CircleSeven 1944 Posted February 19, 2014 Author Share Posted February 19, 2014 Brady's acquisition of KYMA & KSWT has now been consummated, as of yesterday (2/18). It'll probably going to be a minute before both stations be under one roof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CircleSeven 1944 Posted February 21, 2014 Author Share Posted February 21, 2014 Okay, B&C stated yesterday that sources around the FCC is expecting Wheeler to put on his agenda in next month's FCC meeting that he would be placing a proposal that would make "joint sales agreements" (JSAs) for more than 15% of a station's ad inventory attributible to attributable as ownership under FCC local ownership limits. Also with this proposal, the existing JSAs wouldn't be grandfathered, but could give stations with existing JSAs two years to unwind them. The meeting won't include making "shared services agreements" (SSAs) or any other form of sharing arrangements attributable, but it will ask for input on how they should treat those other arrangements. It looks like the Department of Justice may be backing Wheeler's possible plan to curbs those arrangements. They made comments to the FCC yesterday, stating that they should make JSAs attributible, and should look over any SSAs under a case-by-case basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CircleSeven 1944 Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 Not a major M&A, but it looks like the Trust is changing hands again. It looks like Mr. Stapleton will hand in the Pappas Liquidated Trust to.....Mr. Pappas!!! ........AND it's possible that the Trust could go bye-bye as well, if this change of gaurd gets the greenlights by Bankruptcy Court (on Thursday acc. to this WIWN app). If this follows through, maybe he can finally sell KHGI to a good buyer. It's their only cash-cow left in the portfolio. All the rest are basically speculator bate, although most of the markets may not need that much spectrum post-auction. Except for maybe WIWN. Or sell it to Abraham. He's been getting these low-valued station. He'll probably cash in his chips during auction time too. ________________________________________ Also under the radar. It looks like WPLG is no longer the only player at 4:30am. WTVJ's has expanded its morning news to 4:30am. They did so during the Olympics, but they'd announced that it will be a permanent mainstay. WFOR would be stupid not to follow WTVJ's lead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyHarry 718 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Not a major M&A, but it looks like the Trust is changing hands again. It looks like Mr. Stapleton will hand in the Pappas Liquidated Trust to.....Mr. Pappas!!! Don't make this sound so nefarious! I'm sure he got financing and paid fair market value for the statiions. But my, how far the mighty have fallen. Corporate bankruptcy is one thing, but personal bankruptcy too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CircleSeven 1944 Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 Don't make this sound so nefarious! I'm sure he got financing and paid fair market value for the statiions. But my, how far the mighty have fallen. Corporate bankruptcy is one thing, but personal bankruptcy too? I'm not making it sound any such thing. It comes at a complete shock to me, that he wants to come back to reclaim his stations. I still think he needs to sell the rest of those stations (as most of those stations are at the bottom-of-the-totem-pole). Maybe that would be his best move since he sold most of its stations to Titan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewsMaster 226 Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Meredith has completed its acquisition of KMOV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennTV1983 742 Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 That was fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 2878 Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 But KTVK is still waiting, with an expected close by June 30. It must be held up in the JSA blockade. I'm wondering if that deal may not go through completely. The KMOV acquisition needed to go through because of the second review's 120-day timeline. They got it in in about 65 or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TVIntheDesert 183 Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Sinclair worshipper Harry Jessell of TVNewsCheck (who named SBG his "Group of the Year" this week) is back with a new "save JSA's" editorial (I wonder if he's getting paid by the large JSA-abusing station groups to write this???): http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/74516/the-dojs-antijsa-arguments-are-so-1997 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 2878 Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 Jessell's always been very conservative in his editorial line, apparently dating back to when he was with Broadcasting magazine. Also, remember when WXIX anchor Sheila Gray left and began working for Sinclair's outlets out of Dayton? Surprise! She's back on Cincinnati TV with WKRC! ...I guess we ALL expected that one. http://cincinnati.com/blogs/tv/2014/02/28/sheila-gray-joins-wkrc-tv-morning-news/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CircleSeven 1944 Posted March 3, 2014 Author Share Posted March 3, 2014 New M&A Tonight!!!! Looks like London is buying KUIL-LD (and its repeaters) outright from National Communications for $1.81M. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 2878 Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 An unfortunate acronym, but the National Association of Black-Owned Broadcasters is proposing a JSA/SSA compromise under which most agreements would be unwound and those agreements that serve the public interest would be reviewed annually by the FCC, with a guarantee that a station would be transferred to minority ownership. "Also according to the filing, NABOB had previously opposed JSAs and SSAs altogether, on grounds that they “appeared to be mere gimmicks for group licensees to avoid the intent of the local ownership rules.” Nonetheless, Winston said that two of the three full-power TV stations currently licensed to African Americans in the U.S. are being operated under JSA and SSA agreements." Howard Stirk Holdings looks like a solid investment right about now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 2878 Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 New M&A: Bob Prather's Heartland Media is buying Chambers Communications's Oregon stations (KEZI Eugene, KDRV Medford + KDKF Klamath Falls) for $30 million. Chambers cites issues with network economies of scale and increased costs to ABC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
