Gannett to acquire Belo

[mark 55]

Why are we all assuming Gannett graphics and "This is Home" will be rolled out to all the Belo stations? Has that been confirmed?

 

I know someone said KGW was preparing for new graphics but my guess would be that were in the works before the acquisition was announced. It just doesn't seem likely that any of the stations would begin using Gannett stuff until after the sale is complete, especially with the memos that went out saying it's "business as usual" until the deal is final.

 

And on the topic of Gannett/Belo standardization, I wouldn't automatically assume the current look will be rolled out everywhere or even that this will be the same look they use for the long term. Yes, Gannett is acquiring Belo, but they're also nearly doubling the size of their station group and gaining entry into what will now be their largest market (DFW).

 

Think of this like a merger: They're adding a ton of new people from Belo and a lot will depend on who gets put where in management positions of the restructured group. It wouldn't make sense to take the two large stations like WFAA and KHOU and just put them through the meat grinder. (Not that that approach ever made much sense for any other station, but with WFAA being the new largest station, you have to pay attention to their place in the market and what they have to say.

 

Not to mention, they may not even be able to standardize some of the stations for a while. This type of standardization requires all stations utilizing the same technology, and we know the Belo stations weren't even all using the same systems themselves. Plus, the graphics hub itself would have to beef up staff to serve twice as many stations.

 

So my point is this: A lot has to be thought through before we see some changes take place so I wouldn't be shocked if this doesn't turn out the way many on here seem to assume it will.

[compubit 670]

Does WFAA and/or KHOU actually even run an image using Spirit of Texas anymore? I know neither say those words in their opens anymore.

 

KHOU's current image campaign is "KHOU stands for Houston".

 

Jim

[sanewsguy 509]

The Gannett stations just got TiH and their colored cube graphics this year. It's not like Scripps whose group package was three years old when they made their most recent acquistion (McGraw Hill) and then decided at that point to get a new imaging package. It made sense for Scripps. It doesn't make sense for Gannett though because of how new the look is. Belo's new look for the Texas properties and WWL is relatively new too. I can see Gannett using both, pick one or the other to use. Eventually I see a new look being created for all of their stations but it will take time to get everybody on the same systems. It might be easier for Gannett to upgrade the Northwest cluster, WHAS, WVEC, and WCNC (hopefully I'm not forgetting any others) to the Chyron Axis system before the TX/LA stations that just switched over to Miranda. I think there will be two unique looks for now due to the graphics system limitations.

 

Music OTOH; I see them dropping the current themes on the stations for TiH, which actually works well with the current Belo graphics (particularly the version KENS uses, their open is completely different from WFAA, WWL, and KHOU--I haven't seen KVUE's open).

 

I can see the stations getting the TiH image campaign though. It would work well for San Antonio. It's an all-American image package designed to work in any American city. TiH can be executed really well^; it all depends on how talented that station's Creative Services/Promotions department is. I've seen terrible versions *cough*

and

*cough* and really good versions like

and

(whose version actually matches the Belo graphics quite well...). Corporate gives them the music and it's up to the stations to execute it. WUSA's painful visual effects ruin an otherwise good promo. WMAZ uses just video and no visual effects other than the end and it doesn't even fit with the promo, especially the out of place slogan.

 

Some of the stations use "This is Home" as a feature of the Friday noon news as a recap of the week and to "end the week on a happy note" in lieu of the image campaign. Can't see this working with KENS at all, especially because they like to end the Friday night news with random country music. But an image campaign would work. The hip-hop version would suit San Antonio well. I can already picture one in the fall with high school football players and cheerleaders, San Antonio landmarks, a couple mariachi bands, the Riverwalk, tourists, the Spurs (of course), and some video in the Hill Country. :drool: I must be dreaming... Please KENS, hurry up and do us a favor, and do a This is Home campaign.

 

I can see this working with all of the Belo stations. KENS especially has a very talented Creative department and they'll excel with this campaign.

