Media General, Young to merge

[hathawaynson2 38]

 

 

I'd said it as a prediction/hypothesis. I never said I wished for any company to go under. If they know they're doing a 'shady' business (i.e. Equity Broadcasting), they will hang themselves. But just the same situation with ComCorp getting out of the business, it wouldn't be a shocking thing, and it might be a more wise thing for Granite to sell its remaining stations and get out of the biz.

 

Hell, Media General could acquire the Granite stations, since none of them overlap with the current MG/Young stations (except for KOFY and that would be a legal duopoly). And they could use Galloway's Shield for the Fort Wayne (WISE or WPTA) & Duluth (KBJR or KDLH) properties. I know I stated Gray on a previous post, but if not Gray, the new MG should acquire Smith's WKTV Utica. And if that's the case, MG would be the third station group after Nexstar & Sinclair to gobble up the Upstate.

 

But then again, it could also be "OPEN SEASON" for Sinclair (while using those shells). It's just something we don't want to see anymore.

 

I wonder what Julian would think about this if he would've lived to see his son David do all of this? SMMFH!

 

 

Hell.. I would expect Julian Smith if he was alive to drop his jaw and lecture his son about more shell corporations and the freakishly large takeover of Fisher Communications and what have you. I just agree on the "open season" part of the statement because I would not like to see this any longer.

at least you have Armstrong "Uncle Tom" Williams and his Howard Stirk Holdings and yes, Armstrong has published two books in the 1990's when I looked in his history.

[Rusty Muck 4168]

:rofl!: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! OMMFG!!!!! LMMFAO!!!!!

 

You must be intoxicated or something.

 

Edmund Ansin???!!!!! His old ass???!!!! REALLY???!!!!!!

 

He's got to be right around Tom Benson's age, I think. Looks like he ain't got no time left.

 

I would never want to see that kind of style of news happening in the Bay Area, the way he has done in Miami & New England. And who's going to take those stations when he finally croaks? His next-of-kin would probably sell his kingdom too.

 

Pigs have to fly out of my you-know-where if I ever see Ed Ansin acquire KRON 4. If he even have any time left.

 

Made you laugh, though. Creative way of getting out of the "will NBC or Fox buy KRON?" direction this thread was starting to take.

[swillh2k2 203]

 

Made you laugh, though. Creative way of getting out of the "will NBC or Fox buy KRON?" direction this thread was starting to take.

 

What is that supposed to mean? Speculation with no basis of reality NEVER happens at TVNT.

 

Besides, we all know ABC is going to buy KRON and run it as a news-intensive independent alongside KGO-TV.

[TennTV1983 743]

 

What is that supposed to mean? Speculation with no basis of reality NEVER happens at TVNT.

 

Besides, we all know ABC is going to buy KRON and run it as a news-intensive independent alongside KGO-TV.

 

I think it fits CBS' portfolio better (think KCBS/KCAL and WCBS/WLNY).

[Rusty Muck 4168]

I think it fits CBS' portfolio better (think KCBS/KCAL and WCBS/WLNY).

Would they try for a triopoly or spin off KBCW?

 

I think they'd have to do the latter, as it would reek havoc in their ownership cap situation (remember, CBS had to trade KFRC 610 to Family Radio after they acquired KOVR from Sinclair - but that was also because KFRC's vast coverage area made it a de facto local signal in Sacremento).

 

But a KPIX/KRON/KBCW triopoly would be huge (even if KRON is reduced to being a lower-tier brand extension for KPIX 5 News).

[CircleSeven 1944]

I think it fits CBS' portfolio better (think KCBS/KCAL and WCBS/WLNY).

Yeah it would probably work, if KPIX didn't have KBCW's back.

 

Besides, we all know ABC is going to buy KRON and run it as a news-intensive independent alongside KGO-TV.

:rofl!: HAHAHAHA!!!!! SMMFH!!!

 

And I guess Mickey Mouse is going to sell his Magic Kingdom in Bay Lake/Lake Buena Vista & his other kingdom in Anaheim to get an almost dying station. Right! LOL.

 

Let's get serious y'all.

