Actually, this article says "TV and radio."
https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/231448/cox-tv-valued-3-1-billion-apollo-acquisition/
https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/231448/cox-tv-valued-3-1-billion-apollo-acquisition/
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I know this is the radio board, but - Cox TV sold
- Thread starter AMRocks
- Start date
"Terrier Media"? Sounds like a name for a holding company for WAGA.
Glad to see that Cox finally put the WFOX calls on a Fox affiliate it owns.
What is the "UHF discount"? Is this really a factor anymore in the age of DTV? And what is WSB-TV considered these days (virtual channel 2, RF channel 39 but moving to 32 with the TV repack)? VHF or UHF?
Glad to see that Cox finally put the WFOX calls on a Fox affiliate it owns.
What is the "UHF discount"? Is this really a factor anymore in the age of DTV? And what is WSB-TV considered these days (virtual channel 2, RF channel 39 but moving to 32 with the TV repack)? VHF or UHF?
In the DTV world, UHF is better.
Agree. Everytime I take my portable RCA TV from city to city, I have to literally be on top of the VHF transmitter in order to receive the signal. I’ve always had a hard time receiving WXIA and WGTV. Same with WESH when I was in Daytona Beach a few weeks ago and same with WTOC in Savannah this past weekend. Also agree that VHF had a better quality picture back in the analog days but had a harder time getting out of the city with signal distance.
Man, I was really hoping for an ABC or NBC owned station here in Atlanta. Guess I'm just bored.... hahahaha!
I was actually referring to the "UHF discount" which apparently was abolished by the FCC in 2016 (see https://www.fcc.gov/document/elimination-uhf-discount ), and what that meant for WSB-TV (with a virtual VHF channel and an RF UHF channel post-DTV). Apparently the "UHF discount" was a 50% discounting factor applied to the coverage of UHF stations when determining ownership caps.
The FCC cited the UHF advantage for DTV (which I already knew about) as the reason for getting rid of the discount, but did grandfather existing ownership.
The FCC implies (but doesn't come out and say) that legacy VHF stations (that is, those with a VHF virtual channel) on a UHF RF channel would be considered UHF stations for the purpose of the discount, because the discount was primarily intended for the (albeit analog) technical limitations of UHF--not lack of accessibility due to pre-All Channel Receiver Act (VHF-only) sets from before the mid-1960s or lack of tuning parity (where UHF might have had a technologically inferior tuner on a set) that was banned on new sets in the 1970s, or other legacy TV set considerations (which would be moot anyway post-DTV). This was another reason for getting rid of the discount. The fact that a post-DTV "VHF discount" was briefly considered also supports this implication.
As a side note, the major DTV channels I have the hardest time receiving are RF VHF WGTV and WXIA. WXIA I get most of the time, but it's hard to get WGTV. They have a weak signal to boot (only about 21kW). WGTV is moving to RF channel 7 (as stated above) with the TV repack, and also tripling their power.
Most DTV antennas except for the largest and most elaborate (like an old-fashioned yagi you'd put in your roof or attic) are tuned to the UHF frequencies only, with no elements tuned to VHF.
The FCC cited the UHF advantage for DTV (which I already knew about) as the reason for getting rid of the discount, but did grandfather existing ownership.
The FCC implies (but doesn't come out and say) that legacy VHF stations (that is, those with a VHF virtual channel) on a UHF RF channel would be considered UHF stations for the purpose of the discount, because the discount was primarily intended for the (albeit analog) technical limitations of UHF--not lack of accessibility due to pre-All Channel Receiver Act (VHF-only) sets from before the mid-1960s or lack of tuning parity (where UHF might have had a technologically inferior tuner on a set) that was banned on new sets in the 1970s, or other legacy TV set considerations (which would be moot anyway post-DTV). This was another reason for getting rid of the discount. The fact that a post-DTV "VHF discount" was briefly considered also supports this implication.
