Tribune Files Bankruptcy

[Markxxx]

From Wall Street Journal:

Tribune Co. filed for bankruptcy-court protection Monday, in a sign of worsening trouble for the newspaper industry.

On Monday, Tribune listed assets of $7.6 billion and debts of $12.9 billion. Affiliates that joined in the filing include the Los Angeles Times, Baltimore Sun and a string of TV stations, court documents say...

...The company's cash flow may not be enough to cover nearly $1 billion in interest payments due this year, and Tribune owes a $512 million debt payment in June.

Full story at:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122876270495988567.html?mod=googlenews_wsj"]Tribune Files Chapter 11[/URL]

------->

So I wonder if they gonna sell off their TV stations as a group or individually? Isn't some other companay managing some of them?

 

[EricStein]

I don't see Tribune giving up TV, the problem is mostly with the newspaper business. However, I do see them selling underperforming TV stations.

I imagine that WGN America isn't much of a money maker, given its reliance on C-grade reruns. That's one property that could be sold.

 

[4UH8SIMBKAGN]

I don't see Tribune giving up TV, the problem is mostly with the newspaper business. However, I do see them selling underperforming TV stations.

I imagine that WGN America isn't much of a money maker, given its reliance on C-grade reruns. That's one property that could be sold.

WGN costs next to nothing to produce but brings in good revenue. It has very high cable and satellite clearances. No way is Sam Zell and Randy Michaels going to let that national platform go. The problems are not limited to just the newspapers but the tv station group as well (as the CW deal with CBS & Warner is a total failure). Look for them to TRY to unload their stake in the Food Channel and they have already had the Chicago Cubs on the market for months. They may just have to close some of their newspaper operations, such as what Scripps is contemplating for the Rocky Mountain News if it can't be sold and cut out entire news operations at some of their stations (NBC hinted at that today for their station group). There is just no money to purchase these kinds of assets out there right now.

 

[EricStein]

WGN costs next to nothing to produce but brings in good revenue. It has very high cable and satellite clearances. No way is Sam Zell and Randy Michaels going to let that national platform go. The problems are not limited to just the newspapers but the tv station group as well (as the CW deal with CBS & Warner is a total failure). Look for them to TRY to unload their stake in the Food Channel and they have already had the Chicago Cubs on the market for months. They may just have to close some of their newspaper operations, such as what Scripps is contemplating for the Rocky Mountain News if it can't be sold and cut out entire news operations at some of their stations (NBC hinted at that today for their station group). There is just no money to purchase these kinds of assets out there right now.

Sure, they may want to keep WGN America, but they should have "blown it up" before they gave it a facelift. Relying on not-so-evergreen reruns of "America's Funniest Home Videos" and low-cost product like "Funniest Pets and People" isn't what I call "TV You Can't Ignore."

I give the pre-Zell Tribune credit for trying to re-build "Superstatioin WGN" with a couple shows no one can find on any other American cable network (like Corner Gas, for instance), but I haven't seen Zell and Michaels take it to the next level, though.

Somehow, I see someone like Bob Johnson salivating over WGN America's distribution (which I think is better than the ION stations that he is trying to "split-own"). If the price is right, and it takes away debt, nothing's out of the question for Zell and company.

 

[4UH8SIMBKAGN]

WGN costs next to nothing to produce but brings in good revenue. It has very high cable and satellite clearances. No way is Sam Zell and Randy Michaels going to let that national platform go. The problems are not limited to just the newspapers but the tv station group as well (as the CW deal with CBS & Warner is a total failure). Look for them to TRY to unload their stake in the Food Channel and they have already had the Chicago Cubs on the market for months. They may just have to close some of their newspaper operations, such as what Scripps is contemplating for the Rocky Mountain News if it can't be sold and cut out entire news operations at some of their stations (NBC hinted at that today for their station group). There is just no money to purchase these kinds of assets out there right now.