 

ABC is one of the most healthiest station group companies in the nation with 8 stations, serving 23% of the country and the only O&O group with NO duopolies, and almost all of them are #1 rated, by audience share. With the other O&O groups have about 7-10 duopoly markets under their belts. ABC is not going to content to have a duopoly. There was a time over a decade ago that ABC wanted to buy the stations owned USA Broadcasting, but they were outbid by Univision, and they launched Telefutura.

 

Now whether ABC will follow through with possibly acquiring WJLA remains to be seen because its still to early to tell. But its a very good bet that ABC won't be buying any other stations at this point. ABC is showing a really good example that you can do a whole lot more with less!!!

 

With that said, NBC is not going to buy KRON, for obvious reasons. Fox is not going to break the bank to buy KRON, and they would have to do even more heavy lifting and they're going to have to break the bank to invest into that station, even if they do have all the capital. Ansin is not going to buy KRON, because that's simply not his territory, where he has to tend to two east coast flagship properties, and his old-self need to slow his role. And Cox will not give up KTVU, even if Fox does get the "right-of-first-refusal" in its affiliation agreement, current or future. And I predict that Granite will go bye-bye sooner-or-later and KRON & KOFY might become best friends. And if MG does sell KRON, it won't be any of those groups mentioned above. Not NBC, Not CBS, Not FOX, Not Ansin or Mickey Mouse, or Tinkerbell or RKO. Oh wait, is RKO is long gone, My Bad.

[caliwxdude 252]

Wait you guys... KRON is still on the air and producing news?

 

And not to troll, but seriously, this is all typical TVNT nonsense.

 

Media General will run KRON just as Young has run it, with mediocre management directing more mediocre talent (Pam Moore, Catherine Heenan and Vicki Liviakis aside) producing an astoundingly mediocre newscast. The only thing I can potentially see coming out of this is a hastening of the move out of 1001 Van Ness (or dividing up the existing space and renting it out) simply because it's way oversized for the operation they have these days.

[C Block 1488]

Finally, another person who actually lives in the market and can make some sense before running to rampant speculation. Nobody's going to buy KRON other than the people who just bough it, and if they say they want to become the next Sinclair or Nexstar, then they're definitely not going to sell any of the stations that they just picked up. Not to mention that this is also not a takeover but rather a merger of MG and Young. The new corporation will still have a ton of Young executives and 67% of Young investors. I don't see much changing at KRON, let alone the Bay Area apocalypse that everyone's anticipating (other than the occasional BART apocalypses, of course).

[Rusty Muck 4168]

Wait you guys... KRON is still on the air and producing news?

 

And not to troll, but seriously, this is all typical TVNT nonsense.

 

Media General will run KRON just as Young has run it, with mediocre management directing more mediocre talent (Pam Moore, Catherine Heenan and Vicki Liviakis aside) producing an astoundingly mediocre newscast. The only thing I can potentially see coming out of this is a hastening of the move out of 1001 Van Ness (or dividing up the existing space and renting it out) simply because it's way oversized for the operation they have these days.

 

Depends.

 

MG can put KRON on the block and ask for a far lower price than what Young was asking for. After all, Young was trying to justify their $800M purchase.

 

But the station is simply too destroyed to ever be brought back, regardless if its MG, NBC, Fox, CBS or Ed Freaking Ansin owning it. Even if MG infused millions and millions in KRON, or operated it even more on the cheap than Young ever did, it won't change a damn thing. And THAT, more than any asking price, is why no one has even considered or will ever consider buying it.

 

What probably helps MG's cause is that, well, THEY didn't pay the $800M for KRON. They could air a test pattern 24/7 on KRON and it wouldn't hurt them. (Kidding. Sorta.)

[Rusty Muck 4168]

NBC did this with KNTV and instead of being with the #1 station in the market (at the time), it's now on a station that is an afterthought to most Bay Area viewers.

NBC definitely played hardball with Young in demanding that KRON be run like a virtual O&O. But Young told NBC to take a hike. They could have easily agreed to NBC's demands, but they didn't, and that move cost Young hundreds of millions of dollars.

