Gannett + Belo

[nomadcowatbk]

They've owned the Republic and KPNX in Phoenix since 2000, and that's been considered OK.

Gannett shut down the Tucson Daily Citizen in 2009, so there's no problem there. Lee Enterprises (formerly Pulitzer) owns the Arizona Daily Star, which is now Tucson's only major paper.

I was under the assumption that it was still in publication...should have double-checked. Thanks for that correction.

One other note: Gannett's Louisville paper, the Courier-Journal, was the founding owner of Belo's WHAS-TV. The two were split back in '86. Would be interesting if the Feds allowed a waiver and the pair were reunited under Gannett ownership.

Which St. Louis station is sold and who gets is? They can't operate both the #1 and #2 stations

Maybe this creates an opening for CBS to reacquire KMOV and turn it back into KMOX-TV?

CBS doesn't seem be interested in owning stations outside of the top 20

CBS does have Pittsburgh and Baltimore, which are both near similiar-sized (but smaller) markets to St. Louis. Also, correct me if wrong, but don't KMOV and KMOX still share the same broadcast facility in downtown St. Louis, even after the two split up in the mid-80s?

Worth noting that Pittsburgh and Baltimore are AFC markets. St. Louis is an NFC market.

Fox seems be interested in having O&Os in AFC markets, CBS seems less interested in having O&Os in AFC markets

Actually it is the other way around as FOX has the NFC and they want NFC markets and CBS has the AFC and they want AFC markets.

CBS doesn't have O&Os in many AFC markets, Fox has O&Os in most NFC markets, but most of the NFC teams are in the bigger markets

 

[mavtv]

They've owned the Republic and KPNX in Phoenix since 2000, and that's been considered OK.

Gannett shut down the Tucson Daily Citizen in 2009, so there's no problem there. Lee Enterprises (formerly Pulitzer) owns the Arizona Daily Star, which is now Tucson's only major paper.

I was under the assumption that it was still in publication...should have double-checked. Thanks for that correction.

One other note: Gannett's Louisville paper, the Courier-Journal, was the founding owner of Belo's WHAS-TV. The two were split back in '86. Would be interesting if the Feds allowed a waiver and the pair were reunited under Gannett ownership.

Which St. Louis station is sold and who gets is? They can't operate both the #1 and #2 stations

Maybe this creates an opening for CBS to reacquire KMOV and turn it back into KMOX-TV?

CBS doesn't seem be interested in owning stations outside of the top 20

CBS does have Pittsburgh and Baltimore, which are both near similiar-sized (but smaller) markets to St. Louis. Also, correct me if wrong, but don't KMOV and KMOX still share the same broadcast facility in downtown St. Louis, even after the two split up in the mid-80s?

Worth noting that Pittsburgh and Baltimore are AFC markets. St. Louis is an NFC market.

Fox seems be interested in having O&Os in AFC markets, CBS seems less interested in having O&Os in AFC markets

Actually it is the other way around as FOX has the NFC and they want NFC markets and CBS has the AFC and they want AFC markets.

CBS doesn't have O&Os in many AFC markets, Fox has O&Os in most NFC markets, but most of the NFC teams are in the bigger markets

I know FOX sold AFC cities in Cleveland, Denver and Fox brought in Charlotte because of it being a NFC city. It seems like FOX has no interest in AFC markets unless they are a duopoly as they want to make the most money they can on the football at a local and a national level.

CBS has AFC cities in Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Denver, New York, Boston, San Francisco

 

[Morgan Wick]

They've owned the Republic and KPNX in Phoenix since 2000, and that's been considered OK.

Gannett shut down the Tucson Daily Citizen in 2009, so there's no problem there. Lee Enterprises (formerly Pulitzer) owns the Arizona Daily Star, which is now Tucson's only major paper.

I was under the assumption that it was still in publication...should have double-checked. Thanks for that correction.

One other note: Gannett's Louisville paper, the Courier-Journal, was the founding owner of Belo's WHAS-TV. The two were split back in '86. Would be interesting if the Feds allowed a waiver and the pair were reunited under Gannett ownership.

Which St. Louis station is sold and who gets is? They can't operate both the #1 and #2 stations

Maybe this creates an opening for CBS to reacquire KMOV and turn it back into KMOX-TV?

CBS doesn't seem be interested in owning stations outside of the top 20

CBS does have Pittsburgh and Baltimore, which are both near similiar-sized (but smaller) markets to St. Louis. Also, correct me if wrong, but don't KMOV and KMOX still share the same broadcast facility in downtown St. Louis, even after the two split up in the mid-80s?

Worth noting that Pittsburgh and Baltimore are AFC markets. St. Louis is an NFC market.

Fox seems be interested in having O&Os in AFC markets, CBS seems less interested in having O&Os in AFC markets

Actually it is the other way around as FOX has the NFC and they want NFC markets and CBS has the AFC and they want AFC markets.

CBS doesn't have O&Os in many AFC markets, Fox has O&Os in most NFC markets, but most of the NFC teams are in the bigger markets

I think you may want to reread your previous post.

 

[nomadcowatbk]

They've owned the Republic and KPNX in Phoenix since 2000, and that's been considered OK.

Gannett shut down the Tucson Daily Citizen in 2009, so there's no problem there. Lee Enterprises (formerly Pulitzer) owns the Arizona Daily Star, which is now Tucson's only major paper.

I was under the assumption that it was still in publication...should have double-checked. Thanks for that correction.

One other note: Gannett's Louisville paper, the Courier-Journal, was the founding owner of Belo's WHAS-TV. The two were split back in '86. Would be interesting if the Feds allowed a waiver and the pair were reunited under Gannett ownership.

Which St. Louis station is sold and who gets is? They can't operate both the #1 and #2 stations

Maybe this creates an opening for CBS to reacquire KMOV and turn it back into KMOX-TV?

CBS doesn't seem be interested in owning stations outside of the top 20

CBS does have Pittsburgh and Baltimore, which are both near similiar-sized (but smaller) markets to St. Louis. Also, correct me if wrong, but don't KMOV and KMOX still share the same broadcast facility in downtown St. Louis, even after the two split up in the mid-80s?

Worth noting that Pittsburgh and Baltimore are AFC markets. St. Louis is an NFC market.

Fox seems be interested in having O&Os in AFC markets, CBS seems less interested in having O&Os in AFC markets

Actually it is the other way around as FOX has the NFC and they want NFC markets and CBS has the AFC and they want AFC markets.

CBS doesn't have O&Os in many AFC markets, Fox has O&Os in most NFC markets, but most of the NFC teams are in the bigger markets

I know FOX sold AFC cities in Cleveland, Denver and Fox brought in Charlotte because of it being a NFC city. It seems like FOX has no interest in AFC markets unless they are a duopoly as they want to make the most money they can on the football at a local and a national level.

CBS has AFC cities in Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Denver, New York, Boston, San Francisco

CBS doesn't have O&Os in the smaller AFC markets like Cleveland, Jacksonville, Nashville, KC, Cincinnati or even the larger Houston market

 

[only1moore]

It looks like KXTV/Sacramento will come full circle involving its ownership history.

 

[michael hagerty]

Short version:

It's all in the memo. Follow KeithE4's mediabistro link and read it. Gannett "restructures" the ownership of KTVK and CW6 and "provides services". Which probably (we'll have to see) means they sell them, and then provide sales, engineering, traffic (the scheduling of commercials) and master control operations. Probably promotion. And maybe news. Doubtful that Gannett would do all that if the intent was for KTVK to remain a full competitor to 12News.

In theory, it's possible for the new owner to not have to have a single person in their employ actually in Phoenix. It's all going to be a question of how Gannett structures it.

 

[Rollo-Smokes]

To surmise that Gannett bought Belo because of NFL conference alignment is a bit of a stretch, isn't it? It's straying from the main focus of the topic. Just sayin'...

It looks like KXTV/Sacramento will come full circle involving its ownership history.

Not really KXTV, but KVUE-TV in Austin will come full-circle. They were first bought by Gannett in '86, then swapped to Belo in return for Sacramento in '99.

 

[Morgan Wick]

To surmise that Gannett bought Belo because of NFL conference alignment is a bit of a stretch, isn't it? It's straying from the main focus of the topic. Just sayin'...

Did anyone actually say that? We were talking about Fox and CBS' respective valuation of conference alignment...

 

[michael hagerty]

More information in this article:

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/gannett-to-buy-tv-station-owner-belo-for-billion/article_31e7fb91-676f-50cb-825f-9f9f6a6e6f8c.html

Looks like former Channel 10 exec Jack Sander, a longtime Belo guy who lives here, is going to buy the stations in the markets where Gannett would have a conflict.

The piece also says "shared services" would be minimal in Phoenix to avoid FCC objections. So Sander (who's a solid guy who likes news) may keep KTVK in direct competition with 12News.

