Sinclair and Fox reach new affiliation deal

[RadioDaze]

Sinclair Broadcast Group and Fox have agreed to a $52.7 million affiliation agreement extension to allow Sinclair's 19 owned or managed Fox affiliates to continue carrying Fox programming through 2017.

Additionally, the deal includes an option (exercisable between July 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013) for Sinclair to purchase Baltimore MyNetworkTV affiliate WUTB from Fox Television Stations (which would create a duopoly with WBFF), while giving Fox the option to buy, at fair market value, six Sinclair-owned CW and MyNetworkTV stations:

• Raleigh/Durham-CW affiliate WLFL (a charter Fox affiliate) and MyNetworkTV affiliate WRDC
• Las Vegas-CW affiliate KVCW and MyNetworkTV affiliate KVMY
• Cincinnati-MyNetworkTV affiliate WSTR
• Norfolk/Portsmouth/Newport News-MyNetworkTV affiliate WTVZ (also a charter Fox affiliate).

If Fox exercises the options to buy any of the six Sinclair stations, Sinclair's affiliation payments to Fox decrease to $25 million.

 

[PirateJohnny]

Looks like I still have a job through at least 2017...

 

[EricStein]

Sinclair Broadcast Group and Fox have agreed to a $52.7 million affiliation agreement extension to allow Sinclair's 19 owned or managed Fox affiliates to continue carrying Fox programming through 2017.

Additionally, the deal includes an option (exercisable between July 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013) for Sinclair to purchase Baltimore MyNetworkTV affiliate WUTB from Fox Television Stations (which would create a duopoly with WBFF), while giving Fox the option to buy, at fair market value, six Sinclair-owned CW and MyNetworkTV stations:

• Raleigh/Durham-CW affiliate WLFL (a charter Fox affiliate) and MyNetworkTV affiliate WRDC
• Las Vegas-CW affiliate KVCW and MyNetworkTV affiliate KVMY
• Cincinnati-MyNetworkTV affiliate WSTR
• Norfolk/Portsmouth/Newport News-MyNetworkTV affiliate WTVZ (also a charter Fox affiliate).

If Fox exercises the options to buy any of the six Sinclair stations, Sinclair's affiliation payments to Fox decrease to $25 million.

Wouldn't that make it a triopoly for Sinclair in Baltimore since they run WNUV-54? I don't see any reason why FOX would want to buy standalone MNT stations or CW affiliates, especially in Las Vegas where FOX has a well-established affiliate in KVVU?

 

[stationi]

Wouldn't that make it a triopoly for Sinclair in Baltimore since they run WNUV-54? I don't see any reason why FOX would want to buy standalone MNT stations or CW affiliates, especially in Las Vegas where FOX has a well-established affiliate in KVVU?

FOX affiliations are up for renewal in a bunch of markets. If the current affiliate will not pay the higher affiliation fees then the FOX affiliation could land on one of these other stations.

 

[Markxxx]

WNUV is owned by Cunningham under an LMA with Sinclair.

 

[ding12]

I don't see any reason why FOX would want to buy standalone MNT stations or CW affiliates, especially in Las Vegas where FOX has a well-established affiliate in KVVU?

Maybe Fox would dump that station, although that station is owned by Meredith, who also owns a Fox in Portland, OR and Greenville, SC as well.

Fox could move to the Asheville ABC owned by Cunningham/operated by Sinclair for the GSP market, and the Tribune owned CW station in the Portland market, if there is a plan to dump Meredith. Meredith would be somewhat screwed losing Fox in two markets probably having to pick up The CW.

But I doubt this would happen. Not sure what gain there would be to own the MyNetwork station without the Fox station. I am not sure of the strategy to sell WUTB, to then just buy another sole MyNetwork TV station in another market.

 

[EricStein]

Maybe Fox would dump that station, although that station is owned by Meredith, who also owns a Fox in Portland, OR and Greenville, SC as well.

