WTVJ - Miami

[e-dawg]

I just heard, Post-Newsweek will purchased WTVJ - NBC 6 from NBC. Post-Newsweek owns WPLC ABC 10.

How can Post-Newsweek station purchase WTVJ? You cannot have 2 VHF duolopoly unless there are at lease 7 VHF stations in the market. Miami only has 5 VHF stations in the market. Is this legal?

 

[stationi]

It's legal...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duopoly

--------------------------------
Duopolies were not allowed in the United States until 2001. The Federal Communications Commission allows common ownership of two stations in a single market with two conditions:

* There must be at least eight unique station owners left in the market once a duopoly is formed. In effect, duopolies are not allowed in any market with fewer than nine full-power stations (counting noncommercial stations).

~~true in this case; after the sale there will be at least 9 unique owners and 13 full-power television stations are in the market (15 if you could WGEN and WSBS)

* Two of the four highest-rated stations in a market cannot be owned by the same person.

~~true in this case, WTVJ isn't in the top four.

 

[KML0224]

So in Hartford/New Haven for analog broadcasters, we have:

CBS 3 (Merideth), ABC 8 (LIN), UNI 18 (Entravision), CW 20 (Tribune), PBS 24 (CT Public Broadcasting, Inc.), ION 26 (?), NBC 30 (NBC), PBS 53 [see 24], MY 59 (LIN), FOX 61 (Tribune) and PBS 65 [see 24]. Channels 8 and 59 are one duopoly while channels 20 and 61 are another. When they stay "highest rated stations", do they mean in all dayparts or just prime time?

 

[DToTheJ]

* Two of the four highest-rated stations in a market cannot be owned by the same person.

~~true in this case, WTVJ isn't in the top four.

Does this apply only at the time of the sale? Suppose WTVJ somehow rises to fourth place and joins WPLG in the Top 4. Will P/N then have to sell?

 

[MarcB]

ION 26 (?)

Most (not all) of the ION stations are network owned.

 

[stationi]

* Two of the four highest-rated stations in a market cannot be owned by the same person.

~~true in this case, WTVJ isn't in the top four.

Does this apply only at the time of the sale? Suppose WTVJ somehow rises to fourth place and joins WPLG in the Top 4. Will P/N then have to sell?

No, they can keep the station. This actually happened in Honolulu with Emmis Communications. They bought KHON and a year later KGMB. One of the two stations wasn't in the top four so they were allowed to own both stations. After a few years both were in the top four. When Emmis Communications decided to sell their television stations they had to sell KGMB and KHON to two different owners.