effseesee 101 Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 New M&A: Bob Prather's Heartland Media is buying Chambers Communications's Oregon stations (KEZI Eugene, KDRV Medford + KDKF Klamath Falls) for $30 million. Chambers cites issues with network economies of scale and increased costs to ABC. They've had a couple of missteps in recent times. They built a studio building in Eugene, designed to attract film and television production, that never lived up to expectations. Then there was the KOHD experiment, which didn't pan out either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenShine9 1509 Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 In Eugene, when your only competition is Sinclair, you can pretty much sleepwalk... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CircleSeven 1944 Posted March 6, 2014 Author Share Posted March 6, 2014 New M&A: Bob Prather's Heartland Media is buying Chambers Communications's Oregon stations (KEZI Eugene, KDRV Medford + KDKF Klamath Falls) for $30 million. Chambers cites issues with network economies of scale and increased costs to ABC. It's sad to see another local establishment fold, on the accountance of this growing consolidation. Let's see how Prather can do in Oregon, competiting with Sinclair & COBI. I'm interested to see which stations Prather could get into next. The article states that he's in talks to possibly get two or three more stations (let's see if that happens). Although I would've liked to see him acquire WBNG, which would be closer to his soon-to-be closed Utica station WKTV, beyond that, he probably may not get anymore stations, unless one of the bigger groups divest some of their stations. And that's likely not going to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TVIntheDesert 183 Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 It's sad to see another local establishment fold, on the accountance of this growing consolidation. Let's see how Prather can do in Oregon, competiting with Sinclair & COBI. I'm interested to see which stations Prather could get into next. The article states that he's in talks to possibly get two or three more stations (let's see if that happens). Although I would've liked to see him acquire WBNG, which would be closer to his soon-to-be closed Utica station WKTV, beyond that, he probably may not get anymore stations, unless one of the bigger groups divest some of their stations. And that's likely not going to happen. He shouldn't have a problem competing with KOBI (which LOOKS and FEELS small market), but KTVL might be a little more challenging. The one good thing Sinclair brings to small market like Medford is a bit of a larger-market feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewsMaster 226 Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 New M&A: Bob Prather's Heartland Media is buying Chambers Communications's Oregon stations (KEZI Eugene, KDRV Medford + KDKF Klamath Falls) for $30 million. Chambers cites issues with network economies of scale and increased costs to ABC. They referred to WKTV as WTVK in the article. I have to laugh at that one (that was WVLT's former calls when it was on channel 26) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 2878 Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 FCC chairman Tom Wheeler will propose the JSA attribution ban on March 31: "The JSA and retransmission consent bans will become effective immediately, assuming a majority of the agency’s commissioners vote in support of the regulations, an FCC source says. A senior FCC official also says the JSA crackdown will apply to pending station transactions at the FCC, and provide up to two years for existing JSAs to unwind. The official also says Wheeler is proposing to adopt an expedited waiver review process under which broadcasters will be able to seek waivers for JSAs. If a broadcaster can show that a particular JSA serves the public interest, it may be able to get a waiver to continue a joint sales sharing deal, the FCC said." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CircleSeven 1944 Posted March 6, 2014 Author Share Posted March 6, 2014 That expidited waiver review process kind of gives a little window for the broadcasters. But this will most definitely piss off the Heathens of Hunt Valley and the rest of the broadcasters who relied on these JSAs. The joint retrans ban is the one the cable operators really wanted to see, as it was their reason for skyrocketed retrans fees. But then I'm wondering if his timing to ban these JSAs/joint retrans is a way to finally persuade broadcasters to (or in an almost) participate in these incentive spectrum auctions next year. Since Wheeler is a former cable lobbyist, it made me feel that he's trying to do this so broadcasters would have no other choice but to participate. Should that Comcast/Time Warner Cable deal goes through, many broadcasters would call Wheeler "one-sided". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CircleSeven 1944 Posted March 7, 2014 Author Share Posted March 7, 2014 And because of Wheeler's vote announcement, many broadcast groups stocks have taken a hit today. Including Sinclair, which were down 4.5%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CircleSeven 1944 Posted March 13, 2014 Author Share Posted March 13, 2014 The FCC approved the three stations (KPVI, KXTF, & KVIQ) going to Frontier Radio Management, as of late last week. Upon closing, Sunbelt will still have stations in Nevada & Montana, while Sainte Partners won't have any more stations. _______________________________________________________ The FCC also approved today (3/13) the reassignment of the Pappas trust to Harry Pappas. Also, paperwork of the Chambers stations KEZI & KDRV/KDKF is now been posted. The full price for the Oregon cluster, $30.26M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 2878 Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Two weeks away from the FCC's possible vote on JSAs and Wells Fargo securities analysts, led by Marci Ryvicker, have downgraded TV stocks from overweight to market weight, citing a "worsening" regulatory environment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CircleSeven 1944 Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 WKTV sale to Heartland Media is now closed. It was consummated yesterday (3/20). I'm happy that Boston Ventures kept the Smith name alive, after founder Robert Smith passed away in 2003. Smith Media. RIP. And RIP to Robert Smith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CircleSeven 1944 Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 The FCC has greenlighted Gray's deal of WQCW today. In November, they proposed that Excalibur would buy the station, and Gray would provide services. But on February 7, Gray itself re-filled to acquire the station outright, since it had enough stations in the Charleston/Huntington market to form a duo, plus WQCW in not within the top-4 higest rated stations. I would not be shocked if they move WSAZ's 10pm news to WQCW within days after it closes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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