaking. This is ABC2 Action News at 6PM. Coverage you can count on."

Actually, an O&O WSB might still refer to their newscasts as "Channel 2 Action News".  WABC actually still refers to their newscasts as "Channel 7 Eyewitness News" in their openings. (Granted, they're the only station in the group that doesn't refer to themselves as ABC "X" at all times).

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1 hour ago, TresGriffin said:

Actually, an O&O WSB might still refer to their newscasts as "Channel 2 Action News".  WABC actually still refers to their newscasts as "Channel 7 Eyewitness News" in their openings. (Granted, they're the only station in the group that doesn't refer to themselves as ABC "X" at all times).

WPVI still refers to itself occasionally as “Channel 6”, though references to that have faded over the last few years.

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2 hours ago, Georgie56 said:

If Disney couldn’t wait to get out of Toledo and Flint, why do they still have a station in Fresno? That’s a market that’s too small to matter to them, no?

Because they've been able to run Fresno at a profit by leveraging their resources in Los Angeles and San Francisco. It has nothing to do with market size. 

1 hour ago, TresGriffin said:

Actually, an O&O WSB might still refer to their newscasts as "Channel 2 Action News".  WABC actually still refers to their newscasts as "Channel 7 Eyewitness News" in their openings. (Granted, they're the only station in the group that doesn't refer to themselves as ABC "X" at all times).

Speculating about the possible news open voiceover is getting a little too "out there" for my tastes. Take it to the speculation thread.

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26 minutes ago, bhratbrat said:

Plus doesn't Fresno hold some vital parts for the ABC O&O station group?

The digital operations are headquartered there, I believe.

ABC does a decent job of spreading their group operations around.  Not everything is from NYC or LA.  Traffic is located at WPVI, for example.

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10 hours ago, Georgie56 said:

If Disney couldn’t wait to get out of Toledo and Flint, why do they still have a station in Fresno? That’s a market that’s too small to matter to them, no?

It doesn't cost much to operate and shovels in money by the truckload.  They're not giving that up.

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It's true that Marvel plugs into the more visible outlets in the Disney Machine better, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the most visible facet of Marvel's business, has big costs built into it. Local TV has fatter margins than movies, and, to my knowledge, the licensing business. The actual Marvel comics don't cost as much to make as movies or TV shows, I don't think.

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14 hours ago, Myron Falwell said:

Dayton is wayyyy too small-market and in the literal shadows of Cincinnati. And it's as big a city as Toledo and Flint, two markets ABC couldn't wait to get out of when they had the chance.

If... IF... IF... ABC is a serious bidder for some Cox stations, it's only going to be for WSB-TV, WSOC and WFTV. That's it. No more.

And honestly, if Cox really is so desperate to pull out of broadcast television (but remain in radio and newspapers, two mediums permanently crippled by consolidation), what do it really say about the industry? Are they that desperate that they will throw those three stations to a network traditionally uninterested in M&As at whatever price they offer?

Cox appears to be getting out of media altogether. This year they sold 2 of the 4 daily newspapers they still owned ... Austin and Palm Beach. The Dayton paper is unwinding from WHIO, which indicates it is likely next. The TV stations are currently being marketed and several radio industry sites have said that the radio stations will be sold after the TV stations find a new owner.  If they completely exit media, they’re looking at walking away with more than $4 billion from the buyers of their remaining print, radio and TV operations. 

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I doubt they’d even have any interest in WSOC or WFTV. If anything, this is about WSB.

 

I still think this possibility has an only marginally higher chance of happening than Roz Abrams returning to WABC. Ahh, those were the days...

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51 minutes ago, C Block said:

I doubt they’d even have any interest in WSOC or WFTV. If anything, this is about WSB.

 

I still think this possibility has an only marginally higher chance of happening than Roz Abrams returning to WABC. Ahh, those were the days...

 

41 minutes ago, channel2 said:

WSOC is of no apparent benefit to Disney but WFTV might be.

I could actually see WSOC being some value to Disney if they combine certain resources with WTVD.

For example, if something major is going on in Raleigh that's of interest to the whole state (i.e. something at the state government level), WSOC could just toss to a reporter from "our sister station in Raleigh" and vice versa.

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