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Some News Corp TV's are for sale, who will it be?

R

radiodx

The Times of London is reporting that RUPERT MURDOCH said yesterday that he intends to sell some of News Corporation’s local US television stations within the next year and may use the sale to buy back an 18 per cent stake in the company owned by John Malone, the billionaire investor.

Who will he sell???
 
Hi everyone:
radiodx said:
The Times of London is reporting that RUPERT MURDOCH said yesterday that he intends to sell some of News Corporation’s local US television stations within the next year and may use the sale to buy back an 18 per cent stake in the company owned by John Malone, the billionaire investor.

Who will he sell???
Click to expand...
If anything, he'll sell off most of the underperforming FOX O&Os and future MY affiliates in small markets (like Memphis and maybe Milwaukee). I can't see him selling off any of the performing O&Os in the big markets.

Just my opinion though....

Cheers :D

Pat
 
Murdoch definitely wants to get John Malone out of his hair. He'll have to make some sacrifices to make that happen.
Here's a fair guess on what might be sold - and why. Sports and duopolies have a lot to do with what they might get rid of.

WUTB Baltimore - This sticks out like a sore thumb in Fox's portfolio of stations. It's not part of a duopoly. It's in an AFC market. It's just the UPN soon-to-be My Network affiliate. They've needed to do something with it for a long time.

WITI Milwaukee - I'm not sure Fox would sell this due to its close proximity to the NFC's Green Bay Packers.

WDAF Kansas City - AFC city and the station is underperforming. A recent round of layoffs sure makes it seem like this is a good bet to be on the chopping block.

KSTU Salt Lake City - Even though it has done well with local news, it is not a big market or sports city.

WBRC Birmingham - this is a fairly strong news station, but again, it's not in a big market or sports city. It is a strong NASCAR market though.

KHBQ Memphis - Not a big market or sports city. I could definitely see Fox get rid of this.

WGHP Greensboro, NC - A fairly strong news performer, but in a small market. It just seems like a station Fox will have to unload at some point.

KTBC Austin - A decent news station, but not a big market. It does help Fox's other Texas O&O's to have an O&O in the state capital though. I'm just not sure that's enough to keep it in Fox's house if that means leaving John Malone around.

WOGX Ocala - Very tough call. I don't think Fox will sell this. As far as I know, this station pretty much just rebroadcasts WOFL in Orlando. I think they'll keep it as long as they keep Orlando. The Orlando stations could be sold, but I doubt it.
 
tested said:
Murdoch definitely wants to get John Malone out of his hair. He'll have to make some sacrifices to make that happen.
Here's a fair guess on what might be sold - and why. Sports and duopolies have a lot to do with what they might get rid of.

WUTB Baltimore - This sticks out like a sore thumb in Fox's portfolio of stations. It's not part of a duopoly. It's in an AFC market. It's just the UPN soon-to-be My Network affiliate. They've needed to do something with it for a long time.
(Unfortunately, the best thing that could have and should have done--and probably wouldn't happen anyway--was to convert WUTB to Fox)

WITI Milwaukee - I'm not sure Fox would sell this due to its close proximity to the NFC's Green Bay Packers.
(also close in proximity to Chicago and WFLD & WPWR, and you would think Fox would keep a cluster of stations in certain areas of the country)

KSTU Salt Lake City - Even though it has done well with local news, it is not a big market or sports city.
(they have the Utah Jazz [plus BYU, Univ. of Utah, Utah St., and minor league sports], and last year the Jazz and FSN Rocky Mountain signed a long-term deal, and as a result, a FSN-branded network (part-time) was created for the Salt Lake market)

WBRC Birmingham - this is a fairly strong news station, but again, it's not in a big market or sports city. It is a strong NASCAR market though.
(see my reasons above regarding WITI...the same scenario for WBRC is that its pretty close to Atlanta and WAGA)

KHBQ Memphis - Not a big market or sports city. I could definitely see Fox get rid of this.
(That's WHBQ...and there's also the Memphis Grizzlies, University of Memphis, and minor league sports)
Click to expand...
 
Broadcasting and Cable has a good article about this. It sounds like Murdoch is close to selling the stations in smaller markets to John Malone in exchange for Malone's stock in Fox. This apparently creates a favorable tax situation for Malone.

As for the point by point:
Baltimore is apparently not part of this deal.
Murdoch wants to get rid of stations that aren't in the top 25 markets. (with some exceptions apparently) Baltimore is market 22 I believe.
Most of the other stations we discussed are part of the deal.

I should clarify my point about sports: Given their huge investment in the NFC football package, I don't believe Fox will sell a station that's in the home market of an NFC team. Milwaukee is close, but still does not quite fit the bill. Kansas City has the NFL, but it's an AFC team that's seen maybe twice a year on the Fox station there. The rest of the smaller markets may have college sports or the NBA, but that is of no concern in this discussion. Fox Sports Net already handles the local coverage of many of those teams and will continue to do so regardless of whether Fox owns a TV station in those markets or not.
 
tested said:
Broadcasting and Cable has a good article about this. It sounds like Murdoch is close to selling the stations in smaller markets to John Malone in exchange for Malone's stock in Fox. This apparently creates a favorable tax situation for Malone.

As for the point by point:
Baltimore is apparently not part of this deal.
Murdoch wants to get rid of stations that aren't in the top 25 markets. (with some exceptions apparently) Baltimore is market 22 I believe.
Most of the other stations we discussed are part of the deal.