 

 

Wouldn't it make more sense to create an image campaign targeting a particular demographic? You want to obtain/reinforce a certain type of viewer.

 

Most of today's image campaign songs take a standard approach... something along the lines of light pop like you'd hear on adult contemporary radio. The female demo is often dominant among local TV so that's probably why. It's likely the common denominator among WFAA, KHOU, KENS, and KVUE.

 

I think they want something more general. I don't necessarily think it's as much of a gender thing as much as it an age demo. I think Gannett was trying to get at the younger demos with this campaign. KENS viewers do tend to be over 49, majority female (yes, this is the main demo of most CBS affils whether you want to believe it or not). Unfortunately, younger demos don't watch local TV so it's a waste coming up with this promo. But I like it, it's catchy and it's a much needed image boost for most of these stations.

 

There also seems to be three different kinds: a hip-hop version and two softer ones, one being more upbeat than the other. I could see them doing a country version for the Texas stations (possibly KVUE, can't see it on WFAA or KHOU where the hip-hop version would suffice).

 

^=if you want to judge for yourself and have the time, here are the other TiH campaigns not mentioned above: WXIA,

,

, KSDK,

, WFMY, First Coast News, WGRZ,

, WBIR, WLTX,

,

,

,

 

I couldn't find WTSP or KUSA's versions, sorry. But if you want to download the hip-hop version of TiH you can do so here.

[sanewsguy 509]

Also, I found the

of WMAZ's "Straight from the Heart" image campaign from 2012. Sounds like somebody in the creative department at WMAZ loves dubstep...

 

And more recent than that, they have

(which also incorporates their longrunning "Heart" campaign). Not as good as the more polished Gari versions, since it was locally produced, but give them some credit for trying to be different. As I posted earlier they do use the hip-hop version as well.

 

Makes the case that they may go for something custom in Texas...

[mark 55]

 

The Gannett stations just got TiH and their colored cube graphics this year. It's not like Scripps whose group package was three years old when they made their most recent acquistion (McGraw Hill) and then decided at that point to get a new imaging package. It made sense for Scripps. It doesn't make sense for Gannett though because of how new the look is. Belo's new look for the Texas properties and WWL is relatively new too. I can see Gannett using both, pick one or the other to use. Eventually I see a new look being created for all of their stations but it will take time to get everybody on the same systems. It might be easier for Gannett to upgrade the Northwest cluster, WHAS, WVEC, and WCNC (hopefully I'm not forgetting any others) to the Chyron Axis system before the TX/LA stations that just switched over to Miranda. I think there will be two unique looks for now due to the graphics system limitations.

 

Unlike Scripps, the Gannett station group is nearly doubling in size. That means more stations to switch over to new graphics systems (as you also pointed out) and, again, right now the graphics hub isn't prepared to handle that amount of stations. That's not to say the Belo stations won't get the cube graphics, but by the time these things can be implemented, the graphics will be older than they are now.

 

Also, Belo just went through the process of deciding how to standardize their stations. They settled on allowing stations to keep smaller in-house graphics teams (NOT hubbing entirely) and sharing elements among each other, allowing for more flexibility with station imaging. Who's to say the new group won't take that approach as opposed to Gannett's current approach?

 

Again though, this isn't like other station group buys where a larger group just swallows up a smaller one. Belo has almost as many stations as Gannett and has many large stations. It's important to remember that there will be a lot of Belo people coming in to the fold. Like I said, some things will depend on who gets put where in management positions. With an acquisition of this size, it's not like it will be only the Gannett people running the show. That's why I compare this to a merger. They're going to have to rethink some things and make some decisions in this process and it won't just be Gannett people making those decisions.

[GoldenShine9 1509]

An alternate possibility: perhaps the Gannett stations will get the Belo graphics, if they find that to be a cheaper option given the size of the acquisition?

[eyewitness_news 5]

Since 1999, when Gannett traded KVUE to Belo (who retraded KXTV to Gannett), there hasn't been a single Gannett-owned TV station in Texas. When the acquisition pulls through, there will be at least four.

[CLTNewsWatch 4]

Where did you hear about HD? Was that just you speculating because of Gannett? They do need it.

I heard from Ben Thompson that there were plans to have HD this year, but they got pushed back. But he also mentioned that the Gannett stations are in HD, so that "has to be a good sign." He guesses that it still might be a year from now, because it is a massive, multi-million dollar overhaul of the station. He also said that they did try to push Belo for HD.

[The Frog 393]

DirecTV and Time Warner Cable urge the FCC to block the purchase: http://www.deadline.com/2013/07/directv-time-warner-cable-aca-fcc-block-gannett-belo/

[CircleSeven 1945]

 

DirecTV and Time Warner Cable urge the FCC to block the purchase: http://www.deadline.com/2013/07/directv-time-warner-cable-aca-fcc-block-gannett-belo/

 

They were one day to spare to file this complaint to make this petition to deny. They probably doing this so it can let those applications stall. We'll see if Gannett will place a rebuttal of that petition of deny. And with the shareholders' situation, this proves that these applications may not have a greenlight for a good minute.

[GoldenShine9 1509]

 

They were one day to spare to file this complaint to make this petition to deny. They probably doing this so it can let those applications stall. We'll see if Gannett will place a rebuttal of that petition of deny. And with the shareholders' situation, this proves that these applications may not have a greenlight for a good minute.

 

Why so much fuss when Sinclair and Nexstar have so many triopolies and a couple quadropolies, and far more stations each?

[compubit 670]

Why so much fuss when Sinclair and Nexstar have so many triopolies and a couple quadropolies, and far more stations each?

I'm guessing it has to do with Market size...

 

WFAA in Dallas has a lot more impact (ratings, rates, carriage negotiations, etc.) going from Belo to Gannett with the big boys than KTVO in Kirksville, MO going from Barrington to Sinclair (I'm guessing TW doesn't have any systems out in rural Iowa/Missouri).

 

J

[CircleSeven 1945]

 

Why so much fuss when Sinclair and Nexstar have so many triopolies and a couple quadropolies, and far more stations each?

 

And then they don't say anything about those. They attack Gannett because the cable carrier feared that Gannett probably want even more money, since most of those stations are like in the top 51 markets. Are they going to file a petition to deny to the Tribune stations? The other new duopoly in St. Louis will be formed as well (KTVI/KPLR). And they're going to be the #1 station group by U.S. Market Coverage. Why they didn't go for the petition of deny for the Sinclair, Nexstar and their buying sprees. Some folks just do things impulsively, without thinking.

[Mrtraveler01 737]

I'm guessing it has to do with Market size...

 

WFAA in Dallas has a lot more impact (ratings, rates, carriage negotiations, etc.) going from Belo to Gannett with the big boys than KTVO in Kirksville, MO going from Barrington to Sinclair (I'm guessing TW doesn't have any systems out in rural Iowa/Missouri).

 

J

Yep. Considering that Texas is a big market for TWC and Gannetts newest purchases are in Texas is probably no coincidence.

[Nelson R. 560]

Yep. Considering that Texas is a big market for TWC and Gannetts newest purchases are in Texas is probably no coincidence.

Ditto to WCNC in Charlotte.

[sanewsguy 509]

God I can't stand TWC (and I live in a TWC market). How come they are always having retrans disputes and the other companies (DirecTV, Dish, Uverse, Fios, Comcast, etc.) don't (ok, they do, but not nearly as much as TWC)? This is why I hate TWC. Here in SA they have been involved in a dispute with all of the TV stations except WOAI and the Spanish stations at least once.