Sure, they may want to keep WGN America, but they should have "blown it up" before they gave it a facelift. Relying on not-so-evergreen reruns of "America's Funniest Home Videos" and low-cost product like "Funniest Pets and People" isn't what I call "TV You Can't Ignore."

I give the pre-Zell Tribune credit for trying to re-build "Superstatioin WGN" with a couple shows no one can find on any other American cable network (like Corner Gas, for instance), but I haven't seen Zell and Michaels take it to the next level, though.

Somehow, I see someone like Bob Johnson salivating over WGN America's distribution (which I think is better than the ION stations that he is trying to "split-own"). If the price is right, and it takes away debt, nothing's out of the question for Zell and company.

Sam Zell does not sell unless the price is his. He'll be hanging onto the assests for a long time. You can tell that just from the fact they've already turned down many offers for the Cubs that just were not to Zell's liking. The Cubs, btw, were not included in the bankruptcy filing.

 

[RALfan]

Why doesn't Zell offer some or all of the remaining Tribune assets outside of Chicago for sale and make the company strictly a local conglomerate for the time being? Maybe that might make a difference; I don't see Zell putting much interest in WPIX or KTLA.

 

[RicoGregg]

I remember reading right after his takeover of Tribune that Zell wanted to sell the Cubs and Wrigley Field separately. Why? Doesn't make sense to me. It may have turned off a few potential buyers, including Mark Cuban, that is, before Cuban's recent inside trading indictment.

If I was going to buy the team, I certainly would want the ballpark with it.

 

[ixnay]

(Tribune) may just have to close some of their newspaper operations, such as what Scripps is contemplating for the Rocky Mountain News if it can't be sold and cut out entire news operations at some of their stations ... .

Does Scripps still own WMAR-2 Baltimore (ABC affil.)? Would it's news ops be guillotined? It would be a shame. It's our household's outlet of preference for local news.

ixnay

 

[JeeperOne]

Hi everyone:

I don't see Tribune giving up TV, the problem is mostly with the newspaper business. However, I do see them selling underperforming TV stations.

I already see KWGN 2 here in Denver going to Local Media outright as opposed to just an LMA as that would A) Seem to be the most logical thing to assume and B) Give Local Media a duopoly in town.

I imagine that WGN America isn't much of a money maker, given its reliance on C-grade reruns. That's one property that could be sold.

Who would want it?

Just my opinion....

Cheers

 

[JeeperOne]

(Tribune) may just have to close some of their newspaper operations, such as what Scripps is contemplating for the Rocky Mountain News if it can't be sold and cut out entire news operations at some of their stations ... .

First, the Rocky Mountain News has been basically "morphed into" as part of the Denver Post, which just happens to be owned by Tribune. Since these two are THE ONLY dailies in town (The others are all weeklies), there is NO WAY that Tribune is let gonna let both papers die. One of them will be saved.

Does Scripps still own WMAR-2 Baltimore (ABC affil.)? Would it's news ops be guillotined?

It most likely won't unless it shares the same news staff as the paper that Scripps owns.

Cheers

 

[Markxxx]

Well Zell's group is a venture capital company so they are only in business to make money. So I can see Zell is on the hot seat with his investors already.

I don't see papers in the long term. I pick one up every now and then if the train is late and it's just so OLD by the time you get it. And I mean all papers not just the Tribune.

 

[azumanga]

...the Rocky Mountain News has been basically "morphed into" as part of the Denver Post, which just happens to be owned by Tribune.

Actually, the MediaNews Group owns the post, not the Tribune.

 

[Rollo-Smokes]

In my opinion, what Tribune should have done -- before allowing Zell to take over -- is split the company in two. The broadcasting properties, the Cubs, and Wrigley Field on one side, and the newspapers on the other.

You may remember that the Chandler family, which became members of the board after Tribune purchased the Times-Mirror papers chain, became very vocal about Tribune's poor stock performance and pushed hard for some kind of change. I thought back then (and posted here on this board) that a split could have been beneficial at that time. Then Tribune Broadcasting should have pared down their TV group, Tribune Newspapers should have done what they needed to do, and perhaps they wouldn't be in the situation that they're in right now.

