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CircleSeven

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Looks like Brady has acquired another station.

 

In a rare Sunday TVNewsCheck posting, it appears that Brian Brady has acquired Intermountain West Communications-owned, Yuma's NBC affiliate KYMA 11. Brady announced that he was going to acquire the low-power stations in Medford, as he already have a full-power Fox affiliate, KMVU.

 

The stunning thing about this is unless, it becomes the new licensee name for KYMA, what is this company's name. Is it Blackhawk, Stainless or Northwest? It's just mind-boggling.

 

Follow-Up Time. And it looks like Brady didn't want to get KYMA for nothing.

 

It appears that he will acquire KSWT from Pappas for $900K. And will use the 'failed station waiver' card to get it.

 

If this sticks, it would be the third time a true Big-3 network duopoly has formed, after Gannett's WTLV/WJXX Jacksonville & Nexstar's KSEE/KGPE Fresno.

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Wow. That is a stunner.

 

KECY could stand to gain a lot of ground here depending on the level of consolidation.

 

A couple things that really stood out... Pappas has been shopping KSWT for 13 months, and the May unemployment rate in Yuma topped 30%.

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Wow. That is a stunner.

 

KECY could stand to gain a lot of ground here depending on the level of consolidation.

 

A couple things that really stood out... Pappas has been shopping KSWT for 13 months, and the May unemployment rate in Yuma topped 30%.

 

DAMN!!!! 30%??!!!! The unemployment rate will not help much once Brady starts consolidating 11 & 13.

 

All Pappas need to do now is to find the who should buy the Nebraska cluster (maybe Sinclair can complete the former Pappas Nebraska chain, like they got KPTM/KXVO). They can give KAZA to that firm that's buying the Una Vez Mas stations. And sell the remaining stations (KDMI/KCWI, WLGA, WIWN) to those speculators who want to see them turn into those wireless broadband towers. :(

 

And are they even out of the woods yet, as in terms of their debt, even if they sell the remaining assets?

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Follow-Up Time. And it looks like Brady didn't want to get KYMA for nothing.

 

It appears that he will acquire KSWT from Pappas for $900K. And will use the 'failed station waiver' card to get it.

 

If this sticks, it would be the third time a true Big-3 network duopoly has formed, after Gannett's WTLV/WJXX Jacksonville & Nexstar's KSEE/KGPE Fresno.

 

It was only a matter of time before one of the three shops in town was swallowed up by another. Given the state of the KSWT studio building, I would assume KSWT will move into the KYMA building once this is done.

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CircleSeven, I think you were the first person anywhere to pick up on this story. The Yuma Sun had nothing on it.

 

December 2012 employment was 25%. Still staggeringly high, but it also hints at a chunk of that 30% figure being seasonal (for tourism and agriculture, I would imagine).

 

The other key Yuma stations, as a refresher, are KECY (Fox, ABC), which has a very young local news operation that was revived in March 2012 (local news had not aired on KECY since its conversion to Fox in the 1990s); KESE (Telemundo), which was planned to have local news but doesn't (not even a KUNA simulcast as I read); and KVYE (Univision), which actually appears to simulcast news from KVER in Palm Springs.

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The KSWT waiver said they would move both KYMA and KSWT into a new location. Good luck at trying to find a modern facility in Yuma! What I think they'll end up doing is fitting both stations into KYMA's facilities (which seems to have the better technical plant of the two, given what I've seen of both stations) for the time being and find a way to upgrade local broadcasts to HD inexpensively.

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We have another little M&A deal today.

 

TVNewsCheck states that Chambers Communications, which owns the Oregon ABC stations outside of Portland including KEZI & KDRV, is selling Bend's KOHD to Zolo Media, which owns former KOIN 6 satellite station, KBNZ-LD for $2.35M.

 

A sign that the whole company could eventually be for sale? They are dominant stations in their market with weak competition...

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A sign that the whole company could eventually be for sale? They are dominant stations in their market with weak competition...