 

Thankfully I do not subscribe to them anymore so I don't have to listen to their sob stories every time they have a dispute with a local station (if you're not familiar with TWC, every time they have a dispute with a network or station group, they will post their own website similar to this one regarding the current CBS dispute and I get to see them take out full page ads in the paper so they can try to tell "their" side of the story (which IMO is stooping low). In fact, I read this quote from Bloomberg regarding the CBS/TWC dispute:

Time Warner Cable Chief Executive Officer Glenn Britt has threatened to drop networks that “cost too much relative to viewership.” CBS doesn’t fall into this category because “we carry our own weight,” Moonves said.

Glenn Britt is a tool. I blame him for all of the retrans disputes Time Warner has had.

 

It's always amusing when TWC has a dispute and I never have to worrying about losing that channel because I subscribe to a competing service.

 

On top of that their customer service is poor, the quality of the picture isn't all that great either, and they're overpriced for what they give you.

 

I wish TWC would just go away. S.A would be far better off with Comcast, oh I mean Xfinity.

[Samantha 2878]

We may have one of the best large-market retrans consent records in the country with Cox in Phoenix. I've lived in PHX since 1998, no blackouts of local stations.

 

Cox is so dominant (it's the only cable provider of record in Phoenix) that it might be just too risky.

[CircleSeven 1945]

Hey Y'all. I think DirecTV & TWC is the least of their problems.

 

B&C stated late last night that now several other firms like Free Press, NABET-CWA, The Newspaper Guild & The National Hispanic Media Coalition are now asking the FCC to deny parts of the Gannett-Belo deal.

 

Why are they coming out of the woodwork NOW??!!!

[sanewsguy 509]

No, reverse that. God I can't stand the unions...

 

Anyways, I truly don't see a problem with the deal aside from St. Louis. I'd say just spin St. Louis off to a non-Gannett connected third party and call it a day. I think Phoenix also has way too many news operations compared to other DMAs that size. They could stand to lose KTVK (or KPNX) since similar sized DMAs do not have that many news ops. I really don't see Phoenix as a problem. The only thing that's wrong with this deal would be St. Louis. The markets with newspapers (Louisville and Portland-Salem) aren't problems and are having this roadblock known as an outdated FCC rule that an owner of a market TV station also can't own the newspaper. Gannett isn't going to merge the two newsrooms since they are two completely different mediums. It's easy to merge two TV newsrooms together but not a print and TV newsroom.

 

If they just put KMOV up for sale, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

[CircleSeven 1945]

No I'm saying this.

 

If they wanted to complain, why in the living hell did they wait until hours prior to the end the comment period to file for the petition to deny. Those stations in Alaska stations didn't waste no time filing for petitions to deny the sale of KTVA & KATH to Denali Media, a subsidiary of Alaska's Cable & Internet company, GCI. And that application is still waiting for the greenlight.

 

The last time I've seen Free Press filing for a complaint in this magnitude was five years ago against WBND & the other LPs as Weigel was going to sell it to Schurz. Free Press complained that Schurz was going to take a clear majority of the media inventory in the Bend, since they had the paper (South Bend Tribune), the radio & channel 22. FCC did approve WBND but didn't approve the other two. So Schurz called off the sale after over a year of inactivity.

 

For one big company to control the top-2 highest rated station in a market like St. Louis, Hell Yes, the very wise thing is to sell KMOV to a completely different company. But do you think Gannett is going to do that? And if they're really selling their Sander Media situation where everything is going to be separately operated from the other, they better have explain that in true detail. And that doesn't explain about the retrans situations, that the cable firms are having a baby about.

 

And Like I said earlier, are they going to complain about Tribune and there merger? Are they going to complain. I'm not hearing them doing that? I find it stupid to wait all the way until two bigger firm wanting to merge, and then waited more than a month to make their complaint. And how about Sinclair and their $1.8B two year buying spree. They didn't complain about that. Hell, the FCC has yet to act on the situation on the TV-paper cross-ownership situation and what they're going to do with the LMAs/JSAs/SSAs. It appears everybody wants a shell company, that means it's going to be even harder to eliminate those agreements, while more companies are making these new shells and such. Once Wheeler get appointed as the new FCC Chief, I think nothing is going to happen at any significance, other than dealing with the broadband plan and how many channels get off the grid post-auction.

