9 Fox O&Os to be sold

[snoman]

#17 Cleveland

3 - WKYC NBC (Gannett)
5 - WEWS ABC (EW Scipps)
19- WOIO CBS (Raycom)
43- WUAB MNTV (Raycom)
55- WBNX CW (Winston Broadcasting Network)

(Fox WJW(8 ) Former CBS)
-------------------------
#18 Denver

2 - KWGN CW (Tribune)
4 - KCNC CBS (CBS)
7 - KMGH ABC (McGraw-Hill)
9 - KUSA NBC (Gannett)
20- KTVD MNTV (Gannett)

(Fox KDVR(31) Always Fox)
-------------------------
#21 St. Louis

4 - KMOV CBS (Belo)
5 - KDSK NBC (Gannett)
11- KPLR CW (Tribune)
30- KDNL ABC (Sinclair)
46- WRBU MNTV (Roberts Broadcasting)

(Fox KTVI(2) Former ABC)
-------------------------
#31 Kansas City

5 - KCTV CBS (Meredith)
9 - KMBC ABC (Hearst-Argyle)
29- KCWE CW (Hearst-Argyle Managed)
41- KSHB NBC (EW Scripps)
62- KSMO MNTV (Meredith)

(Fox WDAF(4) Former NBC)
-------------------------
#34 Milwaukee

4 - WTMJ NBC (Milwaukee Journal)
12- WISN ABC (Hearst-Argyle)
18- WVWT CW (Sinclair)
24- WCGV MNTV (Sinclair)
58- WDJT CBS (Weigal Broadcasting)

(Fox WITI(6) Former CBS)
-------------------------
#35 Salt Lake City

2 - KUTV CBS (CBS)
4 - KTVX ABC (Clear Channel)
5 - KSL NBC (Bonneville)
14- KJZZ MNTV (Larry H Miller)
30- KUWB CW (Clear Channel)

(Fox KSTU(13) Former Always Fox)
[note: Clear Channel Stations pending sale]
-------------------------
#40 Birmingham

13- WVTM NBC (Media General)
17- WDBB CW (Sinclair)
21- WTTO CW (Sinclair)
33- WCFT ABC (Allbritton)
40- WJSU ABC (Allbritton)
42- WIAT CBS (New Vista Television)
68- WABM MNTV (Sinclair)


(Fox WBRC(6) Former ABC)
-------------------------
#44 Memphis

3 - WREG CBS (New York Times)
5 - WMC NBC (Raycom)
24- WPTY ABC (Clear Channel)
30- WLMT CW (Clear Channel)
50- WPXX MNTV / ION (ION Media)


(Fox WHBQ(13) Former ABC)
[note: Clear Channel Stations pending sale]
-------------------------
#47 Greensboro

2 - WFMY CBS (Gannett)
12- WXII NBC (McGraw-Hill)
20- WCWG CW (Pappas)
45- WXLV ABC (Sinclair)
48- WMYV MNTV (Sinclair)

(Fox WGHP(8 ) Former ABC)
-------------------------


Source: Wikipedia ( I think I got it right, post corrections if any)

In Salt Lake City, CBS O&O KUTV is in the process of an ownership change, too. They are being sold to Cerberus Capital Management. The deal is slow in processing, because some of the stations involved are up for license renewal. When that process is over, the deal will be processed. Not sure if Cerberus owns any other stations?! I'd never heard of them.

 

[genius]

Keep in mind that this isn't the first time Fox has sold an NFC market. If I recall correctly, Fox bought both WVUE in New Orleans and WLUK in Green Bay(home to the Packers!) but sold them both to Emmis circa 1999 or so. Clearly it appears they were getting rid of some smaller market stations, perhaps as someone mentioned to buy the Wall Street Journal?

 

[KeithE4]

Cerberus Capital Management

In Salt Lake City, CBS O&O KUTV is in the process of an ownership change, too. They are being sold to Cerberus Capital Management. The deal is slow in processing, because some of the stations involved are up for license renewal. When that process is over, the deal will be processed. Not sure if Cerberus owns any other stations?! I'd never heard of them.

They own, or are in the process of purchasing, all or part of the following companies:

ANC Rental (Alamo & National Rent-a-Car)
AVC Aviation (parent company of AirCanada)
Mervyn's department stores
Chrysler Motors (80% stake, with Daimler still owning the rest)
Blue Bird (School bus manufacturer)
North American Bus Industries
GMAC (51% stake, with General Motors owning the rest)
Remington Firearms

Cerberus' Portfolio

In addition, they're also buying KEYE-TV/42 Austin, WLWC/28 Providence/New Bedford, and 3 stations in West Palm Beach from CBS.

 

[TheRob]

My apologies for omitting Boston. That was an error on my part. They're on the list of keepers.

Private equity groups are the only ones making purchases these days. Buy it, cut costs, increase value, turn it around for a profit, and the rich get richer. I wouldn't look for any affiliation changes.

By the way, I love how NewsCorp has no idea where WDAF is located. We may be close to the state line, but we are in Missouri, not Kansas.

