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Standard General to acquire Tegna for $8.6 Billion


dman748

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25 minutes ago, Myron Falwell said:

It's also the logical end result of the M&A mania of the past few years, where there's no one left to buy stations but private equity vultures. (BTW, the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates today, so this was filed right at the deadline.)

I think even private equity is tired of OTA stations. Only the networks can buy. On a slightly related note, WSYX will be the market leader in my home market in a matter of weeks if this deal is allowed to go through, unless NBC is able to do something about this. 

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3 minutes ago, Myron Falwell said:

The claim made in this filing is that both companies are going to be independent of each other and that Apollo's stake in Tegna is not of importance because they'll not be holding any voting stock.

 

I don't believe it for a second.

 

Correct, that should on its own be a black eye. At a minimum, they need to divest (to an independent buyer) the markets that both are in - namely Atlanta, Charlotte, Jacksonville, Memphis and Seattle - to an independent buyer not already in those markets.

 

This has Sinclair-Tribune written all over it.

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12 minutes ago, mre29 said:

 

Well, yes. But if the FCC does approve it, it should be with a requirement to divest stations in (going off the top of my head) Atlanta, Charlotte, Jacksonville, Memphis, and Seattle.

 

Again going on my point, the only logical buyers will be the networks (excluding Disney/ABC) or dead-end owners:

WXIA/WATL to NBC, WSB retained
WCNC dumped to a dead-end owner like HC2, NBC affiliates with WCCB and acquires the WCNC newsroom, a far cheaper option. WSOC is kept.

KIRO dumped to HC2 or whatever, KING retained, KSTW becomes a CBS O&O
WHBQ to Fox, WATN retained 

Both WTLV and WJXX will be dumped, NBC affiliates with WJXT,  WJAX/WFOX retained. ABC could go to an LP since "Disney does not buy"

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10 minutes ago, TheSpeedKing said:

WCNC dumped to a dead-end owner like HC2, NBC affiliates with WCCB and acquires the WCNC newsroom, a far cheaper option. WSOC is kept.

Why would NBC dump WCNC for Bahakel? I mean WCNC isn’t much better but if they wanted WCCB they would’ve signed on in 1978. WCNC is already home of the NBC News Channel headquarters and where would they go? What is HC2? 

Edited by Nelson R.
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25 minutes ago, GoldenShine9 said:

 

Correct, that should on its own be a black eye. At a minimum, they need to divest (to an independent buyer) the markets that both are in - namely Atlanta, Charlotte, Jacksonville, Memphis and Seattle - to an independent buyer not already in those markets.

 

This has Sinclair-Tribune written all over it.

Apollo needs to not have ANY stake in the new iteration of Tegna, and if that needs to be accomplished with further trades of Tegna stations to Apollo to recoup the balance of Apollo's planned stake, then so be it. Otherwise it'll be rejected on its face.

 

For perspective, the Dumont Network died in part because the FCC considered them and KTLA and WBKB/2 Chicago to be co-owned because Paramount Studios (which owned both, neither of which were ever Dumont affiliates!) had a minority stake in Dumont. Thus, Dumont couldn't purchase any more O&Os when they desperately needed to.

Edited by Myron Falwell
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18 minutes ago, Nelson R. said:

Why would NBC dump WCNC for Bahakel? I mean WCNC isn’t much better but if they wanted WCCB they would’ve signed on in 1978. WCNC is already home of the NBC News Channel headquarters and where would they go? What is HC2? 

Two reasons: cost and a lower dial position. I suggested that WCCB absorb the WCNC news department so they would be the new home for the Charlotte bureau of NBC News. HC2 Holdings is a company that owns several dead-end LPs in the US and they're hungry for some full-power stations. They own the Azteca America Spanish-language network. 18 is a far more accessible virtual channel number than 36.

Edited by TheSpeedKing
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I'm staying out of the hypotheticals, at least in this thread (any such belongs in Speculatron). This is, however, a terrible deal for all parties.

 

For those at any stations involving these parties, it is a good time to update resumes. There will likely be a lot of carnage afterward.

Edited by GoldenShine9
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1 hour ago, Myron Falwell said:

Apollo needs to not have ANY stake in the new iteration of Tegna, and if that needs to be accomplished with further trades of Tegna stations to Apollo to recoup the balance of Apollo's planned stake, then so be it. Otherwise it'll be rejected on its face.

 

For perspective, the Dumont Network died in part because the FCC considered them and KTLA and WBKB/2 Chicago to be co-owned because Paramount Studios (which owned both, neither of which were ever Dumont affiliates!) had a minority stake in Dumont. Thus, Dumont couldn't purchase any more O&Os when they desperately needed to.

WBKB was on channel 4, lol.

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2 hours ago, GoldenShine9 said:

 

In Atlanta, I'm sure there are a lot of happy faces at Fox 5.

FOX 5 will still be #2 and WSB will still be #1 WXIA will still be #3 until WGCL passes them up.

WAGA's philosophy has been what's WSB doing? How are they covering the story? Let try to out do them?

Despite Cox/Apollo deal one thing for sure they can screw up any station, but not the mothership WSB-TV.

53 minutes ago, lugnuts6 said:

If this deal has to have more divesting here is how I see it ..

ALLEN MEDIA GROUP Gets 

WXIA/WATL Atlanta

WTLV/WJXX Jacksonville 

 

FOX TELEVISION STATIONS gets 

WHBQ Memphis

 

 

MISSION BROADCASTING gets 

WJAX /WFOX Jacksonville

 

NBCUniversal gets 

WCNC Charlotte

 

FOX doesn't want WHBQ and there was a reason why they got sold. FOX didn't do much investment into WHBQ. 

