At the FCC

[CircleSeven 1944]

On 12/21/2018 at 12:51 PM, CircleSeven said:

Quincy was granted the greenlight of the WSIL deal yesterday.

 

Well, color me surprised. 

 

Not that they'd completed the sale of WSIL earlier today (1/15), But the fact that the FCC has "accepted" the filing of its consummation notice tonight.

 

Since early January, they've only accepted the filings of certain applications relating to the spectrum auction & repacking (i.e., the move of channels/frequencies, etc.) This is because of the prolonged partial government shutdown.

 

Edited January 16, 2019 by CircleSeven

[CircleSeven 1944]

On 12/6/2018 at 2:19 AM, CircleSeven said:

Some New M&As. 

NBC is acquiring Telemundo affiliates in Sacramento & Salt Lake City, owned by Serestar Communications  for $21M.

 

It's been greenlighted.

 

Some actually wrote an objection over the deal between the complainer & the seller about two weeks ago, but the FCC denied that objection today.

[CircleSeven 1944]

On 12/6/2018 at 2:19 AM, CircleSeven said:

Some New M&As. 

NBC is acquiring Telemundo affiliates in Sacramento & Salt Lake City, owned by Serestar Communications  for $21M.

 

NBC has completed its acquisition of the Serestar Telemundo stations. Consummated yesterday.

 

Bye-Bye Serestar.

 

Edited March 6, 2019 by CircleSeven

[CircleSeven 1944]

A New M&A. 

 

Sun Broadcasting (owners of CW affiliate WXCW) is buying Univision LPs WUVF/WLZE & Azteca LP WANA from Media Vista Group for $9.75M.

 

Sun is currently operating the LPs under a LMA while it awaits approval from the FCC.

 

On 3/19/2019 at 2:09 PM, Darius22 said:

KXTV added Bounce on 10.3 in 1080i HD.

Tegna recently added Bounce TV on KONG 16.2, clearing the diginet in Seattle for the first time.

 

Edited April 4, 2019 by CircleSeven

[Mrtraveler01 737]

7 hours ago, CircleSeven said:

A New M&A. 

 

Sun Broadcasting (owners of CW affiliate WXCW) is buying Univision LPs WUVF/WLZE & Azteca LP WANA from Media Vista Group for $9.75M.

 

Sun is currently operating the LPs under a LMA while it awaits approval from the FCC.

 

Tegna recently added Bounce TV on KONG 16.2, clearing the diginet in Seattle for the first time.

 

 

WINK also operates WXCW so I wonder if this is a stepping stone towards WINK producing newscasts for WUVF/WLZE. Makes sense considering how fast the Spanish-speaking population is growing in Southwest Florida. 

[bhratbrat 423]

On 3/21/2018 at 7:48 AM, CircleSeven said:

A small M&A. Ramar wants to take advantage on the updated duopoly rules in Lubbock.

 

They're buying Wolfforth, TX's CW station KLCW, from Woods (owner of Fox station KJTV-TV) for $100K.

I know this is somewhat a long time ago but I have been impressed with what they have done with FOX34 in Lubbock considering it is locally owned.

 

There stream right now has TECH Talk which is part of FOX34 NEWS NOW

[TheRolyPoly 1843]

6 hours ago, bhratbrat said:

I know this is somewhat a long time ago but I have been impressed with what they have done with FOX34 in Lubbock considering it is locally owned.

 

There stream right now has TECH Talk which is part of FOX34 NEWS NOW

 

So wait, KJTV is not owned by Ramar? I thought they were. Ramar has owned KJTV since day one.

[Samantha 2876]

59 minutes ago, TheRolyPoly said:

 

So wait, KJTV is not owned by Ramar? I thought they were. Ramar has owned KJTV since day one.

 

They are. Also worth noting is that the thread was a bump. Woods Communications — which also owns WCOV Montgomery, AL — filed with the FCC last year (March 20, 2018) to sell KLCW outright to Ramar for the $100,000 purchase price; the FCC approved on April 22. Ramar was already running KLCW under agreement.

[CircleSeven 1944]

On 10/24/2017 at 11:28 PM, CircleSeven said:

And we have a new Weigel M&A.

 

Controlling their own destiny, Weigel has bought the OTA Broadcasting stations in Seattle & San Francisco for $23.2M.

