Media General Acquiring Meredith for $2.4B

[mvcg66b3r]

Media General is paying $51.53 in cash and stock for each share of Meredith. Meredith CEO Stephen M. Lacy will head the merged company as CEO-president. Other senior management to be announced. Combined, the new Meredith Media General will have 88 stations in 54 markets reaching 30% of TV homes. But stations in six markets (Portland OR, Nashville, Hartford-New Haven, Greenville-Spartanburg, Mobile-Pensacola, Springfield MA) will be spun off to comply with FCC ownership limits. The deal, which is subject to government approval, is expected to close by June 30, 2016.
http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/88230/media-general-acquiring-meredith-for-24b

 

[Mediafrog+]

Gotta feel for the folks at KMOV asnd KTVK who have been jerked among Belo, Sander Media/Gannett, Meredith, and now Media General in a short period of time.

Of course Media General just recently completed its own merger with LIN.

 

[KeithE4]

Media General acquiring Meredith for $2.4B

The new company will be called Meredith Media General, looks more like a merger (as CNN Money calls it) than a purchase of Meredith. The usual regulatory stuff will still apply, and no closing date has been predicted. But will Meredith Media General spin off Meredith's magazine portfolo? Rumors of a merger with Time, Inc. (no relation anymore to Time Warner, AFAIK) had been rumored for some time.

So now, in 3 years, KTVK will have been owned by Belo, Gannett, Sander, Meredith, and now Meredith Media General.

http://money.cnn.com/2015/09/08/media/media-general-meredith-merger/

 

[KML0224]

WFSB-TV (CBS) channel 3 has been owned by Merideth since, I want to say, the late 1990s? They were owned by Post-Newsweek before that. They've always been the dominant station in the Hartford/New Haven DMA, although they have a tough battle with WTIC-TV (FOX) channel 61 when it comes to news. As for the Springfield/Holyoke, MA DMA, I assume they mean WSHM-LD (CBS), a.k.a. "CBS 3"? WFSB-TV programs that as a CBS affiliate for their area.

 

[Sammi Brie]

The new company will be called Meredith Media General, looks more like a merger (as CNN Money calls it) than a purchase of Meredith.

Meredith head Stephen Lacy was tapped to lead the combined company, so that is correct. It will also have dual corporate offices in Des Moines and Richmond.

 

[MarcB]

WFSB-TV (CBS) channel 3 has been owned by Merideth since, I want to say, the late 1990s? They were owned by Post-Newsweek before that. They've always been the dominant station in the Hartford/New Haven DMA, although they have a tough battle with WTIC-TV (FOX) channel 61 when it comes to news. As for the Springfield/Holyoke, MA DMA, I assume they mean WSHM-LD (CBS), a.k.a. "CBS 3"? WFSB-TV programs that as a CBS affiliate for their area.

In Springfield/Holyoke Merideth bought ABC 40/FOX 6 last year WGGB/WGGB DT2. They combined news operations with CBS 3 this Spring. MG already owns WWLP from their merger with LIN.

 

[KeithE4]

In Springfield/Holyoke Merideth bought ABC 40/FOX 6 last year WGGB/WGGB DT2. They combined news operations with CBS 3 this Spring. MG already owns WWLP from their merger with LIN.

Right now, the combined company has a total monopoly on commercial TV in the Springfield market. WSHM-LP should be safe, but either WWLP/WFXQ or WGGB would have to be sold off.

 

[Ccook55]

How will the merger affect the Meredith stations that are network programming hubs for other Meredith stations? WGCL in Atlanta (CBS) is the east hub for WSMV Nashville (NBC), WHNS Greenville S C (Fox), WNEM Flint MI (CBS), KCTV Kansas City MO (CBS) and WFSB Hartford CT (CBS). KPHO in Phoenix AZ (CBS) is the west hub for KVVU Las Vegas NV (Fox) and KPTV Portland OR (Fox).

 

[joebtsflk1]

Meredith head Stephen Lacy was tapped to lead the combined company, so that is correct. It will also have dual corporate offices in Des Moines and Richmond.

