• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Companies Bidding on Cox TV Stations

R

RoddyFreeman

CNBC is reporting the companies interested in purchasing the Cox TV stations are Scripps, Hearst and Tegna. Final bids are due on January 30.

The price is thought to be between 2 and 3 billion, and closer to 3 billion.

Of course, if Tegna won out, the company would have to sell WXIA-TV (unless Cox wanted to keep only Atlanta).

I realize this is the radio board, but the story has implications for the Cox radio stations.
 
Apparently the Mouse is showing some interest as well: https://forums.tvnewstalk.net/topic/16838-disney-execs-reported-to-be-visiting-cox-stations/

Disney wants the ABC affiliates (WSB, WSOC in Charlotte, and WFTV in MouseTown).

Hearst has a minority (20%) interest in ESPN that could result in some horse-trading between Hearst and Disney. Just speculating, but if Hearst wants out of ESPN without a big tax bill they could swap some TV stations with Disney, similar to what Time Warner did with Liberty Media to unload the Braves. Hearst has a baker's dozen of ABC affiliates of its own already. With ESPN losing subscribers to cord-cutting, and the Mouse dragging its feet on an over-the-top solution, this might be a good time and way for Hearst to cash out.
 
Last edited:
I'd say it would be between Hearst and Scripps. WXIA and WATL (the Tegna duopoly) seem to be bouncing off each other quite well and they operate from the same headquarters.
 
I'm telling you, Disney purchasing WSB-TV would def work! Look at Disney O&O WPVI/Philadelphia. They too are the number 1 station and they also use the "Action News" format. So nothing would need to change with WSB's news department. Plus.... no more network preemptions!
 
deejaywestbrook said:
I'm telling you, Disney purchasing WSB-TV would def work!
Click to expand...

Maybe. One thing to think about is the Journal operating without the revenue base of TV. Is that possible? How integrated is the Cox Media operation? Disney is certainly NOT interested in non-TV assets.

That's what makes this all so complicated, and why it's probably taking so long. The heirs want to cash out, but they don't want to destroy their family's legacy. So it becomes a matter of finding proper custodians for the family's assets.
 
TheBigA said:
That's what makes this all so complicated, and why it's probably taking so long. The heirs want to cash out, but they don't want to destroy their family's legacy. So it becomes a matter of finding proper custodians for the family's assets.
Click to expand...

That, and didn't Cox combine the news operations of the AJC, WSB Radio, and WSB TV? You'd have to figure out who gets the newsroom in the "divorce". My guess is that Cox would keep it, and let the new TV owner use it indefinitely.
 
jabba17 said:
That, and didn't Cox combine the news operations of the AJC, WSB Radio, and WSB TV? You'd have to figure out who gets the newsroom in the "divorce". My guess is that Cox would keep it, and let the new TV owner use it indefinitely.
Click to expand...


They're all under ownership of Cox Media, a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. My guess is over the years, the family will be selling everything, including the newspapers.
 
TheBigA said:
They're all under ownership of Cox Media, a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. My guess is over the years, the family will be selling everything, including the newspapers.
Click to expand...

All that is left in the newspaper division is Dayton(Springfield Ohio) where it all began and Atlanta bought in 1939. The family has stuck with Dayton newspaper/TV/radio all these years growing the company into much larger markets while Dayton has been in a steady decline since 1960. I would find it hard to believe that the AJC makes a great deal of money. If its sold off, expect it to be further gutted. There simply aren't any companies buying newspapers nowadays..preserving them as is, much less building them up.
 
TheBigA said:
Maybe. One thing to think about is the Journal operating without the revenue base of TV. Is that possible? How integrated is the Cox Media operation? Disney is certainly NOT interested in non-TV assets.

That's what makes this all so complicated, and why it's probably taking so long. The heirs want to cash out, but they don't want to destroy their family's legacy. So it becomes a matter of finding proper custodians for the family's assets.
Click to expand...

I agree with your other post that Cox will eventually sell the radio stations and newspapers in addition to the TV. But, what is currently for sale are the TV stations only so I don't think a TV owner with no newspaper assets would have less chance of acquiring the Cox TV properties.
 
MediaMan said:
If its sold off, expect it to be further gutted. There simply aren't any companies buying newspapers nowadays..preserving them as is, much less building them up.
Click to expand...

It depends. If someone like Jeff Bezos buys it, as he did with the Washington Post, it could be very different. That's what newspapers need. Some billionaire benefactors who want to continue to fund serious journalism. If they want profit, there are better ways to do it.

RoddyFreeman said:
I don't think a TV owner with no newspaper assets would have less chance of acquiring the Cox TV properties.
Click to expand...

I agree, and I think Atlantans will have to accept the fact that there will come a time when WSB-AM and TV will have different owners, and the AJC will be its own thing.

The FCC was kind of hoping that by eliminating the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rule, that we'd get back to the 70s, and we'd all wear leisure suits again. It's obvious that's not going to happen, and newspapers will have to find their own way in the world at some point. Some big papers have found that way.
 
RoddyFreeman said:
Well, it will surprise you that WSB-TV was NBC 2 from its sign-on in 1948 until around the late 70's, when it became an ABC affiliate.
Click to expand...

I just looked at Wikipedia. WSB's affiliation switch from NBC to ABC happened in June, 1980.

A couple of other historical things: WSB-AM had been a longtime NBC Radio Network affiliate. In fact, the NBC chimes were originally the WSB chimes. An NBC executive heard them on a network broadcast of a Georgia Tech game and asked permission to use them. Also, WSB-TV was Tom Brokaw's first major market news anchor job, and it was where NBC discovered him.
 
Also a good choice for NBC to buy channel 2. I mean... The Weather Channel is based here so why not have an NBC owned TV station? Wow.... Whether Disney or NBC gets channel 2. It's gonna be good either way. As long as it's not Sinclair!

And here's something else I'm wondering. It also states on Wiki that this whole thing is not a full-on buy out but that Cox simply wants to merge with another company. Is this still the case or has that all changed now to a full sell of Cox Media?
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom