Media General, Young to merge

[DirtyHarry 719]

 

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.

 

I would almost agree with you if not for two things: 1) NBC negotiating to LMA KRON and 2) The superiority of UHF frequencies in the DTV world. They must have wanted KRON for some reason or they wouldn't have tried to LMA it.

 

I don't think people appreciate how much work it is to tune in a VHF DTV signal, especially 25 miles from the transmitter. It's easy for me to tune in a 15 kw LPTV on UHF 10 miles from the transmitter with even a cheap $6 antenna from Big Lots. Buy KRON, dump KNTV to get the better signal and one that might even have value being sold off. This would be very similar to how NBC swapped Denver, Salt Lake City, and the frequency in Miami to CBS in order to get WCAU.

[A3N 996]

 

I would almost agree with you if not for two things: 1) NBC negotiating to LMA KRON and 2) The superiority of UHF frequencies in the DTV world. They must have wanted KRON for some reason or they wouldn't have tried to LMA it.

 

I don't think people appreciate how much work it is to tune in a VHF DTV signal, especially 25 miles from the transmitter. It's easy for me to tune in a 15 kw LPTV on UHF 10 miles from the transmitter with even a cheap $6 antenna from Big Lots. Buy KRON, dump KNTV to get the better signal and one that might even have value being sold off. This would be very similar to how NBC swapped Denver, Salt Lake City, and the frequency in Miami to CBS in order to get WCAU.

 

Good points but I would counter with cable penetration rates in the market. If the cable penetration rate is very high then it really makes no economic sense for NBC to purchase KRON for that reason. If i'm not mistaken, the San Francisco Bay Area market has a pretty high penetration rate. San Diego is another example of a market with a high cable penetration rate and the branding of the station (NBC 7) is from its cable position and not its actual channel. I never heard about the potential KRON LMA with NBC, so I can't really comment there.

[DirtyHarry 719]

 

Good points but I would counter with cable penetration rates in the market. If the cable penetration rate is very high then it really makes no economic sense for NBC to purchase KRON for that reason. If i'm not mistaken, the San Francisco Bay Area market has a pretty high penetration rate. San Diego is another example of a market with a high cable penetration rate and the branding of the station (NBC 7) is from its cable position and not its actual channel. I never heard about the potential KRON LMA with NBC, so I can't really comment there.

 

I read the blurb about KRON on another board ... forget where.

 

Just pulling numbers out of thin air: In 2009, KRON was valued at $175 million. Let's say it's worth $250 million today. WTVJ "sold" for $350 million-$400 million (per Google), but that was before the meltdown both of the economy and of NBC. WTVF Nashville sold for $215 million, but that is a top-notch operation ....

 

Don't know if any of this means anything, but it would be a way to get something done.

 

http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/parent-corp-unable-to-sell-kron-tv/nKd7R/

[Mrtraveler01 737]

 

Good points but I would counter with cable penetration rates in the market. If the cable penetration rate is very high then it really makes no economic sense for NBC to purchase KRON for that reason. If i'm not mistaken, the San Francisco Bay Area market has a pretty high penetration rate. San Diego is another example of a market with a high cable penetration rate and the branding of the station (NBC 7) is from its cable position and not its actual channel. I never heard about the potential KRON LMA with NBC, so I can't really comment there.

 

Cable penetration is very high in San Francisco due to the geography of the market. I think that's why the channel number wasn't very important to the brand. KNTV used to be NBC 3 to reflect the cable channel number before going to NBC 11. KBCW, KOFY, and KICU all feature their cable positions very prominently in their branding. Having an NBC affiliate on Channel 4 is irrelevant if they have to basically rebuild the station from scratch.

 

KNTV's tower used to be south of San Jose but they moved it to San Bruno Mountain which is much closer to San Francisco so the signal comparisons between KNTV and KRON shouldn't be as significant as it used to be.

[Mrtraveler01 737]

 

I never heard about the potential KRON LMA with NBC, so I can't really comment there.

 

The only thing I can think of it an agreement between KRON and NBC that allowed KRON to air NBC programming that got preempted by Giants Baseball shown on KNTV.

 

But that agreement expired and now those preempted shows air on KICU.

[Mrtraveler01 737]

 

I read the blurb about KRON on another board ... forget where.

 

http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/parent-corp-unable-to-sell-kron-tv/nKd7R/

 

Found the story:

 

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/449501-NBC_in_Talks_to_Partner_with_KRON.php

 

The potential deal later fell through which resulted in Young talking about selling it's building on Van Ness in San Francisco.