 

The Seattle stations (KVOS & KFFV) are for $13.1M and the SF stations (KTLN & KAXT-CD) for $10.1M.

 

Seventeen months after the deal was announced, Weigel has finally completed its acquisition of San Francisco stations KTLN/KAXT. 

 

The deal was held up because it was challenged by a petitioner. And then after the FCC approved Weigel's sale in September, the petitioner filed an Application for Review a month later.

 

The end of this deal finally closes the books on spectrum speculator OTA Broadcasting, the firm that bought several bottom-dwelling stations earlier this decade, hoping to cash-in on the incentive auction.

 

EDIT: Weigel didn't waste time adding MeTV & H&I Bay Area to their website.

 

Also since KTLN is channel-sharing with LP signal KAXT, MeTV is also carried on CBS-owned CW-outlet KBCW 44.3.

 

Edited April 18, 2019 by CircleSeven

[CircleSeven 1944]

On 7/7/2017 at 12:38 AM, CircleSeven said:

Former ABC affiliate in Macon, GA, WPGA, has filed for Chapter 11.

 

Follow-Up.

 

From this latest paperwork, it looks like the station will be in the hands of the creditors.

Quote

The proposed pro forma transfer of control is being effectuated pursuant to an order of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Georgia approving a settlement agreement between, inter alia, the Debtors and Green Bull and terminating the automatic stay of bankruptcy protection afforded to Debtors in order to enable Green Bull to exercise its rights as a secured creditor of Register. As explained herein, the Transaction is involuntary, does not involve a substantial change of control of Radio Perry DIP {debtor-in-possession}, and can be processed and approved pursuant to the FCC’s pro forma procedures and requirements using FCC Form 316 because (i) Radio Perry DIP presently is operating under the control of the Bankruptcy Court, (ii) Green Bull will assume control of Radio Perry DIP pursuant to an order of the Bankruptcy Court, and (iii) Radio Perry DIP will continue to remain under the control of the Bankruptcy Court until such time as the Bankruptcy Court and the FCC approve the subsequent sale of Radio Perry DIP’s assets pursuant to Section 363 of the United States Bankruptcy Code  to a yet-to-be-determined buyer.

 

I'm hoping an owner like Marquee Broadcasting would come up and buy this station. 

 

[TVIntheDesert 183]

On 4/24/2019 at 12:26 PM, CircleSeven said:

 

Follow-Up.

 

From this latest paperwork, it looks like the station will be in the hands of the creditors.

 

I'm hoping an owner like Marquee Broadcasting would come up and buy this station. 

 

 

WPGA looks like HC2 bait to me. How would Marquee make the station profitable without a major network affiliation?

 

This was the Registers' mistake for dropping ABC over morality issues. TV is business. If you don't like what's being broadcast, sell the station.

[J1975am 208]

Check this out; Byron Allen possibly owning stations!! https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/234683/byron-allen-buying-bayou-city-tvs-for-165m/

 

 

[plzstandby 30]

23 minutes ago, J1975am said:

Check this out; Byron Allen possibly owning stations!! https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/234683/byron-allen-buying-bayou-city-tvs-for-165m/

 

 

Well there is the money to buy WISH

[CircleSeven 1944]

New M&A tonight. Weigel is making another purchase.

 

They're buying Glenwood Springs, CO's KREG-TV from Marquee Broadcasting for $2M.

 

This was the former satellite of Grand Junction's CBS station KREX-TV. During Gray's acquisition of the station's former owner, Hoak in 2014, Gray decided to keep its incumbent NBC outlet KKCO, and spin-off KREX (and its satellites) to Nexstar. Nexstar spun-off satellite KREG in 2017 to Marquee to alleviate national cap space after its purchase of Media General.

[compubit 670]

On 6/10/2019 at 12:26 AM, CircleSeven said:

New M&A tonight. Weigel is making another purchase.

 

They're buying Glenwood Springs, CO's KREG-TV from Marquee Broadcasting for $2M.

 

This was the former satellite of Grand Junction's CBS station KREX-TV. During Gray's acquisition of the station's former owner, Hoak in 2014, Gray decided to keep its incumbent NBC outlet KKCO, and spin-off KREX (and its satellites) to Nexstar. Nexstar spun-off satellite KREG in 2017 to Marquee to alleviate national cap space after its purchase of Media General.