 

I don't think they'll sale the other two markets, and Sinclair is already in one of those markets, and will be at the other once it closes. So Chambers don't have much to worry about. I wonder what Zolo is going to with KOHD. I think they truly wanted some sort of local news programming, since spinning off from KOIN 6's satellite. But since I've last seen it, they still aired certain KOIN 6 news on certain timeslots.

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We have another little M&A deal today.

 

TVNewsCheck states that Chambers Communications, which owns the Oregon ABC stations outside of Portland including KEZI & KDRV, is selling Bend's KOHD to Zolo Media, which owns former KOIN 6 satellite station, KBNZ-LD for $2.35M.

 

Okay here's the follow. Based on the KOHD's asset purchase agreement, it has agreed to 'have a direct feed of all of' KEZI's newscast for a minimum of 5 years after the deal gets consummated.

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A sign that the whole company could eventually be for sale? They are dominant stations in their market with weak competition...

 

Chambers is only dominant in Eugene. They're an also-ran in Medford, behind mom-and-pop KOBI/KOTI (which looks the most small-market of all the stations there; I guess Southern Oregonians don't care about flashy news), and they gave up on KOHD a few years ago - the station's basically a satellite of KEZI anymore.

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Chambers is only dominant in Eugene. They're an also-ran in Medford, behind mom-and-pop KOBI/KOTI (which looks the most small-market of all the stations there; I guess Southern Oregonians don't care about flashy news), and they gave up on KOHD a few years ago - the station's basically a satellite of KEZI anymore.

 

Are you sure? From what I've read, KDRV is #1 in Medford, then KTVL, then KOBI. Just because KOBI was first on the air and KDRV was last doesn't decide the ratings. Now if KTVL and KDRV were on UHF and KOBI was the only VHF station in Medford (analog era), then this would make sense...
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Are you sure? From what I've read, KDRV is #1 in Medford, then KTVL, then KOBI. Just because KOBI was first on the air and KDRV was last doesn't decide the ratings. Now if KTVL and KDRV were on UHF and KOBI was the only VHF station in Medford (analog era), then this would make sense...

 

I was always under the impression that KOBI/KOTI was the 800-pound gorilla in Southern Oregon. I guess those days are long gone. With Sinclair in the market (which is actually a good thing for a small market like Medford/Klamath Falls), it's time for them to either step up their game and look somewhat professional, or just accept they're going to be #3 forever. I won't doubt you on KDRV, they have a strong weekday lineup (weekends on the Chambers stations is a hodgepodge of infomercials and the Z-grade syndicated automotive show "Steel Dreams").

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I'm taking a look at the properties of Patsy Smullin in Oregon, and KOBI/KOTI isn't even the biggest mess of them all. Looking at her FOX station in Eugene (as well as the co-owned low-powered MyNetworkTV station), the schedules of each are a hodgepodge of mismatched shows (the lead-in for the the evening showing of "Dr. Phil" on the MNT station is "The 700 Club", and the low-budget "Right This Minute" is an early-fringe show on KLSR FOX). KEVU-CD shares "Dr. Phil" and "Dr. Oz" with Fisher-owned KVAL, who also produces KLSR's newscasts. Not to mention, the Smullin stations in Eugene still sign-off overnight.

 

I know she's probably holding on to the stations (at least KOBI/KOTI) because of heritage, but the Eugene stations could be better served by an owner such as Brian Brady.

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The one time I was in southern Oregon, in 2005, KOBI's logo was an interstate highway shield. I thought KDRV had the best product, but that wasn't saying much. They all looked outstanding compared to what I saw from KIEM in Eureka a few days later.

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The one time I was in southern Oregon, in 2005, KOBI's logo was an interstate highway shield. I thought KDRV had the best product, but that wasn't saying much. They all looked outstanding compared to what I saw from KIEM in Eureka a few days later.