 

[Kent]

Same as Orlando, although since KTBC is the only VHF channel in Austin (Tis funny though, I thought there is/was a Channel 9 PBS affiliate. Perhaps I'm mistaken?).

KLRN 9 is in San Antonio. KLRU, which is 18, is Austin's PBS station.

 

[DToTheJ]

since KTBC is the only VHF channel in Austin (Tis funny though, I thought there is/was a Channel 9 PBS affiliate. Perhaps I'm mistaken?).

Austin has KLRU/18, which is a satellite of KLRN/9 in San Antonio.

 

[azumanga]

Austin has KLRU/18, which is a satellite of KLRN/9 in San Antonio.

Not anymore -- since the mid-1980s, KLRU was its own station, under separate ownership from KLRN.

And if you want to count LPTVs, Austin has one other VHF -- K09VR, a TV station run by University of Texas students.

There used to be another VHF LPTV in Austin, K13VC, which was an independent / UPN station under KTBC's ownership, but it went dark to make room for the digital signal of KAKW, the local Univision affil.

 

[arnoldevns]

Okay, the more I've looked at this, the easier it is to figure out.

Here's why Fox is keeping these station: (borrowing and adding to the market list from a previous posting)
#1 New York - big market/duopoly/NFC & AFC market
#2 L.A. - big market/duopoly
#3 Chicago - big market/duopoly/NFC market
#4 Philadelphia - big market/NFC market
#6 Dallas - big market/duopoly/NFC market
#7 Boston - big market - it's big enough they just have to keep it even without a duopoly or NFC team.
#8 DC - big market/duopoly/NFC market
#9 Atlanta - big market/NFC market
#10 Houston - big market/duopoly
#11 Detroit - big market/NFC market
#12 Tampa - big market/NFC market
#13 Phoenix - big market/duopoly/NFC market
#15 Minneapolis - big market/duopoly/NFC market
#19 Orlando - big market/duopoly
#24 Baltimore - middle market/it runs news from WTTG in Washington as kind of a two-market duopoly though. I could still see them swapping this one off with someone like Sinclair for something else they want in another market - or making a deal to buy the Fox affiliate in Baltimore.
#52 Austin - while it's not in a big market now, it's in a rapidly growing market. The station performs well and does a lot of sharing of resources with the Fox O&O's in Dallas and Houston. Though it doesn't matter anymore, this is the only VHF commercial station in the market (KBEJ really serves San Antonio more and has a horrible signal in Austin)


Here's why Fox is selling these stations:
#17 Cleveland - big market/no duopoly/AFC market - it's a strong station that will be attractive to a buyer
#18 Denver - big market/no duopoly (the repeater station in Ft. Collins doesn't count) /AFC market - they didn't have news there until just a few years ago
#21 St. Louis - middle sized market/no duopoly - is odd that it's an NFC market, but the St. Louis area is not good for business.
#31 Kansas City - middle sized market/no duopoly/AFC market - does okay in the market though
#34 Milwaukee - middle sized market/no duopoly/kind of an NFC market with the Packers, but it's not a great area for business
#35 Salt Lake City - middle sized market/no duopoly - it's a decent station that will be attractive to a buyer.
#40 Birmingham - middle sized market/no duopoly - strong station that will be attractive to a buyer.
#44 Memphis - middle sized market/no duopoly - fairly strong station that will be attractive to a buyer.
#47 Greensboro - middle sized market/no duopoly - fairly strong station that will be attractive to a buyer.

 

[genius]

I can explain the KDVR situation. For many, many years Fox had long wanted to buy KWGN but each time they where turned down. Finally Fox decided to make more of an investment into KDVR, which is why they've only had newscasts for a few years now.

 

[bpatrick]

ABC may make a strong pitch to get
WBRC and WGHP back into the fold
as affiliates. At least in WGHP's
case, I wonder if ABC will be successful;
WGHP has a decently-rated 10 PM news,
plus NASCAR and the Carolina Panthers
from Fox.

As for KTVI, ABC tried to unload that
one for years and affiliate with KPLR/11,
but KPLR opted for the WB (now the CW).

 

[azumanga]

#52 Austin -this is the only VHF commercial station in the market (KBEJ really serves San Antonio more and has a horrible signal in Austin)

Until they became a CW affil, KBEJ (now KCWX) was a UPN affiliate for both San Antonio and Austin; they even offered a separate feed for Austin cable viewers at one point, When KCWX became a CW affil, its CW programming was blacked out in Austin, to protect KNVA, Austin's CW station. Recently, Time Warner dropped KCWX from its Austin system.

 

[TroyG]

ABC may make a strong pitch to get
WBRC and WGHP back into the fold
as affiliates. At least in WGHP's
case, I wonder if ABC will be successful;
WGHP has a decently-rated 10 PM news,
plus NASCAR and the Carolina Panthers
from Fox.

As for KTVI, ABC tried to unload that
one for years and affiliate with KPLR/11,
but KPLR opted for The CW

Before the FOX changeover a decade ago, KTVI, WGHP, & WJBK, were strong affilliates with their respectful networks. I believe their current stations (KDNL, WWJ-TV, & WXLV) really don't have a newscast, and they're owned by Sinclair Broadcasting. I think whoever's buying these stations will bring them back to their original networks.

