Standard General to acquire Tegna for $8.6 Billion

[DirtyHarry 695]

Listen, all of this conversation confuses the issue. The big issue in my mind is that this is all a race to the bottom. Consolidation has ruined broadcast. It is simply not interesting anymore. Listening to the radio is about as interesting is walking into a Sears store (and I'm talking about before they fell apart). Everything is so plain vanilla and corporate.

 

Consolidation has done some good things, creating critical mass for rolling out new technology, but the networks could have assumed that role. As part of your network affiliation, they could have offered all of the technology and tools that these chains are able to assemble in-house.

 

Boring content, elimination of voices, foreign ownership. It would get a big no for me and I'm typically Republican minded when it comes to my worldview.

Edited March 2 by DirtyHarry

[Rusty Muck 4006]

15 minutes ago, nycnewsjunkie said:

The columnist in question comes off as a lackey for large media groups. He seems to run defense for every M&A.

Even when the Sinclair—Tribune deal died, Jessell called for further deregulation anyway. He’s a clown.

[mre29 1191]

8 hours ago, Myron Falwell said:

Byron bought his former employer (BNC) after they collapsed and used the distribution contracts (even on Pluto) for TheGrio.tv. So of course this comes off as payback and sheer pettiness on Roland’s part.

 

I honestly didn't know any of that. Thanks. And good for him.

 

 

[Big Rollo Smokes 136]

12 hours ago, Myron Falwell said:

Byron bought his former employer (BNC) after they collapsed and used the distribution contracts (even on Pluto) for TheGrio.tv. So of course this comes off as payback and sheer pettiness on Roland’s part.

 

Roland never worked for BNC. He had a morning show on TVOne ("NewsOne with Roland Martin") for a few years before it was canceled.

 

Roland was, however, critical of Allen's decision to convert BNC into another entertainment channel. As if between BET, Bounce, TVOne, Aspire, Revolt and Fox Soul, there aren't enough of those already. 

Edited March 3 by Big Rollo Smokes

[ColtFromGulfcoast 668]

Roland Martin = Armstrong Williams. 

 

 

I'm surprised that he somehow wasn't gifted money to buy WUSA and WXIA........

 

Edited March 3 by ColtFromGulfcoast

[Breaking News 760]

On 3/1/2023 at 8:02 AM, ColtFromGulfcoast said:

I wasn't referring to Kim. I was referring to Roland Martin. 

I think Roland's studios is in D.C. and TEGNA owns WUSA- that why he going with them. Idk he was pushing this deal. At the end of the day the TEGNA deal is the worse thing for broadcast. Here's hoping it doesn't go through.

[Megatron81 144]

Byron Allen waiting in the wings to buy TEGNA and will sell how many TV stations to get the deal done, I don't know how many Allen would have to sell to get deals done the only one I can think of is Fort Wayne IN. Soo Kim blew it sell the TV stations you needed to from different TV station groups than Cox.

[mre29 1191]

17 hours ago, Megatron81 said:

Byron Allen waiting in the wings to buy TEGNA and will sell how many TV stations to get the deal done, I don't know how many Allen would have to sell to get deals done the only one I can think of is Fort Wayne IN. Soo Kim blew it sell the TV stations you needed to from different TV station groups than Cox.

 

Hopefully he's not the only one waiting to make a purchase. I'm sure Graham, Hearst, and any company that has room to buy even one station (yes, even the networks, though they're undoubtedly pickier) is keeping an eye on this saga.

 

[Adam MadMan 215]

Hazel Dukes of the NAACP is PO'd at the FCC for letting the deal die.

[TexasTVNews 1345]

50 minutes ago, Adam MadMan said:

Hazel Dukes of the NAACP is PO'd at the FCC for letting the deal die.

 

She can get PO'd all she wants, but the deal will die and that's that.

[GoldenShine9 1446]

They did nothing to solve the 2 critical issues:

 

1) Apollo is bankrolling both companies and essentially has Cox and Tegna as subsidiaries of the same company. As a result, there are five markets where both companies are in place, and no effort was made to adjust for such. Graham made that clear last year in a petition to deny.

 

2) There is too much foreign money involved, coming from the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and the Turks and Caicos (I believe). As a result, it is illegal on that alone. In addition, they failed to disclose such.

[mre29 1191]

6 hours ago, GoldenShine9 said:

They did nothing to solve the 2 critical issues:

 

1) Apollo is bankrolling both companies and essentially has Cox and Tegna as subsidiaries of the same company. As a result, there are five markets where both companies are in place, and no effort was made to adjust for such. Graham made that clear last year in a petition to deny.

 

2) There is too much foreign money involved, coming from the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and the Turks and Caicos (I believe). As a result, it is illegal on that alone. In addition, they failed to disclose such.

 

You put that in plainer, more clear-cut language than Rosenworcel did. Maybe you should've helped draft the order. 

 

 

Edited March 8 by mre29

[DirtyHarry 695]

9 hours ago, TexasTVNews said:

She can get PO'd all she wants, but the deal will die and that's that.

 

Very few people have sympathy for the banksters in these deals. I certainly don't. They ruin practically everything they touch.