 

[KeithE4]

More information in this article:

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/gannett-to-buy-tv-station-owner-belo-for-billion/article_31e7fb91-676f-50cb-825f-9f9f6a6e6f8c.html

Looks like former Channel 10 exec Jack Sander, a longtime Belo guy who lives here, is going to buy the stations in the markets where Gannett would have a conflict.

The piece also says "shared services" would be minimal in Phoenix to avoid FCC objections. So Sander (who's a solid guy who likes news) may keep KTVK in direct competition with 12News.

Excellent news! I was afraid that those "shared services" would mean that everything would be run from KPNX, including newscasts, and that the new owner would be a Sinclair-style sham company.

 

[Morgan Wick]

The NYT item in the OP quotes an analyst at SNL Kagan who all but singles out Gray as now being a target. Especially with the (New) Young/Media General deal, does anyone else think that's the case?

That has Sinclair written all over it. Maybe Nexstar or Media General.

More information in this article:

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/gannett-to-buy-tv-station-owner-belo-for-billion/article_31e7fb91-676f-50cb-825f-9f9f6a6e6f8c.html

Looks like former Channel 10 exec Jack Sander, a longtime Belo guy who lives here, is going to buy the stations in the markets where Gannett would have a conflict.

The piece also says "shared services" would be minimal in Phoenix to avoid FCC objections. So Sander (who's a solid guy who likes news) may keep KTVK in direct competition with 12News.

Yeah, there's been some talk of the FCC cracking down on Sinclair-esque pseudo-duopolies...

 

[Rollo-Smokes]

Anything is fair game at this point. Maybe a few years we'll be like Canada, where all non-network-owned stations are owned by only about five or six companies.

 

[e-dawg]

Who knows maybe the future of tv networks will be: ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, SBC (Sinclair Broadcasting Corporation), Nexstar TV, GBC Gannett or USA Today TV.

 

[KeithE4]

Who knows maybe the future of tv networks will be: ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, SBC (Sinclair Broadcasting Corporation), Nexstar TV, GBC Gannett or USA Today TV.

Fixed. ;D

 

[Brother]

That St. Louis Post-Dispatch article makes mention of the "almost completely independent operations" that will result at KSDK and KMOV. So, almost, but not quite completely independent. This Jack Sander fellow may have good intentions now, but we'll see soon enough whether or not he ends up as just a puppet figurehead with Gannett truly pulling the strings. That wouldn't be any better than the deals Sinclair has with Deerfield Media and Cunningham Broadcasting.

 

[e-dawg]

The Problem with the St. Louis Situation........KTVI FOX 2 and KPLR CW 11 are SSA, KDNL ABC 30 newscast is produce from KSDK 5 (Gannett). St. Louis will have a problem if the merger is approved for this market. There will only be 2 voices in the market instead of 3 or 4. (Gannett and Local TV INC).

 

[TroyG]

If the Gannett's acquisition of Belo becomes true by the end of this year, look for a fire sale to happen-Involving Belo's Phoenix & Tucson's duopolies. KTVK might end up becoming an NBC station, While Gannett MUST sell KASW , will sell Tucson's KTTU & KMSB to Raycom-Outright.

 

[landtuna]

KTVK might end up becoming an NBC station...

I am not following that train of thought. Why? Wouldn't NBC have something to say about switching a long-time affiliate?

 

[buster2]

See Michael Hagerty's post above about Jack Sander and soon-to-be-former Belo properties like KTVK. Ripping NBC from Channel 12 in Phoenix and putting it on KTVK makes no sense whatsoever. It would only confuse viewers and creates no advantage for anyone.

 

[bpatrick]

When the deal closes, the ABC affiliates will be Cox, the NBC affiliates will be Gannett and the Fox affilates will be O&O in both Charlotte and Atlanta.

Assuming Gannett keeps WCNC in Charlotte. Some of these Gannett/Belo stations are going to have to be sold off to comply with the FCC's ownership rules. I don't have any doubt that Gannett will keep WXIA; however there are some other markets in the Southeast that are vulnerable: Greensboro (WFMY, currently Gannett), Macon (WMAZ, Gannett), Knoxville (WBIR, Gannett), Jacksonville (WTLV/WJXX, Gannett), Tampa/St. Petersburg (WTSP, Gannett), and Norfolk (WVEC, Belo). (Louisville has already been mentioned, as Belo owns WHAS and Gannett, the Courier-Journal.)

I can only venture to say that I think WFAA Dallas/Ft. Worth, the Belo flagship, and WUSA Washington, DC, the Gannett flagship, are safe.