As a side note, the major DTV channels I have the hardest time receiving are RF VHF WGTV and WXIA. WXIA I get most of the time, but it's hard to get WGTV. They have a weak signal to boot (only about 21kW). WGTV is moving to RF channel 7 (as stated above) with the TV repack, and also tripling their power.
Most DTV antennas except for the largest and most elaborate (like an old-fashioned yagi you'd put in your roof or attic) are tuned to the UHF frequencies only, with no elements tuned to VHF.
I can't imagine Cox is going to sell all their stations to one buyer (unless it's some kind of investment firm -- BAD for the stations.) Some groups are going to hand pick what they want.
For example, I could see Entercom picking up a couple of Atlanta stations, but I don't think they could take all of them -- too many, they'd be outside the limit. Plus, I highly doubt whoever gets the Atlanta stations cares about the Athens ones.
For example, I could see Entercom picking up a couple of Atlanta stations, but I don't think they could take all of them -- too many, they'd be outside the limit. Plus, I highly doubt whoever gets the Atlanta stations cares about the Athens ones.
K-Love will get an Athens station to flank WYAY
Why? WYAY's 60 db covers Athens very well:
https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/map...NESVILLE&state=GA&fileno=BLH-20051115ADU&.map
or the red circle:
https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WYAY&service=FM
Not that it is "scientific" but 106.7 always stops the scan on my car's radio when I am in Athens
https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/map...NESVILLE&state=GA&fileno=BLH-20051115ADU&.map
or the red circle:
https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WYAY&service=FM
Not that it is "scientific" but 106.7 always stops the scan on my car's radio when I am in Athens
to air K-Love's Air-1 possibly, or another scenario, EMF picks up WALR-104.1 to get western GA coverage. with Cox selling their radio stations.
Value today is in clusters. So the only way a Cox cluster would be broken would be if the buyer already has stations in a particular market and would be over the caps with the Cox cluster; in this case it would likely be that the excess station(s) would be separately sold. But I don't believe that Cox would even look at a deal for individual stations in a cluster.
More likely is that the company that buys the whole group or a company that buys an individual cluster would decide whether to keep any rimshot stations. WYAY is a pretty good rimshot, so probably a keeper under any under-limits company.
Why would anyone care about covering Athens? It's not in the Atlanta MSA, is not a separate metro and has very little radio revenue locally.
Cox reportedly does not want to sell individual markets at all according to Radio + TV Business Report. I can't think of a radio company that's in a position to buy all of Cox's markets, but Cox is said to be in discussions with Apollo Global, the company that purchased most of Cox TV.
The problem with Cox trying to sell their markets is the same problem E.W. Scripps had. It's a group of random markets which don't fit any national strategy.
Bingo! I don't know why they weren't more aggressive in picking up some prime stations from the Nexstar/Tribune divestiture. IMO, Apollo/Cox should have taken the stations Scripps ended up with: Great houses in great markets. Now what's Cox left with? Their core stations, plus some LP's in Washington State, Yuma AZ & the Mississippi Delta. Oh how the mighty have fallen....
G
I agree. From what I understand KLove is all about reach. I guess they might want to extend Air 1 but I doubt they are concerned with Athens as a market. I really question Cumulus getting rid of 106.7 since their debt should be under control thanks to the recent bankruptcy.
IMHO: It must have been a part of Cumulus's attempt to get out of New York without it appearing to be a total desperation move (programming wise). Shareholders perception has a lot to do with the executives staying employed. If a once "prime" property like WPLJ becomes a "drag on earnings" it doesn't look to well to the financial community which is concentrated in New York. I guess The Cloud Company does't have to worry about some actually making WYAY competitive in the Atlanta market.
I haven't looked at Cumulus's debt lately, but I doubt the K-Love deal lowered their debt by more than 10%
I'm not so sure that Cumulus' debt is under control. Some predict a second bankruptcy.
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