[CircleSeven 1944]

 

I would almost agree with you if not for two things: 1) NBC negotiating to LMA KRON and 2) The superiority of UHF frequencies in the DTV world. They must have wanted KRON for some reason or they wouldn't have tried to LMA it.

 

I don't think people appreciate how much work it is to tune in a VHF DTV signal, especially 25 miles from the transmitter. It's easy for me to tune in a 15 kw LPTV on UHF 10 miles from the transmitter with even a cheap $6 antenna from Big Lots. Buy KRON, dump KNTV to get the better signal and one that might even have value being sold off. This would be very similar to how NBC swapped Denver, Salt Lake City, and the frequency in Miami to CBS in order to get WCAU.

 

I strongly agree with you on the UHF frequencies are better, especially in the big city. But I want you to keep in mind. There's something call the incentive spectrum auction, that will happen next year. And after that some channels would have to move again. And some might have to go back to the VHF dial which will go back to the problematic situations from the 2009 DTV transitions, when many viewers in many VHF stations had difficulty receiving signals, either VHF low or high. We shall see what will happen to all the full-power stations who didn't participate in the auction, which frequencies will they move to post-auctions. And some have said that it might take even a longer time to move all those channels again.

 

But in regard to KNTV, I don't think NBC will waste all that money (after doing heavy investing over a decade in fixing up KNTV) swapping stations from KNTV to KRON, or moving KNTV to a UHF frequency because they are on the problematic VHF dial (yet their ERP is one of the highest on the VHF (103kW)) , or change its antenna facilities from Mt. San Bruno to Sutro Tower (as I stated earlier on another thread today, FCC has put a freeze on new PRMs of changing channels, or maximizing the full-power stations signals until the outcome of those spectrum auctions). And after all that infrastructure they've done at WTVJ & WVIT, NBC would be dumb to sell these two right now (I'm not saying it's not going to happen in the future).

[A3N 996]

 

Found the story:

 

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/449501-NBC_in_Talks_to_Partner_with_KRON.php

 

The potential deal later fell through which resulted in Young talking about selling it's building on Van Ness in San Francisco.

 

Interesting. Good find, I wonder what lead to the deal falling through.

[Rusty Muck 4167]

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

Yes, but that was before the Bear Stearns collapse. It could have actually gone through because years of NBC mismanagement - as well as their hideous analog channel 6 signal waaaaaaaaaaaaay out in Homestead - led to WTVJ falling out of the top 6 in the local ratings. And in the uncertainty over and following the sale's eventual cancelation, the two remaining WTVJ anchors that had ties to the Wometco era - Tony Segrato and Bob Mayer - retired from the station, making their situation even more daunting.

 

But fast forward to today. WTVJ now has DTV signal that the whole market can actually watch, and they have an owner in Comcast that has invested a ton into rebuilding the stations image from the inside out. Consequently, WTVJ is once again competitive.

 

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.

An easier solution would be to swap PSIP virtual channel mapping with KRON. I kid... sorta.

 

The analog era has been over for four years now - the prestige of 'being on channel X' is 100% obsolete. Moreover, there is no real "channel X" anymore... again, it's virtual channel mapping that a converter box or an HDTV recognizes when scanning the actual channel. NBC knows that, and that's why they are more than happy being on KNTV, which they spent a decade in building up that station's image, and why it is branded as "NBC Bay Area."

 

Those who want KRON to be an NBC station again are probably the same people that wish WJW, KTBC and WJBK were back with CBS, WGHP, WJZ and KTVI were back with ABC, and that WBZ and WDAF were back with NBC.

 

I strongly agree with you on the UHF frequencies are better, especially in the big city. But I want you to keep in mind. There's something call the incentive spectrum auction, that will happen next year. And after that some channels would have to move again. And some might have to go back to the VHF dial which will go back to the problematic situations from the 2009 DTV transitions, when many viewers in many VHF stations had difficulty receiving signals, either VHF low or high. We shall see what will happen to all the full-power stations who didn't participate in the auction, which frequencies will they move to post-auctions. And some have said that it might take even a longer time to move all those channels again.