Last week, the last locally-owned Iowa TV station (KCRG-TV Cedar Rapids) was sold to Gray, although it left Des Moines' Meredith as an Iowa based owner of TV stations, though it has NEVER owned an Iowa TV station. The closest it ever came was just across the Iowa border in Omaha with WOW-TV, today's Gray owned WOWT.

With this announcement, it would seem like MMG would be a Virginia company with offices in Des Moines.

Seems to me that there are quite a few old-line media companies that are eager to cash out.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

Meredith head Stephen Lacy was tapped to lead the combined company, so that is correct. It will also have dual corporate offices in Des Moines and Richmond.

For now, at least. I would bet that they will end up relocating everyone to one HQ within 3 years, or whenever they stop merging with other broadcasters. But right this moment, MG is still running several management offices formerly owned by LIN.

The Meredith magazines will almost certainly be spun off, although I'd guess they'd go to Conde Nast rather than Time.

 

[KeithE4]

Right now, the combined company has a total monopoly on commercial TV in the Springfield market. WSHM-LP should be safe, but either WWLP/WFXQ or WGGB would have to be sold off.

Given that WGGB/WSHM runs 3 networks, while WWLP/WFXQ is only NBC, my bet is that the latter is sold off.

 

[Mediafrog+]

For now, at least. I would bet that they will end up relocating everyone to one HQ within 3 years, or whenever they stop merging with other broadcasters. But right this moment, MG is still running several management offices formerly owned by LIN.

Rest assured that the corporate offices will eventually be consolidated, and a lot of staff will be cut. It ALWAYS happens. Efficiency will win out, for better or worse.

 

[MarcB]

Who would be interested in buying the spin-off stations in Connecticut and Springfield?

Hubbard?
Sinclair?
COX?

Not FOX. There's no football team.

The real irony here would be if WGGB Springfield, Mass is the statin spun off and it went to Sinclair as Sinclair was a previous owner of WGGB. Many moons ago Gannet sold WGGB to Sinclair. Then several years ago Sinclair sold WGGB to local ownership. Then last year local ownership sold it to Merideth.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Rumors of a merger with Time, Inc. (no relation anymore to Time Warner, AFAIK) had been rumored for some time.

I did not know Time Warner no longer included Time. Why would they keep the name? That's especially confusing given that the cable company is also called Time Warner, and no longer related to that Time Warner either.

 

[KeithE4]

I did not know Time Warner no longer included Time. Why would they keep the name? That's especially confusing given that the cable company is also called Time Warner, and no longer related to that Time Warner either.

Time Warner spun off Time, Inc. in June 2014.

 

[Ccook55]

Meredith's Atlanta station, CBS affiliate WGCL, is also the broadcast site for independent WPCH which is owned by Turner (Time-Warner subsidiary) and controlled by Meredith. I wonder how the merger will affect this if it does at all.

 

[newsbot2]

I wonder if they would be interested in selling or swapping WGCL; it seems that it is always in some sort of turmoil. The Republican reported that WWLP would be sold, citing internal communications to staff, but then updated the story with an official statement that no final decision has been reached. It's conceivable that MMG could assume control of the FOX and CBS affiliations under WWLP and flip WGGB as a standalone ABC affiliate.

 

[Mario500]

Who or what is "The Republican", newsbot2?

 

[Ccook55]

WGCL has had only three owners--Pat Robertson's CBN outlet (as WHAE and WANX), Tribune (as WGNX) and Meredith. It's their local news they've had trouble with. It usually comes in fourth behind WSB, WAGA and WXIA although they've been known to nudge to third on their 11 PM news thanks to the CBS primetime lead-in. But it's still one of CBS's weakest affiliates.

 

[mvcg66b3r]

I wonder if they would be interested in selling or swapping WGCL; it seems that it is always in some sort of turmoil. The Republican reported that WWLP would be sold, citing internal communications to staff, but then updated the story with an official statement that no final decision has been reached. It's conceivable that MMG could assume control of the FOX and CBS affiliations under WWLP and flip WGGB as a standalone ABC affiliate.

What about NBC?