In today's reality, Sam Zell should have been more pro-active in cutting some of the other fat instead of keeping status quo while trying to unload the Cubs and their ballpark. Would Zell have sold the Cubs if they won the World Series? Answer that if you want, because I think my answer is already wrong.

And yes, I know that baseball teams are expensive to run, but so are television news departments. In both cases, the good ones will generate enough revenue. It'll be up to them to figure that one out. I won't even go into the newspaper dilemma.

 

[RicoGregg]

In today's reality, Sam Zell should have been more pro-active in cutting some of the other fat instead of keeping status quo while trying to unload the Cubs and their ballpark. Would Zell have sold the Cubs if they won the World Series? Answer that if you want, because I think my answer is already wrong.

FWIW, Disney had the FOR SALE sign out on the Angels when they won the 2002 World Series, and were purchased by Artie Moreno shortly thereafter.

 

[KTN Corp]

How much longer before Rupert Murdoch spots the clearance rack and Fox buys out the television stations? I can't wait for KTLA, KWGN, and WGN to be Fox stations and WGN's superstation slot taken over for Fox Business or another cable concept. Fox 5 Los Angeles, Fox 2 Denver, and Fox 9 Chicago sound good already!

 

[Rollo-Smokes]

How much longer before Rupert Murdoch spots the clearance rack and Fox buys out the television stations? I can't wait for KTLA, KWGN, and WGN to be Fox stations and WGN's superstation slot taken over for Fox Business or another cable concept. Fox 5 Los Angeles, Fox 2 Denver, and Fox 9 Chicago sound good already!

A dose of some holiday shopping reality: even if the FCC allows triopolies (other than that special case for NBC in Los Angeles), it won't ever happen. In three months, your dream scenario will be a moot point.

Now in Denver, KWGN-TV switching affiliations from CW to Fox isn't a far-fetched idea, now that KDVR's status has been downgraded from O&O to affiliate. But Tribune's Big Three? Come on...

 

[Markxxx]

WFLD (Channel 32) Chicago (FOX) has always been competitive with WGN-TV (Channel 9) (CW). The only thing FOX loses at is the news.

Since WFLD is a FOX O&O other than a lower channel number I don't see any advantage to changing, just to get a higher news rating. On cable WFLD is on Channel 12 (It's sister station WPWR (MyNetworkTV) is on Channel 8).

I can see some changes for Tribune, though I doubt anything till after the digital change has come and settled down a bit. The digital signal won't matter as much as the analog did

 

[KTN Corp]

How much longer before Rupert Murdoch spots the clearance rack and Fox buys out the television stations? I can't wait for KTLA, KWGN, and WGN to be Fox stations and WGN's superstation slot taken over for Fox Business or another cable concept. Fox 5 Los Angeles, Fox 2 Denver, and Fox 9 Chicago sound good already!

A dose of some holiday shopping reality: even if the FCC allows triopolies (other than that special case for NBC in Los Angeles), it won't ever happen. In three months, your dream scenario will be a moot point.

Now in Denver, KWGN-TV switching affiliations from CW to Fox isn't a far-fetched idea, now that KDVR's status has been downgraded from O&O to affiliate. But Tribune's Big Three? Come on...

What triopoly? Fox would have to sell one station to be within the guidelines. I'll bet it will be KCOP and WPWR for sale (and WWOR since you mentioned it).

 

[TexasTom]

News Corp doesn't seem to be interested in buying additional local TV stations over the ones that they already own. So it seems unlikely that they'd be interested in any of the Tribune stations.

 

[TroyG]

Is there any chance KPLR might become an ABC station ?-Unaware the current station does'nt air any local news in St. Louis. Or how about KWGN in Denver? I think it might flip over to FOX right at the beginning of 2009.