Fox could move to the Asheville ABC owned by Cunningham/operated by Sinclair for the GSP market, and the Tribune owned CW station in the Portland market, if there is a plan to dump Meredith. Meredith would be somewhat screwed losing Fox in two markets probably having to pick up The CW.

But I doubt this would happen. Not sure what gain there would be to own the MyNetwork station without the Fox station. I am not sure of the strategy to sell WUTB, to then just buy another sole MyNetwork TV station in another market.

All of the Sinclair stations that FOX now has an option to buy have no news departments. Starting one from scratch is expensive and somewhat risky, especially in smaller cities. Not that FOX and others haven't started news operations at stations before (see Tribune's KSWB in San Diego), but I would think that they would want to stay with a station that has some established news departments.

There might be a case in Raleigh/Durham, where the current FOX affiliate, WRAZ, is pre-emption happy when they find a show that has "questionable content." And that seems to happen at least once a year with them.

But as said before, it's all dependent on the contract negotiations.

WNUV is owned by Cunningham under an LMA with Sinclair.

There have been questions raised on how Cunningham may be a Sinclair "shell company," just like the whole Nexstar/Mission thing.

 

[microbob]

WSTR TV 64 in Cincinnati had a local news option back when Sinclair tried the Ill fated News Central which was poorly implemented. I'm sure Fox could do a much better job starting a News Dept than what Sinclair attempted.

 

[nomadcowatbk]

Sinclair doesn't put $ into local news, they dropped local news in St. Louis after their low budget attempt on their low budget ABC affiliate couldn't get above 4th place

 

[nomadcowatbk]

the new Fox affiliate in Springfield MO doesn't have any local news

 

[rnigma1]

Sinclair doesn't put $ into local news, they dropped local news in St. Louis after their low budget attempt on their low budget ABC affiliate couldn't get above 4th place

Their Tallahassee station (their only NBC affiliate) shut down its news department in 2000 after its "straight to the point" newscasts came in a distant third. (The station somehow managed to pre-empt the anti-John Kerry program that Sinclair forced its stations to run during the '04 campaign.)

 

[PirateJohnny]

Sinclair doesn't put $ into local news, they dropped local news in St. Louis after their low budget attempt on their low budget ABC affiliate couldn't get above 4th place

Nashville's WZTV (FOX) just got a new studio and HD control room and ENG equipment as well as a satellite truck.

 

[nomadcowatbk]

Sinclair doesn't put $ into local news, they dropped local news in St. Louis after their low budget attempt on their low budget ABC affiliate couldn't get above 4th place

Nashville's WZTV (FOX) just got a new studio and HD control room and ENG equipment as well as a satellite truck.

they'll pull the plug if it doesn't get any ratings

 

[nathannah]

Sinclair doesn't put $ into local news, they dropped local news in St. Louis after their low budget attempt on their low budget ABC affiliate couldn't get above 4th place

There were some extenuating circumstances there though; they had bought the station two years before and a major transmitter failure took them down for at least a couple of weeks, just killing every bit of progress they had in establishing their program. Also, St. Louis seems to be one of those odd markets where UHF never got off the ground at all as all their main stations were on the VHF dial, leaving zero need for viewers to ever venture south of 13. KDNL now carries news programming from KSDK, the NBC affiliate; it's probably doing little, but it's better than nothing.

 

[nomadcowatbk]

Sinclair doesn't put $ into local news, they dropped local news in St. Louis after their low budget attempt on their low budget ABC affiliate couldn't get above 4th place

There were some extenuating circumstances there though; they had bought the station two years before and a major transmitter failure took them down for at least a couple of weeks, just killing every bit of progress they had in establishing their program. Also, St. Louis seems to be one of those odd markets where UHF never got off the ground at all as all their main stations were on the VHF dial, leaving zero need for viewers to ever venture south of 13. KDNL now carries news programming from KSDK, the NBC affiliate; it's probably doing little, but it's better than nothing.

doesn't help that when the highest syndicated programming on there is Simpsons reruns, are there any high rated UHF stations?