 

But in regard to KNTV, I don't think NBC will waste all that money (after doing heavy investing over a decade in fixing up KNTV) swapping stations from KNTV to KRON, or moving KNTV to a UHF frequency because they are on the problematic VHF dial (yet their ERP is one of the highest on the VHF (103kW)) , or change its antenna facilities from Mt. San Bruno to Sutro Tower (as I stated earlier on another thread today, FCC has put a freeze on new PRMs of changing channels, or maximizing the full-power stations signals until the outcome of those spectrum auctions). And after all that infrastructure they've done at WTVJ & WVIT, NBC would be dumb to sell these two right now (I'm not saying it's not going to happen in the future).

Agreed. Even if NBC is not that pleased with KNTV's current signal coverage area, it is still in their best interests to wait until the FCC-instituted freeze is resolved, and then work to upgrading facility.

 

Selling it off for a failing and fading station in KRON would be utter insanity (although maybe they have another look at buying KRON's studio to house KNTV, KSTS, the CNBC bureau and CSN Bay Area).

[swillh2k2 203]

 

Those who want KRON to be an NBC station again are probably the same people that wish WJW, KTBC and WJBK were back with CBS, WGHP, WJZ and KTVI were back with ABC, and that WBZ and WDAF were back with NBC.

 

You missed one.

[CircleSeven 1944]

 

You missed one.

 

OMG. He wouldn't stop crying about that, even on THIS very board.

[DirtyHarry 719]

 

 

The analog era has been over for four years now - the prestige of 'being on channel X' is 100% obsolete. Moreover, there is no real "channel X" anymore... again, it's virtual channel mapping that a converter box or an HDTV recognizes when scanning the actual channel. NBC knows that, and that's why they are more than happy being on KNTV, which they spent a decade in building up that station's image, and why it is branded as "NBC Bay Area."

 

My way of looking at things has NOTHING whatsoever to do with that, but it does have everything to do with the nuts and bolts of broadcasting,

 

First and foremost, KRON has a better signal and more valuable spectrum. If you doubt that this is still important to broadcasters you may wish to read the very insightful interview with David Smith (Sinclair) I posted below. Second, KRON was co-owned with the Chronicle. It is a heritage station with heritage call letters and a news operation with a 60-year history. Whether you like their product or not, that still has value to someone like NBC over what is essentially still a start-up news operation over at KNTV. (WNCN was also essentially a startup and 15 years later it still lags the heritage stations in Raleigh/Durham.)

 

Bottom line is that KRON is still important both for the brand value and for the nuts and bolts of being an ongoing business concern. Even if it isn't what it once was, it still is a base to build from. I would even argue that it's a better base and is more relevant than KNTV. (Gary Radnich used to be a sports guy here and he was a hoot. Serbians are fun people.)

 

P.S. For all of you Sinclair haters out there, I live in one of Sinclair's heritage markets (Columbus). In fact, before the latest buying spree it was said that their Columbus operation produced a huge chunk of Sinclair's profits. They are no longer a rag-tag operator of independent stations, Sinclair has really been upping its game lately. They still could use better on-air presence around here (Bob Kendrick from Denver was a great hire, but they need more depth), but technology-wise Sinclair really kicks butt.

 

But I digress ... read what David Smith envisions and you will see why spectrum is important. Especially eye-catching was the part about how the new packing proposal doesn't bother him at all.

 

==========

 

Sinclair Broadcast Group CEO David Smith has a vision. It's that broadcasting can go toe-to-toe with cable, satellite, wireless broadband and any other medium in providing multichannel TV that lets advertisers target ads to the individual consumers most likely to buy. That’s why he’s adamant that broadcasters need to adopt ATSC 3.0 as the next-generation TV standard as quickly as possible. Without it, he says, "we can’t compete."

 

By Harry A. Jessell

TVNewsCheck, June 26, 2013 6:23 AM EDT

 

The Sinclair Broadcast Group has been much in the news lately, buying up stations at an unprecedented pace. The spree has boosted the Baltimore-based group to No. 4 on theTVNewsCheck-BIA/Kelsey Top 30 Station Groups, and it’s still shopping for more. ...

 

http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/68512/smith-adopt-next-tv-standard--now

[Rusty Muck 4167]

If this was the KRON of 1999, then such talk about NBC buying it would make sense. But it isn't, so NBC has no interest. They don't need it, they don't want it. It would be criminally stupid for them to even consider the notion of buying KRON in any way.

 

Whatever heritage that KRON had died a painful death over the past ten years. MG basically has to start from scratch if they want to make it competitive, but it will be easier for them to run it on life support, as cheap as possible while still trying to break even. After all, they weren't the idiots that paid $800M for that boondoggle...