[Bayarea_tv 3]

Investment Mastermind Vincent Young.....the great disaster in Television Broadcast History

[Mrtraveler01 737]

 

NBC definitely played hardball with Young in demanding that KRON be run like a virtual O&O. But Young told NBC to take a hike. They could have easily agreed to NBC's demands, but they didn't, and that move cost Young hundreds of millions of dollars.

 

One could make the argument that NBC lost out too considering KRON used to be one of the top stations in the market when it was NBC and now NBC Bay Area is toward the basement in ratings.

 

Both sides lost in that deal as far as I'm concerned.

[mre29 1340]

Could someone explain what "virtual O&O" means?

[swillh2k2 203]

I was hoping that someone would pick up on the fact that I was being sarcastic about KRON being sold to ABC (at the very least caliwxdude ) but apparently not.

 

In any event, as he alluded to, please stop with these "X is buying WXXX" hypotheticals that make no sense. ABC buying WJLA? That I could see. But no, ABC is not buying KRON and running it as a news-intensive independent (again, sarcasm to make a point), Fox is not buying KTVU, etc.

 

Before we start throwing out station groups and mixing/matching, let's think logically about how much (or how little) sense any hypothetical scenarios make.

[Rusty Muck 4168]

Could someone explain what "virtual O&O" means?

It would be a non-network owned station that voluntarily agrees to network or O&O groups branding standardizations, in addition to (witholding an occasional preemption) carrying the near-entirety of the network's programming lineup in pattern. WJLA is perhaps the best example of a "virtual O&O."

 

And that was what NBC demanded - for KRON to rename itself "NBC4," conform to all O&O branding conventions (likely including the adoption of the WNBC "4") preempt absolutely nothing and run all network programming in order. Young objected to that.

 

NBC wanted to buy KRON when the Chronicle put it up for sale - they always wanted the station, having bid for the construction permit back in 1949 - so to say they were upset with Young emerging as the winner would be an understatement. But Young had absolutely no foresight or readiness in operating KRON as an indie. They destroyed themselves.

 

One could make the argument that NBC lost out too considering KRON used to be one of the top stations in the market when it was NBC and now NBC Bay Area is toward the basement in ratings.

 

Both sides lost in that deal as far as I'm concerned.

Well, the poor performance of the NBC network as a whole hasn't helped matters much.

[caliwxdude 252]

 

NBC wanted to buy KRON when the Chronicle put it up for sale - they always wanted the station, having bid for the construction permit back in 1949 - so to say they were upset with Young emerging as the winner would be an understatement. But Young had absolutely no foresight or readiness in operating KRON as an indie. They destroyed themselves.

 

Eh, I'm not sure I would say that Young had "absolutely no foresight or readiness" for operating KRON as an independent station. In reality, KRON was a pretty solid station for the first three or so years after losing NBC in 2002. The 9pm show actually pulled in better numbers than KTVU at 10pm for a while (Wendy Tokuda and Pam Moore were a great duo), up until it was cancelled to make way for MyNetworkTV's lineup of English novelas.

 

Honestly, I blame KRON's downfall on the MyNetworkTV thing and Young's decision to turn the place into an all-videojournalist shop.

 

And NBC wasn't entirely put off by having to go to KNTV. They got out of paying a huge amount for KRON and still ended up with an O&O in the market for a paltry $250 million, which was a bargain. Sure they had to invest some capital and build a new facility for KNTV and KSTS, but I don't think NBC is any more worse for the wear in the market with KNTV as an O&O as opposed to KRON. Who's to say that an NBC O&O KRON wouldn't be faced with similar ratings issues today—I think a lot of KNTV's recent problems stem from the crappy NBC network programming as of late. When KRON was a dominant station, NBC was also the dominant network.

[1place4news 5]

Media General will run KRON just as Young has run it, with mediocre management directing more mediocre talent (Pam Moore, Catherine Heenan and Vicki Liviakis aside) producing an astoundingly mediocre newscast.

"Mediocre" is too generous. They WISH they can reach "mediocre" status.

 

 

 

They could air a test pattern 24/7 on KRON and it wouldn't hurt them. (Kidding. Sorta.)

 

They'd find a way to screw that up too.

