Georgie56 2972 Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 (edited) https://nbc-2.com/news/2023/04/05/waterman-broadcasting-selling-wbbh-tv-nbc2-to-hearst-television/ Edited April 5 by Georgie56 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenShine9 1480 Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 This is about the most stunning announcement I have heard. What a big pickup for Hearst - a company that almost never buys stations. (Also, it pretty much wipes them off the "seller" list). It takes Fort Myers-Naples down to one locally owned station. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recovering Producer 63 Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 I'm surprised it took this long for Waterman to sell after Bernie Waterman's death several years ago. It is great to see Hearst buying. It will be interesting to see how it shifts the culture of the market, which as someone who worked there for a few years, is beyond toxic competitively. And all the stations have toxic internal cultures too. Now we wait and see if the McBrides realize now is the time to cash out WINK. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glimmer 230 Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 What a big move on Hearst’s part; I imagine both stations will get full rebrands like WJCL and WVTM did 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caliwxdude 248 Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 Always a bummer to see local ownership selling to a larger corporation, but the economics of it just don't work anymore. The press release also mentions Hearst will be taking over the existing SSA for WZVN as well. It'll be interesting to see if Hearst continues to operate WZVN as its own distinct news operation, or if we'll start to see more cross pollination between the two newsrooms. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenShine9 1480 Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 29 minutes ago, Recovering Producer said: I'm surprised it took this long for Waterman to sell after Bernie Waterman's death several years ago. It is great to see Hearst buying. It will be interesting to see how it shifts the culture of the market, which as someone who worked there for a few years, is beyond toxic competitively. And all the stations have toxic internal cultures too. Now we wait and see if the McBrides realize now is the time to cash out WINK. Mentioned that in the Speculatron re: the McBrides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DENDude 179 Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 (edited) WOW!!! I'm surprised but not surprised, I'm just glad it's not sinclair getting the station. I would love to see WBBH & WZVN out of the LMA at some point. Edited April 5 by DENDude 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheOneManHerd 552 Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 I thought it was a late April Fool's joke at first, but I'm sure the staff there is breathing a sigh of relief. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennTV1983 716 Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 2 hours ago, caliwxdude said: The press release also mentions Hearst will be taking over the existing SSA for WZVN as well. It'll be interesting to see if Hearst continues to operate WZVN as its own distinct news operation, or if we'll start to see more cross pollination between the two newsrooms. They'll probably give WZVN the WMUR treatment despite not owning that station outright. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amra 127 Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 Missed opportunity by NBCUniversal to create a duopoly between NBC 2 and Telemundo Fort Myers. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DENDude 179 Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 It's too small of a market, NBC Universal isn't interested. 10 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianpr3 173 Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 Is hearst known when coming to start firing talent for a "youth movement" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mre29 1262 Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 Welp, there's Hearst's purchase for the decade. 2 hours ago, TheOneManHerd said: I thought it was a late April Fool's joke at first, but I'm sure the staff there is breathing a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, I can just imagine the reaction from staffers at WVIR when they realize what they missed out on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyrannical bastard 3249 Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 I"m sure Hurricane Ian may have prompted them to sell. They fared much better than WINK, but the storm may have give them the realization that they need sister stations to step in when the next storm comes. And given the market, corporate ownership may be a good thing, dissolving the toxic cultures that have seemingly permeated the market for years. It is an end of an era for sure. What other market has been primarily comprised of locally-owned stations in this day and age? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRob 914 Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 I must admit, I had to check the date too. By the way, Hearst strongly relies on promoting from within the company for management. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam MadMan 244 Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 3 hours ago, DENDude said: It's too small of a market, NBC Universal isn't interested. I'm honestly surprised they've held onto a lot of the small markets from the ZGS and Serestar buyouts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
channel2 865 Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 Aren't those LPs that don't count against the cap? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrschimpf 1855 Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 With this purchase, I think Hearst is building up a news network of some kind in Florida to compete with both Scripps and Spectrum; going by the direction of syndication, it'll be inevitable that WBBH and WESH have an outpost of some kind with WMOR, and WPBF will certainly contribute too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyHarry 716 Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 9 hours ago, caliwxdude said: Always a bummer to see local ownership selling to a larger corporation, but the economics of it just don't work anymore. I think the economics still work, I think the trouble is that if you wait too long, what happened to newspapers might end up happening to TV stations. You better cash out now or you might end up having to sell for a fraction of what you can get now. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichiganNewsGraphicsJunkie 644 Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 We also have to remind ourselves: Edith Waterman is turning 100 in September... I'm pretty sure this had a huge reason behind the decision. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickp 279 Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 good deal for WBBH and Hearst 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexTVandRadio 408 Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 Didn't know Hearst was still looking to buy stations. Hoping Morris is next on their list. But should be good for WBBH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MediaZone4K 1231 Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 (edited) On 4/5/2023 at 3:22 PM, Recovering Producer said: I'm surprised it took this long for Waterman to sell after Bernie Waterman's death several years ago. It is great to see Hearst buying. It will be interesting to see how it shifts the culture of the market, which as someone who worked there for a few years, is beyond toxic competitively. And all the stations have toxic internal cultures too. Now we wait and see if the McBrides realize now is the time to cash out WINK. Asked this in the Sinclair Chat. With the concentration of local ownership between a few companies, if a talent falls out with management at one station (and either quits or gets terminated), does that blacklist them from working in the station group totally? Edited April 6 by MediaZone4K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CircleSeven 1913 Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 The paperwork is now up. Purchase Price: $220.54M It also includes the pre-1996 grandfathered time brokerage agreement with WZVN (then WEVU). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyrannical bastard 3249 Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 10 hours ago, MichiganNewsGraphicsJunkie said: We also have to remind ourselves: Edith Waterman is turning 100 in September... I'm pretty sure this had a huge reason behind the decision. Unlike Ed Ansin's sons taking over Sunbeam after his passing, Edith Waterman probably had no one in the family interested in continuing the family business, so selling was the only option. Had it been part of an estate sale, it would have driven up the taxes for any buyer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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