[Thundershock MN 169]

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.

^ Excerpt from the article above:

 

Others believe NBC may try to grab KRON and shift its O&O from KNTV in San Jose. (NBC also owns Telemundo station KSTS in DMA No. 6.)

 

NBC Owned Stations dismissed the chatter. “This rumor comes up regularly,” the group said in a statement last week. “We’ve had no discussions about buying KRON and don’t expect to have any.”

 

Some observers counter that since NBC did not move forward on a deal for KRON the other times Young shopped it, there’s no reason to think it will now. “They have a station [in the Bay Area],” said a former NBC exec. “They have a great facility. The market knows who they are. What’s the upside of going to KRON?”

 

So, It's not going to happen.

[Mrtraveler01 737]

 

If this was the KRON of 1999, then such talk about NBC buying it would make sense. But it isn't, so NBC has no interest. They don't need it, they don't want it. It would be criminally stupid for them to even consider the notion of buying KRON in any way.

 

Whatever heritage that KRON had died a painful death over the past ten years. MG basically has to start from scratch if they want to make it competitive, but it will be easier for them to run it on life support, as cheap as possible while still trying to break even. After all, they weren't the idiots that paid $800M for that boondoggle...

 

Well that and considering the fact that NBC basically built a new facility, studio, newsroom operation for KNTV as well as a brand new transmitter on San Bruno Mountain (near the SF city line to the South) to help better cover the market.

 

To abandon all of that and start it all over at KRON is foolish and a total waste of money. KRON had value when NBC wanted it back in the 1990's but now its practically worthless.

[Rusty Muck 4167]

(WNCN was also essentially a startup and 15 years later it still lags the heritage stations in Raleigh/Durham.)

WNCN replaced WRDC (aka WPTF-TV through the 70s and 80s), an also-ran NBC affil of nearly 35 years that didn't even have a news department for their last five years. NBC was so ticked off with WRDC's poor management and awful ratings that they struck an alliance with Outlet that eventually turned into an outright merger.

 

It's totally incomparable to KRON. KRON had a successful news department, a strong station image, and decades of heritage. (Emphasis on the word "had.") WPTF/WRDC had none of those things to begin with, and even threw away what little they had. Even as WNCN has struggled under NBC and MG control, the network is still much better off there than when they were on WPTF/WRDC.

[Rusty Muck 4167]

Well that and considering the fact that NBC basically built a new facility, studio, newsroom operation for KNTV as well as a brand new transmitter on San Bruno Mountain (near the SF city line to the South) to help better cover the market.

 

To abandon all of that and start it all over at KRON is foolish and a total waste of money. KRON had value when NBC wanted it back in the 1990's but now its practically worthless.

THIS.

[mre29 1340]

Here's an easy solution to the KRON "problem":

 

1. Media General shutters KRON, returning its license and spectrum to the FCC.

2. A few months later, MG and NBC announce an agreement that transfers the KRON call letters to KNTV.

3. Boom. NBC owns KRON.

[CircleSeven 1944]

The Paperwork Is Up!!!

 

Here's the breakdown of the consents of Transfer of Control (Form 315) of both New Young Broadcasting Holdings Company and Media General, Inc. Both will be merge into the post-merger of Media General. Here's the transaction description & merger agreement. The agreement was made on June 5, the paperwork was filed on July 3, and just posted today (after midnight) (7/5/13) on the FCC site.

 

After the transaction, the post-transaction Media General will own the current MG & Young stations. Each equity holders of both will also own and vote of the stock in the post-merger MG. The pre-merger equity holders of Young will hold a 67.3% stake, while on the Media General side, they will hold a 31.7% stake in the post-merger. Also after the 2014's Media General shareholders meeting, the board will be consist of 11 board members (five MG directors, including current Chairman, VP & CEO, five Young directors and a new director, which will be appointed by a nominee committee). So I guess this is a definitely a merger with board members and shareholders of both companies at play.

 

Also posted on the transaction description, it also notes that Berkshire Hathaway will no longer be the shareholder of Media General, since it has acquired MG's former print media/newspapers, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

 

The stations that are currently owned by Young Broadcasting, LLC will be structured to be under a new wholly-owned subsidiary, Media General Broadcasting, LLC, which itself will be a subsidiary of Media General, Inc. That subsidiary will be different from another Media General Inc. subsidiary, Media General Communications, Inc., through Media General Communications Holdings, LLC, the licensee of the current Media General stations. The current Young Broadcasting, LLC beyond that structure will not change. That means the licensee names of the current Young stations will not be changed.