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2 hours ago, mre29 said:

Okay, I'm confused. Soo Kim and Standard General aren't Apollo, right? But Apollo's still involved?

 

And what's the point in WFAA, KVUE, and KHOU going to Cox?

 

 

Soo Kim was a shareholder or on the board at TEGNA.  Soo Kim had issues with TEGNA leadership under Lougee.  Deborah McDermott. who ran Young Broadcasting

runs Stand General.  Standard and Apollo are not the same two different equity firms with tv station in the company portfolio.

 

As much as FTVlive.com Scott can be. He had alot of stories about Kim and Lougee at TEGNA.

Edited by Breaking News
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What about WKYC?  Could the new company sell the station or if they hold onto it, change from the approach they adapted back in late 2019?  

 

Speaking of 3, I came across something interesting in this post on one of their blogs.  It has to do with its newscasts:


 

Quote

 

The station remains very competitive in all our news time periods. We are giving long-time news leader WJW a run for its money in the morning time slots and during the evening...

 

...The station recently evolved our station branding to include the tag line of 'What Matters Most' to reflect our station's commitment to bringing our viewers the stories that matter most to them. W gave a new name to the 6 o'clock show to set it apart from that branding. All our other shows will keep their current names including GO!, What's New at 5p, Front Row at 7p and What's Next at 11p.

 

 

This seems to say that WKYC might be doing better in the ratings, even with its format switch and creative brandings.

 

Could all of that go away ownership changes?

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5 hours ago, dman748 said:

https://www.tegna.com/tegna-to-be-acquired-by-standard-general-for-24-00-per-share/

 

One thing to note is that what's going to Cox will be WFAA, KVUE and KHOU.

 

Stay tuned because the FCC and the DOJ (particularly the latter) is going to take a hard look on the merger.

WFAA, KHOU, and KVUE going from Tegna to Cox, the owner of WSB, WFTV and WSOC? That's an upgrade. It's not the old Belo, but it's pretty good for this era.

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I see station divestments...but I also see the possibility of situations such as WTLV getting ABC on DT2, WJAX hosting Fox on DT2, and then WJXX/WFOX sold off to 'minority/women ownership' KNHL-style with their 'owner' as a figurehead and their programming being contractually non-competitive.

 

How the FCC hasn't addressed that station purchasing strategy by now after Sinclair started shifting affiliations from their sidecars...this deal is a regulatory mess that needs to set case law precedent.

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6 minutes ago, johnintx said:

WFAA, KHOU, and KVUE going from Tegna to Cox, the owner of WSB, WFTV and WSOC? That's an upgrade. It's not the old Belo, but it's pretty good for this era.

 

Careful what you wish for. This ain't your daddy's Cox.

I should reword that.

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3 hours ago, TheSpeedKing said:

Two reasons: cost and a lower dial position. I suggested that WCCB absorb the WCNC news department so they would be the new home for the Charlotte bureau of NBC News. HC2 Holdings is a company that owns several dead-end LPs in the US and they're hungry for some full-power stations. They own the Azteca America Spanish-language network. 18 is a far more accessible virtual channel number than 36.

 

It's only more accessible if you get TV over-the-air and your remote only has arrow buttons -- or your TV has an actual dial.

 

Other than that, I get the feeling you have something against WCNC...

 

3 hours ago, TheSpeedKing said:

Again going on my point, the only logical buyers will be the networks (excluding Disney/ABC) or dead-end owners:

 

I'm sure Graham, Hearst, and Scripps would dispute your characterization of them as "dead-end owners".

 

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2 hours ago, Big Rollo Smokes said:

WBKB was on channel 4, lol.

to be fair, there were two WBKBs in Chicago and the first ultimately wound up on channel 2 lmao

19 minutes ago, mre29 said:

I'm sure Graham, Hearst, and Scripps would dispute your characterization of them as "dead-end owners".

 

Graham, Hearst and Hubbard have not participated in this M&A mayhem because they are diversified entities. I do believe that within 1-3 years, all three will be selling their TV chains outright.

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5 minutes ago, Myron Falwell said:

to be fair, there were two WBKBs in Chicago and the first ultimately wound up on channel 2 lmao

 

Not to sidetrack the sunny, cheery mood of the thread, but WBKB was channel 4 until 1953. When it was split, Channel 4 moved to 2, and became WBBM. The WBKB calls then replaced WENR on channel 7.

 

But anyway...

 

WHAT WILL THE NEW GRAPHICS LOOK LIKE??? /s

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6 minutes ago, 24994J said:

 

Not to sidetrack the sunny, cheery mood of the thread, but WBKB was channel 4 until 1953. When it was split, Channel 4 moved to 2, and became WBBM. The WBKB calls then replaced WENR on channel 7.

 

But anyway...

 

WHAT WILL THE NEW GRAPHICS LOOK LIKE??? /s

Apollo and Standard General will only be paying for the KPVI look, because KPVI News at 5 is News That Works For You

IMG_3085.png

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What is interesting about the acquisition is that stations like KHOU, WLNE and KVUE are going to be Cox-owned stations. I was reading something on Radio Insight about the radio implications of the deal and it's interesting to note that the sports duo of WBNS-AM and WBNS-FM are being received by Standard General. Not only that, Cox will gain KHOU in Houston, the city where the company owns a radio cluster including KKBQ-FM.

Concerning the TV side of things, it will be interesting to see what happens. However, there is something I would like to add. With Cox acquiring both the ABC affiliates in Providence, Rhode Island and Lincoln, Nebraska, I believe that those two stations [WLNE and KLKN] need new graphics.

With that being said, the next few weeks and months are going to be interesting.

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