I should clarify my point about sports: Given their huge investment in the NFC football package, I don't believe Fox will sell a station that's in the home market of an NFC team. Milwaukee is close, but still does not quite fit the bill. Kansas City has the NFL, but it's an AFC team that's seen maybe twice a year on the Fox station there. The rest of the smaller markets may have college sports or the NBA, but that is of no concern in this discussion. Fox Sports Net already handles the local coverage of many of those teams and will continue to do so regardless of whether Fox owns a TV station in those markets or not.
Click to expand...

I get what you're saying, tested. About the Milwaukee situation regarding the Packers, there are included in the Packers' blackout zone, again due to the close proximity, and they're neighboring markets--and the same scenario happens with the Chargers games in Los Angeles. However, the Packers have never had problems selling out games, at least in recent memory.
 
tested said:
WGHP Greensboro, NC - A fairly strong news performer, but in a small market. It just seems like a station Fox will have to unload at some point.
Click to expand...

Not Really. WGHP is too close to Charlotte, home of the NFC's Carolina Panthers and the triad is also a huge NASCAR market. If WGHP is sold, it would be a surprise. I wish Fox would step in and actually buy WCCB in Charlotte.
 
I predict KTXH in Houston.....it wouldn't surprise me if they did that.....I definitely don't see them dumping KRIV.

As for other markets, I really don't see them getting rid of any Fox O&Os, but I see them getting rid of some of the independents and My Network stations.
 
stdjsb25 said:
I predict KTXH in Houston.....it wouldn't surprise me if they did that.....I definitely don't see them dumping KRIV.
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Forget about that. KTXH will be Fox's My Network outlet here in Houston. The KRIV/KTXH duopoly here seems to be doing fine and is efficient to run.

I will be curious to see what Liberty does with KTBC, which many longtime Austin viewers see as a shabby shadow of what it was before Fox took over.
 
If the local NFL team's conference is a factor,
then Murdoch ought to dump WJW Cleveland,
an AFC market. But the Cleveland market is
big enough that I can understand why nobody
here has mentioned it. I agree, though, that
WBRC and WGHP don't seem likely candidates
for sale; both are close to competitive NFC teams
(Falcons and Panthers, respectively), and neither
station's ratings have really suffered since moving
from ABC to Fox.
 
stdjsb25 said:
I predict KTXH in Houston.....it wouldn't surprise me if they did that.....I definitely don't see them dumping KRIV.
Click to expand...

It would surprise me -- Fox has been big on the value of duopolies for the operating efficiencies they gain by running two stations in a single market. Consequently, the duopoly partners of well-performing major market Fox O&Os are not going to be sold. Even if the MyTV network goes bust, KTXH could be profitably operated as an independent in the same manner that Fox has been running KDFI in Dallas/Fort Worth for many years.
 
From what I've been reading, News Corp. won't discriminate between AFC and NFC football, or growing vs. declining markets. Despite being in the top 25, Baltimore and St. Louis might be a part of that package, or at least that's the sense I get from people I know at KTVI. Despite being in a fast-growing Southern market, WBRC will probably be sold. I work at WDAF-TV, and short of a flashing neon sign on the front door, everyone at work feels we'll be sold too. A contact at KTBC in Austin said management sent a memo preparing the staff for big changes in that regard. You can certainly add WJW, WHBQ, WGHP and KSTU to the list.
 
TheRob said:
From what I've been reading, News Corp. won't discriminate between AFC and NFC football, or growing vs. declining markets. Despite being in the top 25, Baltimore and St. Louis might be a part of that package, or at least that's the sense I get from people I know at KTVI. Despite being in a fast-growing Southern market, WBRC will probably be sold. I work at WDAF-TV, and short of a flashing neon sign on the front door, everyone at work feels we'll be sold too. A contact at KTBC in Austin said management sent a memo preparing the staff for big changes in that regard. You can certainly add WJW, WHBQ, WGHP and KSTU to the list.
Click to expand...

Interesting that most of these listed were part of the New World deal. But, I suppose ya gotta dump the underperformers sometime!
 
TheRob said:
From what I've been reading, News Corp. won't discriminate between AFC and NFC football, or growing vs. declining markets. Despite being in the top 25, Baltimore and St. Louis might be a part of that package, or at least that's the sense I get from people I know at KTVI. Despite being in a fast-growing Southern market, WBRC will probably be sold. I work at WDAF-TV, and short of a flashing neon sign on the front door, everyone at work feels we'll be sold too. A contact at KTBC in Austin said management sent a memo preparing the staff for big changes in that regard. You can certainly add WJW, WHBQ, WGHP and KSTU to the list.
Click to expand...

I think there are some things we can say for certain about this deal:
1. Fox won't break up any of their duopolies.
2. Anything outside the top 25 markets is probably up for sale.

I don't think WJW would be involved simply because it performs well for Fox. I could see Baltimore involved, but St. Louis would surprise me.
 
tested said:
I don't think WJW would be involved simply because it performs well for Fox. I could see Baltimore involved, but St. Louis would surprise me.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't bet the farm on it, but I'm pretty sure FOX is not going to sell WJW.

The list of stations I've seen kicked around in various reports includes markets smaller than Cleveland (which is still a top 20 market, despite population declines in recent years). I don't see them dumping a station in market #16...and as you said, it does very, very well for the network.

Stations like WHBQ, WGHP and KSTU could still be on the list.
 
I know I know its an old post but...

Has there been any news on a possible sale?
 
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