 

Still is:

Kobi5Logo.png

There's actually an interesting history behind it too (from KOBI Wikipedia page):

For many years, KOBI branded itself as "Channel 5M," with a logo showing a "5" on an interstate highway sign, reflecting the interstate that goes through the Medford area, Interstate 5. The interstate sign motif was later extended to KOTI and KRCR.

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Yup. There's a promo somewhere in the NewsActive3 collection from the 70s in which they use the shield-5. "5M" and "7R" are references to the TV Guides of the era; as San Francisco had the important 5 and the 7, the Medford and Redding stations got suffixed.

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OMG, Gray is about to have a SHELL???!!

 

TVNewsCheck have posted that News-Press & Gazette Company has announced that it has agreed to sell KJCT Grand Junction to this newly formed company, Excalibur Broadcasting, LLC for over $3M. It also states that other non-FCC licensed assets will be sold by Gray proper for $9M. Excalibur is ran by former Gray Regional VP & GM of leading station WSAZ 3.

 

This move will break that longtime sister-station relationship between KJCT & Colorado Springs' ABC station KRDO, since Pikes Peak owned the two stations in the early 80s.

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OMG, Gray is about to have a SHELL???!!

 

TVNewsCheck have posted that News-Press & Gazette Company has announced that it has agreed to sell KJCT Grand Junction to this newly formed company, Excalibur Broadcasting, LLC for over $3M. It also states that other non-FCC licensed assets will be sold by Gray proper for $9M. Excalibur is ran by former Gray Regional VP & GM of leading station WSAZ 3.

 

That sure changes things in the speculation...maybe a sign that NPG is headed for the market, while Gray may be a buyer after all (they were heavily rumored to be for sale)? Although one station could be a blip, it could start a trend...

 

A shell for one station rarely happens unless it is clear that they are trying to start something...

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That sure changes things in the speculation...maybe a sign that NPG is headed for the market, while Gray may be a buyer after all (they were heavily rumored to be for sale)? Although one station could be a blip, it could start a trend...

 

A shell for one station rarely happens unless it is clear that they are trying to start something...

 

I don't think the speculation shifts all that much. Let's remember eleven days ago NPG formed a shell to get KIDK from Fisher.

 

I still have a strong feeling that Gray and Raycom could form something together. But at this rate, anything can happen at this point.

 

And what do you know, this is NPG's first divestiture of a TV station in two decades.

 

Here's KJCT's release on the news.

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That sure changes things in the speculation...maybe a sign that NPG is headed for the market, while Gray may be a buyer after all (they were heavily rumored to be for sale)? Although one station could be a blip, it could start a trend...

 

A shell for one station rarely happens unless it is clear that they are trying to start something...

I think it has more to do with the market, than anything else. GJ is market 185 and Hoak already runs CBS and FOX in town. Given the limited amount of ad revenue, it wasn't if KKCO and KJCT would pair up, it was when. It's getting really hard to have 3 unique shops in these markets any more.

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I think it has more to do with the market, than anything else. GJ is market 185 and Hoak already runs CBS and FOX in town. Given the limited amount of ad revenue, it wasn't if KKCO and KJCT would pair up, it was when. It's getting really hard to have 3 unique shops in these markets any more.

 

Even Fisher and Belo sold out to other companies who shelled (NPG and Raycom, respectively). I understand the importance of SSA-JSAs in these smaller markets; they preserve some level of local news and make for more financially sustainable operations.

 

"Desert News Now" (what I call the future KYMA/KSWT in Yuma) should be interesting. Basically, it's Yuma's two heritage news operations, who had no competition but each other for about two decades, against KECY which has had bare minimum local news for almost a year and a half.

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Another new M&A tonight. This time we go to the Delmarva.

 

B&C states that WMDT is being sold by a new firm Marquee Broadcasting for $9M.

 

According to this WMDT article, the seller, Delmarva Broadcast Services, had owned the station since 1982 (it signed on in 1980). This is a local company, and so I don't expect additional station acquisitions from Marquee.

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