 

The Following Young Stations will be transferred into the post-merger Media General corporate structure.

KRON (MyN) San Francisco - (Young Broadcasting of San Francisco, Inc.)

KELO (CBS) Sioux Falls - (Young Broadcasting of Sioux Falls, Inc.)

KDLO (CBS) Florence - (Young Broadcasting of Sioux Falls, Inc.)

KPLO (CBS) Reliance - (Young Broadcasting of Sioux Falls, Inc.)

KCLO (CBS) Rapid City - (Young Broadcasting of Rapid City, Inc.)

KWQC (NBC) Davenport - (Young Broadcasting of Davenport, Inc.)

WBAY (ABC) Green Bay - (Young Broadcasting of Green Bay, Inc.)

WLNS (CBS) Lansing - (Young Broadcasting of Lansing, Inc.)

KLFY (CBS) Lafayette, LA - (KLFY, L.P.)

WKRN (ABC) Nashville - (WKRN, G.P)

WATE (ABC) Knoxville - (WATE, G.P.)

WTEN (ABC) Albany, NY - (Young Broadcasting of Albany, Inc.)

WCDC (ABC) Adams, MA - (Young Broadcasting of Albany, Inc,)

WRIC (ABC) Richmond - (Young Broadcasting of Richmond, Inc.)

 

Now the current Media General stations will also be transferred into the post-merger Media General. It will be transferred from Stewart Bryan himself to the post-merger shareholders. This multi-station application includes WFLA and the other current MG stations (since all the stations have the same licensee name (Media General Communications Holdings, LLC).

____________________________

 

This will no doubt get the greenlight without issue, which lead me to think, will MG expand? As I'd stated on this thread last month, MG should be the main contender of the Granite stations, because it has the fewest of overlapping, and use the Shield card for KDLH & WPTA. And maybe acquire Smith Media's WKTV (I'd said Gray but I have some uncertainty that Gray might last long).

 

But the biggest watch will be of course MG's handling with KRON 4 in the Bay. I just hope they will be doing some key infrastructing that will try to make the station relevant, and not try to replicate the station's past with Young's BS, even though they won't come close to the other news stations in the Bay.

[DirtyHarry 719]

 

Well that and considering the fact that NBC basically built a new facility, studio, newsroom operation for KNTV as well as a brand new transmitter on San Bruno Mountain (near the SF city line to the South) to help better cover the market.

 

To abandon all of that and start it all over at KRON is foolish and a total waste of money. KRON had value when NBC wanted it back in the 1990's but now its practically worthless.

 

Young's bankruptcy valued KRON's stick, which I'm guessing is signal value only without considering the going concern side of things, at $20 to $50 million, which is probably right. Being a heritage station may not mean much in a big market, but it most certainly does in the smaller markets. Just look at how WJW still performs even as a Fox affiliate. It is still the powerhouse it always was.

 

 

The Paperwork Is Up!!!

 

Also posted on the transaction description, it also notes that Berkshire Hathaway will no longer be the shareholder of Media General, since it has acquired MG's former print media/newspapers, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

 

Surprised since the TV business is still good from a cash flow standpoint. Maybe the debt is what's scaring them off. MG has huge debt - they bought some great stations from NBC, but they overpaid dearly. That is part of what sunk the ship.

 

 

 

The stations that are currently owned by Young Broadcasting, LLC will be structured to be under a new wholly-owned subsidiary, Media General Broadcasting, LLC, which itself will be a subsidiary of Media General, Inc. That subsidiary will be different from another Media General Inc. subsidiary, Media General Communications, Inc., through Media General Communications Holdings, LLC, the licensee of the current Media General stations. The current Young Broadcasting, LLC beyond that structure will not change. That means the licensee names of the current Young stations will not be changed.

 

Just a wild guess, but this is for tax reasons. I'm guessing Young has some HUGE loss carryforwards and if they did a clean merger, they would lose the benefit of being able to offset profits because you can't "buy" loss-carryforwards anymore. By keeping the Young stations separate, they can offset any profits with the accumulated losses and pay in little taxes that way.

 

Clear Channel does things the same way. Many stations are still owned by Citicasters for the same reason. Again, just an educated guess on my part.

 

 

 

The Paperwork Is Up!!!