 

Glenwood Springs (and thus KREG) is in the Denver market - 1.438% on the cap Dkenver provides,but it’s a VHF station (so no discount), and assuming Nexstar is somewhat close, selling off this station could provide cap space for several smaller markets (easily 3 sub-50 markets without any discounts)....

 

J

Edited June 15, 2019 by compubit
Filled in the percentage...

[CircleSeven 1944]

On 5/6/2019 at 1:22 PM, J1975am said:

Check this out; Byron Allen possibly owning stations!! https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/234683/byron-allen-buying-bayou-city-tvs-for-165m/

 

That was quick. The FCC has greenlighted the BCB sale to Allen yesterday (6/17).

[J1975am 208]

10 hours ago, CircleSeven said:

 

That was quick. The FCC has greenlighted the BCB sale to Allen yesterday (6/17).

 

Quick, indeed.....

[CircleSeven 1944]

On 5/6/2019 at 1:22 PM, J1975am said:

Check this out; Byron Allen possibly owning stations!! https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/234683/byron-allen-buying-bayou-city-tvs-for-165m/

 

And the deal is done. Completed on Wednesday. Byron Allen now owns WEVV & KADN/KLAF.

 

Now DuJuan McCoy will be waiting for the completion of Nexstar-Tribune to acquire WISH-TV.     

[justin2kx 229]

Sort of good news for broadcasters?! KidVid isn't going away anytime soon, but they can air at least 1/3 of the required three hours of E/I content on a multicast channel as long as it's fulfilled. Majority may remain on broadcast. Also Noncommercials (PBS) are no longer required to use E/I tag on top of screen. Of course dems blasted the move as a "disserve" to the community. I say what's the point tho? Preventing the inevitable much? It's not like syndie is calling for new content for weekend programming. We may see some stations be sly + probably put 2/3 on multicast. Maybe extended Weekend news for some?

https://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/fcc-gives-broadcasters-more-kidvid-flexibility 

 

Also, FOX O&Os will be the new home for Weigel's "DECADES" this coming fall.

https://deadline.com/2019/07/fox-television-stations-weigel-broadcasting-decades-television-network-1202644017/

Edited July 10, 2019 by justin2kx

[Adam MadMan 277]

20 hours ago, justin2kx said:

Sort of good news for broadcasters?! KidVid isn't going away anytime soon, but they can air at least 1/3 of the required three hours of E/I content on a multicast channel as long as it's fulfilled. Majority may remain on broadcast. Also Noncommercials (PBS) are no longer required to use E/I tag on top of screen. Of course dems blasted the move as a "disserve" to the community. I say what's the point tho? Preventing the inevitable much? It's not like syndie is calling for new content for weekend programming. We may see some stations be sly + probably put 2/3 on multicast. Maybe extended Weekend news for some?

https://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/fcc-gives-broadcasters-more-kidvid-flexibility 

It probably doesn't help that the prerogative came from Pai's FCC, and of course, they're conservatives, everything they do is EEEEVIL! But honestly, I think they did something right for once. While I don't think kid-targeted shows on commercial over-the-air TV is inherently doomed (especially with the decline of cable), streaming services and the still-intact ad regulations are making the job hard enough that the smaller stations (CW, MyNet, and indies) aren't willing to take the risk (Sinclair tried, but never really knew how to handle it), and obviously if the Big 4 had their way, they could just cram the time full of news and sports (especially ABC with its lucrative college football rights). And besides, it's not like kids were watching the Litton stuff. If you look through the FCC's database, there's data suggesting that most of viewers (about 1 million on average per Big 3 show) are actually older people who didn't bother changing the channel after the news ended.

Edited July 11, 2019 by MadMan400096

[CircleSeven 1944]

On 6/9/2019 at 11:26 PM, CircleSeven said:

New M&A tonight. Weigel is making another purchase.

 

They're buying Glenwood Springs, CO's KREG-TV from Marquee Broadcasting for $2M.

 

This was the former satellite of Grand Junction's CBS station KREX-TV. During Gray's acquisition of the station's former owner, Hoak in 2014, Gray decided to keep its incumbent NBC outlet KKCO, and spin-off KREX (and its satellites) to Nexstar. Nexstar spun-off satellite KREG in 2017 to Marquee to alleviate national cap space after its purchase of Media General.