 

Where were they when Sinclair was buying crazy? Did they say anything about that. HELL NO!! If the Free Press or ACA don't complain about the Tribune situation, then they shouldn't say shit about the Gannett situation.

[sanewsguy 509]

 

If they wanted to complain, why in the living hell did they wait until hours prior to the end the comment period to file for the petition to deny. Those stations in Alaska stations didn't waste no time filing for petitions to deny the sale of KTVA & KATH to Denali Media, a subsidiary of Alaska's Cable & Internet company, GCI. And that application is still waiting for the greenlight.

 

The last time I've seen Free Press filing for a complaint in this magnitude was five years ago against WBND & the other LPs as Weigel was going to sell it to Schurz. Free Press complained that Schurz was going to take a clear majority of the media inventory in the Bend, since they had the paper (South Bend Tribune), the radio & channel 22. FCC did approve WBND but didn't approve the other two. So Schurz called off the sale after over a year of inactivity.

 

I honestly looked that detail over. Still though, there's really nothing served out of them complaining. These organizations might complain, but the sale usually ends up going through anyway. I'm honestly surprised KTVA/KATH hasn't been approved. I know GCI will do a better job running KTVA than MediaNews currently is. GCI will definitely pour money in that operation. Free Press I guess prefers mediocrity over owners who are committed to pouring their resources into stations that sorely need it.

 

For one big company to control the top-2 highest rated station in a market like St. Louis, Hell Yes, the very wise thing is to sell KMOV to a completely different company. But do you think Gannett is going to do that? And if they're really selling their Sander Media situation where everything is going to be separately operated from the other, they better have explain that in true detail. And that doesn't explain about the retrans situations, that the cable firms are having a baby about.

 

And Like I said earlier, are they going to complain about Tribune and there merger? Are they going to complain. I'm not hearing them doing that? I find it stupid to wait all the way until two bigger firm wanting to merge, and then waited more than a month to make their complaint. And how about Sinclair and their $1.8B two year buying spree. They didn't complain about that. Hell, the FCC has yet to act on the situation on the TV-paper cross-ownership situation and what they're going to do with the LMAs/JSAs/SSAs. It appears everybody wants a shell company, that means it's going to be even harder to eliminate those agreements, while more companies are making these new shells and such. Once Wheeler get appointed as the new FCC Chief, I think nothing is going to happen at any significance, other than dealing with the broadband plan and how many channels get off the grid post-auction.

 

Where were they when Sinclair was buying crazy? Did they say anything about that. HELL NO!! If the Free Press or ACA don't complain about the Tribune situation, then they shouldn't say shit about the Gannett situation.

 

First of all, you're right. Gannett isn't going to give up KMOV. It would be ideal. In the past that would've been realistic. But with companies now realizing the potential of shell companies, they're choosing to retain "overlap stations" through the shells (thanks Nexstar for originating the concept and Sinclair for perfecting it). That way, they can squeeze more ad revenue by having two streams to sell it on instead of one.

 

But why would anyone need to oppose Tribune? Absolutely nothing wrong with that deal. KPLR/KTVI have already had a merged operation for close to five years now. People are already used to it. Likewise in Denver. Tribune is not trying to monopolize the local news market (or reduce the number of choices for news). As far as retrans is concerned, that's the future of broadcasting (for now) and it's what's keeping them afloat. Otherwise you'd see what's happening with broadcasters in Canada. There's no "fee-for-carriage" (their equivalent of retransmission consent) for OTA broadcasters so those channels are relying solely on ad revenue. And what's the result? Less news operations, stations that close, mass layoffs, and less resources and newscasts for local news operations there. Thank god that is not the case in the U.S., only because retrans is legal here.