 

[nickp]

It's possible that MyNet station WUTB could be sold to Sinclair... Fox could look at acquiring Sinclair owned CW and MyNet stations. I could see Fox buying the Raleigh-Durham duopoly... WLFL regaining Fox affiliation, and starting a new in-house news department... WRAZ (sister of WRAL) affiliating with The CW. I don't know if Sinclair is considering starting a new in-house newscast at its Pittsburgh Fox station WPGH anytime soon. I could picture Sinclair and Cunningham selling CW station WNUV to CBS. I don't know if WJZ is getting the new CBS O&O graphics on their newscasts anytime soon. The other CBS O&O's already have them. I don't know if WJZ would want to give up its 25-year-old "Chroma Cues" theme music

 

[ding12]

It's possible that MyNet station WUTB could be sold to Sinclair... Fox could look at acquiring Sinclair owned CW and MyNet stations. I could see Fox buying the Raleigh-Durham duopoly... WLFL regaining Fox affiliation, and starting a new in-house news department... WRAZ (sister of WRAL) affiliating with The CW. I don't know if Sinclair is considering starting a new in-house newscast at its Pittsburgh Fox station WPGH anytime soon. I could picture Sinclair and Cunningham selling CW station WNUV to CBS. I don't know if WJZ is getting the new CBS O&O graphics on their newscasts anytime soon. The other CBS O&O's already have them. I don't know if WJZ would want to give up its 25-year-old "Chroma Cues" theme music

It's funny that Fox can't sell WUTB directly to CBS, but needs an intermediary that is sell WUTB to Sinclair, and let the Sinclair operated WNUV to be sold to CBS, and then it's ok

Maybe it goes back to Fox outbidding CBS originally when it came to buying the Chris Craft stations (i.e. WWOR etc.), where maybe CBS and Fox don't want to sell directly to each other.

 

[Mr. X]

Sinclair doesn't put $ into local news, they dropped local news in St. Louis after their low budget attempt on their low budget ABC affiliate couldn't get above 4th place

Nashville's WZTV (FOX) just got a new studio and HD control room and ENG equipment as well as a satellite truck.

they'll pull the plug if it doesn't get any ratings

From what I understand, WZTV has had local news since 1997. I don't think Sinclair would "pull the plug" on it now.

 

[nomadcowatbk]

Sinclair doesn't put $ into local news, they dropped local news in St. Louis after their low budget attempt on their low budget ABC affiliate couldn't get above 4th place

Nashville's WZTV (FOX) just got a new studio and HD control room and ENG equipment as well as a satellite truck.

they'll pull the plug if it doesn't get any ratings

From what I understand, WZTV has had local news since 1997. I don't think Sinclair would "pull the plug" on it now.

still lacks the long history of an original big 3 station, something KDNL in St Louis never had

 

[bpatrick]

Sinclair's ABC affiliate in Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point, WXLV,
carries "News 14 Carolina," which already airs on Time Warner Cable
systems in the Triad and, AFAIK, in Raleigh/Durham and Charlotte as well.
This is after two unsuccessful attempts to launch its own local newscast.
(The name comes from the fact that it airs on Ch. 14 on Time Warner cable
outlets.)

But I don't think Sinclair would pull the plug on ABC45 either, since the former
ABC station, WGHP FOX8, is one of the highest-rated Fox affiliates in the country;
WFMY (CBS) is a heritage station that has been with the Eye Network since 1949
and has no reason to change as long as CBS and Fox are battling for number one;
WXII (NBC) has had the same network affiliation since 1953 and I have no reason
to believe it would change networks unless Hearst were to buy ABC at some point,
for which I'm not holding my breath.

Also, there's Chattanooga, where ABC affiliate WTVC was bought by Sinclair not
too long ago. Theoretically, Sinclair could switch it to Fox from WDSI/61 but I
think ABC would fight that move every step of the way; going from 9 to 61 would
be about as bad as CBS going from 5 to 46 in Atlanta or, worse, 2 to 62 in Detroit.