 

The FCC greenlighted the deal today.

[Guest]

On 7/30/2019 at 3:16 PM, CircleSeven said:

 

The FCC greenlighted the deal today.

 

That's memorable, that's Me. MeTV.

[CircleSeven 1944]

New M&A.

 

Entravision is buying a Harlingen, TX station, KMBH from MBTV Texas Valley, LLC, for $2.9M. Entravision already owns a Univision affiliate KNVO, and a plethora of LPs airing Fox & The CW. 

 

KMBH was a former PBS station, before it was sold to the current owners. But they kept the PBS feed, aibeit on the station's subchannel (38.2). I'm not sure how long that's going to last under Entravision's ownership.

[Samantha 2876]

1 hour ago, CircleSeven said:

New M&A.

 

Entravision is buying a Harlingen, TX station, KMBH from MBTV Texas Valley, LLC, for $2.9M. Entravision already owns a Univision affiliate KNVO, and a plethora of LPs airing Fox & The CW. 

 

KMBH was a former PBS station, before it was sold to the current owners. But they kept the PBS feed, aibeit on the station's subchannel (38.2). I'm not sure how long that's going to last under Entravision's ownership.

 

R Communications et al. wants to sell everything, doesn't it... Some of the Mexican stations are going to Radio Ultra S.A. de C.V.; Multimedios wants some of the US stations in the RGV and Laredo markets; and now even KMBH.

As to plans, all we know is that "Entravision does not propose to operate KMBH as an affiliate of any of the Univision television networks". I wonder if they are going to use KMBH to broadcast their Fox and CW streams, which are on LPTVs. (Big-brain idea: Entravision should donate some of the LPTVs for public broadcasting, perhaps to UTRGV or KEDT up in Corpus!)

 

All that's left of that company is KQUR Laredo, which MBM programs under LMA, and three radio stations in Del Rio, Texas.

 

There's also a non-compete/anti-poaching agreement that terminates if and when MBM gets the green light to fully exit the market on both sides:

 

Quote

Each of (i) Buyer and its Affiliates, on the one hand, and (ii) Seller and its Seller Affiliates, on the other hand, agree not to, directly or indirectly, for a period of one (1) year from and after the Closing Date, solicit, induce, attempt to persuade or hire any employee of the other based  in  the  Market,  provided,  however,  that  this  Section  5.06 does  not  restrict  general solicitations  not  specifically  directed  at  the  other’s  employees,  employees  of  a  party  who approach the other or its Affiliates, or employees no longer employed by the other party or its Affiliates.   The time period referred to in this Section 5.06 shall be tolled on a day-for-day basis for each day during which a party participates in any activity in violation of this Section 5.06 so that each party shall be restricted from engaging in the conduct referred to in this Section 5.06 for the full period contemplated hereby. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the provisions of this Section 5.06 shall terminate in the event that Seller and its Seller Affiliates shall no longer have any ownership interest in ANY Person that owns or operates a radio or television station: (x) licensed by the FCC to a community located in the Market or (y) holding a concession from the government of the United Mexican States to serve a community within 50 miles of McAllen, Texas in the United Mexican States.

 

Edited August 8, 2019 by Samantha

[TheRolyPoly 1843]

16 minutes ago, Samantha said:

 

R Communications et al. wants to sell everything, doesn't it... Some of the Mexican stations are going to Radio Ultra S.A. de C.V.; Multimedios wants some of the US stations in the RGV and Laredo markets; and now even KMBH.

As to plans, all we know is that "Entravision does not propose to operate KMBH as an affiliate of any of the Univision television networks". I wonder if they are going to use KMBH to broadcast their Fox and CW streams, which are on LPTVs. (Big-brain idea: Entravision should donate some of the LPTVs for public broadcasting, perhaps to UTRGV or KEDT up in Corpus!)

 

All that's left of that company is KQUR Laredo, which MBM programs under LMA, and three radio stations in Del Rio, Texas.

 

There's also a non-compete/anti-poaching agreement that terminates if and when MBM gets the green light to fully exit the market on both sides:

 

 

 

Well... it looks like public broadcasting in the Rio Grande Valley will become no more once KMBH drops PBS under Entravision. They don't even have an NPR outlet right now after what was the NPR outlet was sold to a local religious broadcaster and became a religious station. So yeah... not good.