 

The TV-paper cross ownership deal has got to be repealed; it is considerably outdated. When that was passed back in the 70's, it was thought that companies who owned a radio station/TV station/newspaper combo were monopolizing the local media marketplace. While that may have been true back then, that certainly isn't the case anymore. There are more TV stations, more radio stations, and the internet. All of these changes have clearly made this rule insignificant for today's media landscape.

 

I know, CircleSeven, as much as you hate Sinclair, face it, those were small markets, where, in most circumstances, there were still one-to-two (or three plus) competing news operations. Again, the media landscape is out of date and needs reform. But for now, the only problem I realistically see with Sinclair controlling (for instance) five stations in Syracuse is the retrans issue. WTVH/WSTM have had a merged newsroom for four years now. Viewers are already used to it. If retrans wasn't such a big issue, then, sure, let Sinclair own five stations. It does show that they're greedy but WSYT and WNYS have virtually no local programming so viewers in Syracuse market are not really at a loss for anything and the Sinclair cluster there will continue to serve the public interest. In short, I can see why they're crying foul with Gannett but not with Sinclair or Tribune. Besides, Sinclair may not necessarily be a "quality" broadcaster, but the groups are only concerned with number of news operations/editorial voices, and retrans consent. Nothing more, nothing less.

[MidwestTV 1173]

Sorry, I'm in a rush, so if someone has already mention this then forgive me, but people are now starting to ask the FCC to block the purchase of Belo:

 

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/two-groups-ask-fcc-to-deny-gannetts-purchase-of-belo-for-different-reasons_b98668

[CircleSeven 1945]

 

Sorry, I'm in a rush, so if someone has already mention this then forgive me, but people are now starting to ask the FCC to block the purchase of Belo:

 

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/two-groups-ask-fcc-to-deny-gannetts-purchase-of-belo-for-different-reasons_b98668

 

No that's fine. You're cool. It's been mentioned since last night. This ain't the first time something gets reposted and no one knows until its too late. I have done so a few times on here. So it ain't no big deal.

[CircleSeven 1945]

And now B&C said that the NCTA is now making noise, urging the FCC to prevent station groups for using JSA/LMA/SSA to negotiate retransmission consent agreements.

[Thundershock MN 169]

 

Hey Y'all. I think DirecTV & TWC is the least of their problems.

 

B&C stated late last night that now several other firms like Free Press, NABET-CWA, The Newspaper Guild & The National Hispanic Media Coalition are now asking the FCC to deny parts of the Gannett-Belo deal.

 

Why are they coming out of the woodwork NOW??!!!

 

Because this has become the fashionable deal to criticize with regards to the recent consolidation. For whatever reason Sen. Cantwell singled out this deal to complain about JSA's and ownership rules. And, since then it's been easy for more groups to just glom on in order help further/draw attention to their various agendas.

 

 

And now B&C said that the NCTA is now making noise, urging the FCC to prevent station groups for using JSA/LMA/SSA to negotiate retransmission consent agreements.

 

How convenient. They don't really have a issue with it just as long as they don't get to negotiate together. So, as long as it dosen't directly affect the NCTA go ahead and have at it.

 

I think the genie is out of the bottle on JSA/LMA/SSA's. I don't think there really is a way to totally unwind them anymore. It needed to be nipped in the bud years ago if you were going to stop it. At this point if they were forced to devest someone would have to rebuild a station from the ground up in most cases. And, you'd have to find a buyer in a majorty of these cases. That isn't always an easy feat either. Hence why alot of these small market stations ended up with Nexstar & Sinclair in the first place. They were the only ones that wanted them. I think a ton of these licenses would just be turned in if this happened, either for the incentive auction or just outright forfeiting them. The best I think you can do at this point is grandfather the existing arrangements and ban future agreements.

 

It sucks it has gotten to this point. Unfortunately, the results of "un-doing" these arrangements might be worse and not what some people think would happen by "un-doing" them.