 

This will no doubt get the greenlight without issue, which lead me to think, will MG expand? As I'd stated on this thread last month, MG should be the main contender of the Granite stations, because it has the fewest of overlapping, and use the Shield card for KDLH & WPTA. And maybe acquire Smith Media's WKTV (I'd said Gray but I have some uncertainty that Gray might last long).

 

Having seen what MG has done in the Columbus market for 7 years now, I'm not as big a fan of MG as I thought I'd be. WCMH was a pretty good station when it was owned by Outlet. Doug Gealy and his predecessors really had an eye for talent. WCMH was only okay when owned by NBC - I was really expecting more out of being an O&O, but they didn't really deliver. MG, OTOH, seems to take news seriously, but they are just plain boring.

 

The plus side of things is that WCMH is MG's second largest station in terms of revenue and profit so they treat it like a flagship. Lately it seems to actually be getting things BEFORE WFLA does, such as the new graphics package, Mobile DTV, FX-designed news set (which is boring to look at), etc.

 

WSYX/WTTE is also treated like a flagship by Sinclair. It seems that it's preferable to be a big fish in a small pond as opposed to being a station like WLWT, which only got full HD news this year. Hearst apparently had bigger fish to fry as opposed to WSYX being the big fish for Sinclair and WCMH being the big fish for MG.

[DirtyHarry 719]

Here's another thought: MG has virtually no experience operating independent stations, but I can think of two companies that do: Sinclair and Tribune.

 

By already having a news operation in-house, would it make sense for Tribune to turn KRON into a "WGN-West" of sorts, trading one of their smaller-market stations to MG in return?

 

Or MG could trade KRON for, say, several Sinclair stations like WWHO (Columbus), WUXP or WNAB (Nashville), WTTA (Tampa) so that MG might to be able to bulk up on duopolies? To me this makes a lot of sense, actually as Sinclair has triopolies in Columbus and Nashville so throwing the competition a bone might give them an opportunity to bring their show to San Francisco. Sinclair seems to be on great terms with Fox, so that could set the stage for even more trades.

 

But seriously, nobody knows how to run an independent station like Sinclair. They can make money on KRON where others can't.

 

Fun to speculate, isn't it?

[GoldenShine9 1509]

I also wonder if the Young stations will get new logos similar to the Media General stations?

[DirtyHarry 719]

 

I also wonder if the Young stations will get new logos similar to the Media General stations?

 

MG Graphics You Tube Channel:

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/MediaGeneralTV

 

WCMH Reel:

 

 

WFLA Reel and clip:

 

 

 

WNCN's Version (Same Package):

 

 

[Rusty Muck 4167]

Here's another thought: MG has virtually no experience operating independent stations, but I can think of two companies that do: Sinclair and Tribune.

 

By already having a news operation in-house, would it make sense for Tribune to turn KRON into a "WGN-West" of sorts, trading one of their smaller-market stations to MG in return?

 

Or MG could trade KRON for, say, several Sinclair stations like WWHO (Columbus), WUXP or WNAB (Nashville), WTTA (Tampa) so that MG might to be able to bulk up on duopolies? To me this makes a lot of sense, actually as Sinclair has triopolies in Columbus and Nashville so throwing the competition a bone might give them an opportunity to bring their show to San Francisco. Sinclair seems to be on great terms with Fox, so that could set the stage for even more trades.

 

But seriously, nobody knows how to run an independent station like Sinclair. They can make money on KRON where others can't.

 

Fun to speculate, isn't it?

But does Sinclair REALLY want KRON?

 

As much as people want to pile on them (and I'm not a fan because of their M&A strategy) that would be insane even by their standards. And I don't see them giving up their shell-run third stations to "give the competition a bone," because it would be such a lopsided deal in MG's favor. If MG wants to unload KRON (and they are not indicating either way) they are probably going to ask for something more than that (although not near the ridiculously high asking price Young was asking for in recent years).

 

Taking the concept of fair compensation into account, Sinclair wouldn't be able to afford the station, period. That's why they are concentrating on getting as many small town stations as possible, with KOMO probably reaching their limit on high-profileness.

 

And for all technical purposes, KRON is a MyTV affiliate, but the network has been downgraded to a program service like PTEN was in the early 90s.

[Rusty Muck 4167]

I also wonder if the Young stations will get new logos similar to the Media General stations?

Several MG stations - including flagship WFLA - have deviated from the gold-ring-next-to-channel-number logo style, while the former NBC stations never adopted that standard. (Heck, WJAR still uses the 1995-era WCAU logo!)