9 hours ago, GoldenShine9 said:

They did nothing to solve the 2 critical issues:

 

1) Apollo is bankrolling both companies and essentially has Cox and Tegna as subsidiaries of the same company. As a result, there are five markets where both companies are in place, and no effort was made to adjust for such. Graham made that clear last year in a petition to deny.

 

2) There is too much foreign money involved, coming from the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and the Turks and Caicos (I believe). As a result, it is illegal on that alone. In addition, they failed to disclose such.

 

Yes, there is such a thing as attribution in the law. I believe even the FCC uses attribution when it comes to family members owning media properties. It should be the same thing here. If you've got capital in both companies, you're benefiting from both companies. That should not be allowed. And even if you don't control day to day operations, if you threaten to pull your money out if you don't like something, that's control.

[mrschimpf 1634]

9 hours ago, TexasTVNews said:

 

She can get PO'd all she wants, but the deal will die and that's that.

And she hasn't lead the organization since the 90s. Why ask for support from someone who was never in the post-Comm Act age?!

[Samantha 2836]

On 3/7/2023 at 10:39 AM, GoldenShine9 said:

They did nothing to solve the 2 critical issues:

 

1) Apollo is bankrolling both companies and essentially has Cox and Tegna as subsidiaries of the same company. As a result, there are five markets where both companies are in place, and no effort was made to adjust for such. Graham made that clear last year in a petition to deny.

 

2) There is too much foreign money involved, coming from the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and the Turks and Caicos (I believe). As a result, it is illegal on that alone. In addition, they failed to disclose such.

 

I am far from a Standard General defender, but Team Telecom reviewed the deal on the foreign investment/ownership issue and found no national security risks. It's become routine at the FCC for details involving Caribbean foreign capital (and from other countries with which the US has good trade relationship) to receive approval. Some large radio companies had to ask for declaratory rulings on foreign ownership because of actions outside its control (e.g. iHeartMedia when US-based OppenheimerFunds was acquired by Bermuda-organized Invesco in 2019).

Edited March 14 by Samantha

[DirtyHarry 695]

8 hours ago, Samantha said:

 

I am far from a Standard General defender, but Team Telecom reviewed the deal on the foreign investment/ownership issue and found no national security risks. It's become routine at the FCC for details involving Caribbean foreign capital (and from other countries with which the US has good trade relationship) to receive approval. Some large radio companies had to ask for declaratory rulings on foreign ownership because of actions outside its control (e.g. iHeartMedia when US-based OppenheimerFunds was acquired by Bermuda-organized Invesco in 2019).

 

You have a point. It doesn't matter which country or state your business charter is in, it matters where your ownership and management are located. Nevertheless, Apollo still benefits from two sets of stations in certain cities, so I would tell them to pound salt. If they still get the profit from both WSB and WXIA, something still seems wrong about that.

[Adam MadMan 215]

Despite all the unions who've agreed with (most of) us that the deal is a terrible idea, a union in Southern California and Southern Nevada is backing the deal (a little late, guys...).

[Adam MadMan 215]

Double posting, I know, but now it looks like Soo Kim is turning to the press: he wrote an op-ed article on Newsweek.

[TexasTVNews 1345]

27 minutes ago, Adam MadMan said:

Double posting, I know, but now it looks like Soo Kim is turning to the press: he wrote an op-ed article on Newsweek.

 

It won't help him.

[DirtyHarry 695]

Somewhat related. This guy cut commercials to 5 minutes per hour at his Fresno radio stations. He says he can do that because he doesn't have any debt, unlike Cumulus and iHeart. The Wolfes used to say that having no debt was an important part of their success at WBNS and WTHR.

 

Standard General will have debt, lots of it. Thus, a race to the bottom as they try to stay afloat.  Soo Kim can pound salt.

 

https://radioink.com/2023/03/22/john-ostlund-five-minute-stopsets/

[Rusty Muck 4006]

5 hours ago, Adam MadMan said:

Double posting, I know, but now it looks like Soo Kim is turning to the press: he wrote an op-ed article on Newsweek.

He’s basically begging Tegna and Apollo not to sue his sorry butt for breach of contract.

[DirtyHarry 695]

3 hours ago, Myron Falwell said:

He’s basically begging Tegna and Apollo not to sue his sorry butt for breach of contract.

 

I'm sure he has weasel language in all the contracts about what happens if the FCC doesn't approve the sale. If anything, he's trying to avoid the breakup fee which I think is a couple hundred million dollars. I'd take him to court over it just to teach the next bankster who tries to pull something like this a lesson.

[Adam MadMan 215]

OH GOD.

 

Soo Kim's going nuclear and suing the FCC to get the deal through.

[CircleSeven 1804]

Mr. Desperado is going to fight till the end.....

 

We have now gone to unchartered waters. In over a decade of following all of these M&As, l have never seen anything like this. For an applicant to go to the courts to overstep a federal agency, just to get a deal approved. 

 

Hope the courts let this suit sit until May 22.

 

Edited March 29 by CircleSeven

[GoldenShine9 1446]

This is worse behavior than even Sinclair had! Soo Kim and Standard General will never own or be involved in television again, mark my words. No one will want to get involved with them.