[CircleSeven 1944]

And now B&C is talking about the heavy speculation about KRON. All the possible scenarios have been stated here. So this is nothing new. But I don't think any of the scenarios will happen.

[GoldenShine9 1509]

 

And now B&C is talking about the heavy speculation about KRON. All the possible scenarios have been stated here. So this is nothing new. But I don't think any of the scenarios will happen.

 

Unless Sinclair really wants to break the bank, I don't see anyone who can afford KRON given the price and relevance.

[News 9 Viewer 100]

 

Let's look at the situation a bit differently.

 

KRON, if managed right, could be rehabilitated into a news-heavy independent. It may or may not be in MG's plans. What works in MG's favor is, well, they didn't pay $800M for it (and Berkshire Hathaway can help alleviate much of the obvious debt that MG inherited from Young).

 

MG could very well decide to retain KRON, or put it on the market yet again. All efforts by Young to sell it (if any existed) obviously failed due to the fact they were simply asking for too much in an attempt to recoup a portion of their losses. So MG could make a credible effort to unload it.

 

But whomever buys KRON will need to do three things: rebuild the station's image through a drastic overhaul of their news output, invest in the station's facilities, and invest in some more non-news programming. MG could do it - they have experience from when they blew up WBMG - but do they WANT to do it? I honestly don't know.

 

Let's get real. NBC will NOT buy KRON in any way, shape or form. And Fox will probably not buy KRON, either (presuming that in my prior post, their affiliation deal with KTVU includes a right of first refusal to buy the station if Cox ever puts it up for sale). That narrows down the list drastically.

 

Believe it or not, I had a "eureka" moment earlier this afternoon. There could be a dark horse to buy KRON.

 

Ed Ansin.

 

I'm not kidding. This actually would be a perfect station for him to buy: it's a news-heavy independent based in a flashy, diverse market. Sounds like shades of WSVN, no? And KRON needs a new image and identity after Young basically destroyed it over twelve years. Install the uber-tabloid "7NEWS" formula onto KRON, and that would literally turn the entire market upside down. But I betcha people would watch it.

 

And put a grey ring around the KRON circle 4, and it becomes a perfect complement to the WSVN/WHDH circle 7.

 

As much as it makes sense for Ansin to buy KRON, I cringe thinking that another station could cover the news like the two Sunbeam stations on the East coast.

[DirtyHarry 719]

 

Finally, another person who actually lives in the market and can make some sense before running to rampant speculation. Nobody's going to buy KRON other than the people who just bough it, and if they say they want to become the next Sinclair or Nexstar, then they're definitely not going to sell any of the stations that they just picked up. Not to mention that this is also not a takeover but rather a merger of MG and Young. The new corporation will still have a ton of Young executives and 67% of Young investors. I don't see much changing at KRON, let alone the Bay Area apocalypse that everyone's anticipating (other than the occasional BART apocalypses, of course).

 

I'm not in the market, but let's try this scenario: NBC was in negotiations to purchase KRON during the past couple of years. Could NBC want KRON because of its stronger news presence and because of its stick (1,000 kw UHF), versus KNTV which is VHF? NBC at one point also wanted to get rid of WVIT and WTVJ.

 

Trading them for KRON and some cash might make sense for both parties. WVIT fits in well with WJAR and all the Young stations in New York. Likewise, WTVJ complements WFLA and fits in well with MG's southeast footprint ...

 

Of course, they say VHF is supposed to be better in hilly terrain.

 

Just speculating.

[Guest NewsHound]

You may have VHF and UHF backwards...

 

That isn't going to happen, because WVIT and WTVJ both recently got some major upgrades by NBC, especially WTVJ whom has been revitalized from the crap that it was.

 

Honestly, MG is better off shutting down KRON, taking the loss, and relinquishing the station's frequency to the FCC.

[Mrtraveler01 737]

 

I'm not in the market, but let's try this scenario: NBC was in negotiations to purchase KRON during the past couple of years. Could NBC want KRON because of its stronger news presence and because of its stick (1,000 kw UHF), versus KNTV which is VHF? NBC at one point also wanted to get rid of WVIT and WTVJ.