 

[ShawnHill1]

ABC may make a strong pitch to get
WBRC and WGHP back into the fold
as affiliates. At least in WGHP's
case, I wonder if ABC will be successful;
WGHP has a decently-rated 10 PM news,
plus NASCAR and the Carolina Panthers
from Fox.

As for KTVI, ABC tried to unload that
one for years and affiliate with KPLR/11,
but KPLR opted for The CW

Before the FOX changeover a decade ago, KTVI, WGHP, & WJBK, were strong affilliates with their respectful networks. I believe their current stations (KDNL, WWJ-TV, & WXLV) really don't have a newscast, and they're owned by Sinclair Broadcasting. I think whoever's buying these stations will bring them back to their original networks.

Sinclair owns KDNL and WXLV, while CBS owns WWJ-TV.

Hopping on the speculation/prediction bandwagon, I could honestly see those stations that Fox is unloading be spun-off into its broadcast group, especially looking for someone who wants to get into the television business. A lot of these big broadcast group loading stations left and right...NBC, CBS, The New York Times, Clear Channel, Emmis, among others. Looks to me as a case of some companies just over-extending themselves.

 

[arnoldevns]

Before the FOX changeover a decade ago, KTVI, WGHP, & WJBK, were strong affilliates with their respectful networks. I believe their current stations (KDNL, WWJ-TV, & WXLV) really don't have a newscast, and they're owned by Sinclair Broadcasting. I think whoever's buying these stations will bring them back to their original networks.

I wouldn't count on any of these stations changing affiliations after the sale. Fox won't sell them to a rival network. The stations are doing well with Fox and an investment group won't be likely to mess with a good thing.

 

[only1moore]

That idea of selling KTVI, WBRC and WGHP is one that may have many roadblocks. ABC is locked into long term deals with Albritton for Birmingham and Sinclair for St. Louis and Greensboro. It would take a miracle to get out of them since Disney has opted not to buy any stations right now and if that were to happen Albritton and Sinclair will want something in return.

 

[azumanga]

I believe their current stations (KDNL, WWJ-TV, & WXLV) really don't have a newscast, and they're owned by Sinclair Broadcasting.

KDNL and WXLV are owned by Sinclair. WWJ-TV, however (and, believe it or not) is a CBS O&O. And the only O&O affiliated with CBS that has no news.

 

[snoman]

I believe their current stations (KDNL, WWJ-TV, & WXLV) really don't have a newscast, and they're owned by Sinclair Broadcasting.

KDNL and WXLV are owned by Sinclair. WWJ-TV, however (and, believe it or not) is a CBS O&O. And the only O&O affiliated with CBS that has no news.

That's because they tried it on Channel 62 (WWJ) and it didn't work. I believe their sister station (WKBD?) has news though. They did when it was a UPN station. Are they the CW station now, MY Network, or Independent now? I'm actually surprised CBS didn't go after Channel 20 in that market. I thought Granite had them on the selling block?!

 

[Kent]

I wouldn't count on any of these stations changing affiliations after the sale. Fox won't sell them to a rival network. The stations are doing well with Fox and an investment group won't be likely to mess with a good thing.

I agree that it's not likely you'll see any affiliate changes, at least immediately after the sale. I can't speak for how some of those O&O's are doing, but I understand KTVI isn't doing particularly well, though it is performing better than KDNL or KPLR. KSDK and KMOV are usually in a dogfight for first place with KTVI a very distant third. It almost seems like I heard they quit doing news at 10:00 a few years ago. I can get KMOV and KPLR at my house, but can't get anything else from St. Louis. So, I can't verify what KTVI is doing these days.

 

[bhayes1016]

Hi everyone:

Keeping:
#10 Houston

Rather surprising considering that A). Houston is an NFL AFC Football city (Houston Texans) AND B). The Astros make semi-regular appearances on FOX Saturday Major League Baseball.

They have a duopoly in Houston (although channel 20, once a strong independent, is now a joke), as well as a strong 9pm newscast. Believe it or not, the Texans aren't a big TV draw in Houston; the games that air at 3:15 on Fox (often involving the Cowboys) usually get higher ratings than the Texans' games at noon on CBS.

 

[snoman]

Hi everyone:

Keeping:
#10 Houston

Rather surprising considering that A). Houston is an NFL AFC Football city (Houston Texans) AND B). The Astros make semi-regular appearances on FOX Saturday Major League Baseball.

They have a duopoly in Houston (although channel 20, once a strong independent, is now a joke), as well as a strong 9pm newscast. Believe it or not, the Texans aren't a big TV draw in Houston; the games that air at 3:15 on Fox (often involving the Cowboys) usually get higher ratings than the Texans' games at noon on CBS.

Yeah, but supposedly they're one of Fox's Top Billers. If Fox had issues with Houston, they would be making changes by now. It's a Top 10 market, and they're not going to sell any Top 10's. I do think if they'd sell 20, they could put a lot more resources into 26 and really step up its presence.