 

Trading them for KRON and some cash might make sense for both parties. WVIT fits in well with WJAR and all the Young stations in New York. Likewise, WTVJ complements WFLA and fits in well with MG's southeast footprint ...

 

Of course, they say VHF is supposed to be better in hilly terrain.

 

Just speculating.

 

NBC has put a lot of money/resources into making KNTV work. Buying KRON would basically mean that they admit that it didn't work.

 

KRON's legacy as an NBC station is passing as the years go on and are pretty irrelevant anymore.

[DirtyHarry 719]

 

You may have VHF and UHF backwards...

 

That isn't going to happen, because WVIT and WTVJ both recently got some major upgrades by NBC, especially WTVJ whom has been revitalized from the crap that it was.

 

Honestly, MG is better off shutting down KRON, taking the loss, and relinquishing the station's frequency to the FCC.

 

From what I've read, UHF is the place to be in the DTV world both because it has superior characteristics from the standpoint of building penetration and because of mobile TV. Stucco wreaks havoc with DTV signals on VHF because of the wire mesh. When WSYX was on Channel 13, it was hard to get a stable signal inside the house less than 10 miles from the tower - even with 57.6 kw ERP. Columbus is flat and even with ERP on steroids it took work to get a signal over the air. Moreso than even some of the LPTVs around here.

 

The caveat is that when you have hilly terrain, you have a lot of multipath (these were the UHF ghosts back in the old analog days). My understanding is that this wreaks havoc with signals in hilly areas. Overall, I still think UHF is the place to be because it's easier to pick up a signal with an indoor antenna.

 

The facility upgrades are nothing in the whole scheme of things. Five million for a new building or equipment versus hundreds of millions for a station license. The WVIT building is only 20,000 square feet which is smaller than a Staples store.

 

Remember, it was only 5 years ago that NBC tried to sell WTVJ to Post-Newsweek ...

 

 

NBC has put a lot of money/resources into making KNTV work. Buying KRON would basically mean that they admit that it didn't work.

 

KRON's legacy as an NBC station is passing as the years go on and are pretty irrelevant anymore.

 

It would be very easy to flip a switch and KRON becomes NBC, with a stronger news presence. Plus, they get to be "NBC 4" in yet another market.

 

Besides, NBC has no loyalty whatsoever. They have always bought and sold things at the drop of a hat. Just look at the history of the stuff they've owned and sold.

[A3N 996]

 

From what I've read, UHF is the place to be in the DTV world both because it has superior characteristics from the standpoint of building penetration and because of mobile TV. Stucco wreaks havoc with DTV signals on VHF because of the wire mesh. When WSYX was on Channel 13, it was hard to get a stable signal inside the house less than 10 miles from the tower - even with 57.6 kw ERP. Columbus is flat and even with ERP on steroids it took work to get a signal over the air. Moreso than even some of the LPTVs around here.

 

The caveat is that when you have hilly terrain, you have a lot of multipath (these were the UHF ghosts back in the old analog days). My understanding is that this wreaks havoc with signals in hilly areas. Overall, I still think UHF is the place to be because it's easier to pick up a signal with an indoor antenna.

 

The facility upgrades are nothing in the whole scheme of things. Five million for a new building or equipment versus hundreds of millions for a station license. The WVIT building is only 20,000 square feet which is smaller than a Staples store.

 

Remember, it was only 5 years ago that NBC tried to sell WTVJ to Post-Newsweek ...

 

 

It would be very easy to flip a switch and KRON becomes NBC, with a stronger news presence. Plus, they get to be "NBC 4" in yet another market.

 

Besides, NBC has no loyalty whatsoever. They have always bought and sold things at the drop of a hat. Just look at the history of the stuff they've owned and sold.

 

I see nothing gained by NBC buying KRON. It's a waste of money, time and energy, for what? Just to be able to call it NBC 4? Like Mrtraveler01 pointed out, NBC has invested a lot into KNTV and the Telemundo station to make it competitive with the other Bay Area stations. Also, the sale of WVIT and WTVJ were under a different regime which everyone knows was incompetent in how to run a broadcast network. NBC might still decide to sell WVIT down the line, but for now the big wigs at Comcast don't seem to be in any rush to do so.