GoldenShine9 1509 Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 It is pretty clear this is not going as a package but rather piecemeal. Most companies have 1 or 2 conflicts anyway, but Gannett has 3 conflicts (KSAT, KPRC, WJXT) so that might be a proxy to acquire WPLG in a two-stage movement? Hearst was my next thinking for WDIV, KSAT, KPRC and WJXT, but that still leaves WKMG isolated... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CircleSeven 1944 Posted March 13, 2014 Author Share Posted March 13, 2014 It is pretty clear this is not going as a package but rather piecemeal. Most companies have 1 or 2 conflicts anyway, but Gannett has 3 conflicts (KSAT, KPRC, WJXT) so that might be a proxy to acquire WPLG in a two-stage movement? Hearst was my next thinking for WDIV, KSAT, KPRC and WJXT, but that still leaves WKMG isolated... Gannett has four conflicts, if you count WDIV, since they own the Free Press. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A3N 996 Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 I'm a bit confused, can Scripps or Hearst (should they be interested in the future) make a run at WPLG? or will the FCC not allow it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenShine9 1509 Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 I'm a bit confused, can Scripps or Hearst (should they be interested in the future) make a run at WPLG? or will the FCC not allow it? Neither have any stations in the Miami market. Sunbeam is the only non-O&O group, which many speculate is going on the block soon anyway. OOPS, forgot Tribune, but they could form a legal duopoly with any other station in the market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ns8401 846 Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 Post removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasTVNews 1366 Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 It is pretty clear this is not going as a package but rather piecemeal. Most companies have 1 or 2 conflicts anyway, but Gannett has 3 conflicts (KSAT, KPRC, WJXT) so that might be a proxy to acquire WPLG in a two-stage movement? Hearst was my next thinking for WDIV, KSAT, KPRC and WJXT, but that still leaves WKMG isolated... Gannett already owns KENS 5 and KHOU 11, why would Gannett be interested in KSAT and KPRC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike91 66 Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 If Hearst can have WCVB and WMUR, I'm sure they can have WPLG and WPBF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compubit 670 Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 I can see WPLG & WPBF working. There isn't much overlap of signals, as WPBF's transmitter is up closer to Fort Pierce than West Palm Beach, plus they're in separate media markets. I'm not, though, taking any bets on who ends up eventually with WPLG... J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundershock MN 169 Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Ok, to answer a couple questions and clarify some thing I'll give you some things to chew on. First, with regards to WPLG being flipped and potentially being "duopoly bait." Most of the "big" stations are already paired up. NBCU has WTVJ/WSCV, CBS has WFOR/WBFS and even Univision is in on the action with WLTV/WAMI. That really only leaves WSVN & WSFL as potential duopoly suitors. However, a duopoly with WSVN is highly unlikely. Second, As to why WPLG. It's simply the sacrificial lamb. One of the six had to be chosen for the "swap" and WPLG came up with the short straw. Finally, signal contours really only come into play for cross ownership concerns. TV and radio have there own rules for each medium based on market based upon DMA. It doesn't matter if a TV signal overlaps with co-owned TV signal in adjacent market. Provided of course there are no cross ownership concerns with Radio and/or Newspapers. That's where the signal contours come into play. As radio has 274 markets and TV has 210 markets and Newspapers effectively having none some mechanism needs to be used to determine cross ownership in "markets." Enter the signal contours. For example, if a TV stations noise limited contour encompasses the COL for a co-owned radio station those stations will be counted towards cross ownership limits in that "market." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breaking News 802 Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 How about this scenario and of course this is wishful thinking- So Gannett bought (Belo stations) and WCNC in Charlotte, NC Gannett sells WCNC to Hearst in exchange for WPBF Hearst gets WCNC & WPLG for good measure and Gannett owns WPBF I agree with the post above WPLG was sacrificial lamb over WKMG or KPRC? However Emily Barr said PostNews Week not up for sale and WDIV wasn't going to be the one to get the axe. I think DIV is the cash cow among all the stations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyHarry 719 Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Yeah, until today BH media was only a Newspaper company... so this is really interesting and when Warren Buffet buys a station it gets noticed. I'm trying to figure out why only buy WPLG, Like the rest of you. Buffet sits on the board of the Washington Post Co. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyHarry 719 Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Goal? There are no liquid assets to be taxed! It was a trade. He'll sell it off himself and receive the profit at a lower tax-rate then had he bought the station himself. I think that's right but I'm rusty on my tax law. I think the motive is so that this doesn't trigger capital gains tax for either side. I am going to assume that WPLG is going to Gannett in the near future. I think I was rooting on warren Buffett to grab WPLG instead of other broadcasting groups. I wouldn't be too sure of that. Buffet is known for not putting a lot of money into his operations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Muck 4167 Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 I think I was rooting on warren Buffett to grab WPLG instead of other broadcasting groups. I wouldn't be too sure of that. Buffet is known for not putting a lot of money into his operations. I agree. Buffet is only buying WPLG in order to sell it. It's going to wind up in another group's hands before too long. Think KKR when they bought Wometco/WTVJ... WTVJ was sold off in short order. The only reason that Buffet even got WPLG is because the rest of the P-N group is on the block (despite denials from Graham Holdings staffers) and this move helps in that respect, again taking tax considerations and whatnot into account. Gannett seems like the likely destination, but would there be much overlap between WPTV and WPLG? If not, I can't see why Scripps wouldn't want to get their hands on another key ABC affiliate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrtraveler01 737 Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 I agree. Buffet is only buying WPLG in order to sell it. It's going to wind up in another group's hands before too long. Think KKR when they bought Wometco/WTVJ... WTVJ was sold off in short order. The only reason that Buffet even got WPLG is because the rest of the P-N group is on the block (despite denials from Graham Holdings staffers) and this move helps in that respect, again taking tax considerations and whatnot into account. Gannett seems like the likely destination, but would there be much overlap between WPTV and WPLG? If not, I can't see why Scripps wouldn't want to get their hands on another key ABC affiliate. Why do you think he bought WPLG separately instead of the whole group? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColumbusNewsFan 217 Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Buffet sits on the board of the Washington Post Co. I get that part. The part I'm not getting is why just one station? Does he see growth in TV? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike91 66 Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 http://www.cbsnews.com/news/warren-buffett-becomes-the-latest-investor-to-plug-into-local-television-stations/ Something I found interesting in his 2008 letter to shareholders he chided himself for not buying an NBC affiliate in Dallas when he had the chance. One attraction, according to Buffett, is that stations require "virtually no capital investment." Maybe there is a chance he keeps it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bixpchiphead 105 Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 http://www.cbsnews.com/news/warren-buffett-becomes-the-latest-investor-to-plug-into-local-television-stations/ Something I found interesting in his 2008 letter to shareholders he chided himself for not buying an NBC affiliate in Dallas when he had the chance. One attraction, according to Buffett, is that stations require "virtually no capital investment." Maybe there is a chance he keeps it. A couple of things,,,, 1) The purchase of WPLG and buyback of BH shares is Warren slowly disconnecting from the Grahams.... (Just not the same since Kate died). 2) Buffett's way is to buy and hold for a looong time.... Before BH added the Omaha newspaper and the MediaGeneral papers, He had the Buffalo News (still does). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T.L. Hughes 751 Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 http://www.cbsnews.com/news/warren-buffett-becomes-the-latest-investor-to-plug-into-local-television-stations/ Something I found interesting in his 2008 letter to shareholders he chided himself for not buying an NBC affiliate in Dallas when he had the chance. One attraction, according to Buffett, is that stations require "virtually no capital investment." Maybe there is a chance he keeps it. So, does this mean Warren thought about buying KXAS? I'm not sure whether that would have gone through. Dallas is a major market, and even with the pockets that Warren Buffett has, I have doubts that NBC would have considered letting go an O&O in such a large market. Unless he was considering just buying out LIN's stake... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Muck 4167 Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 I get that part. The part I'm not getting is why just one station? Does he see growth in TV? That's the thing. If he bought all of the P-N stations, it could be feasible that he'd like to get into TV holdings. But then again, he's the same gazillionaire who sank a boatload of money into MediaGeneral's newspaper group (and de facto helped finance MG's purchase of Young Broadcasting). http://www.cbsnews.com/news/warren-buffett-becomes-the-latest-investor-to-plug-into-local-television-stations/ Something I found interesting in his 2008 letter to shareholders he chided himself for not buying an NBC affiliate in Dallas when he had the chance. One attraction, according to Buffett, is that stations require "virtually no capital investment." Maybe there is a chance he keeps it. But a standalone TV operation, even being owned by a Warren Buffett, is totally impractical and unsustainable. This isn't the 1970s or 1980s. In order for this to work, he HAS to buy several more stations, a task that becomes challenging with the FCC unwilling to do away with the newspaper/TV cross-ownership ban. It's not as if Buffett owned the Tampa Bay Tribune - the one MG paper he DIDN'T buy. There was nothing to stop him from buying WKMG and WJXT from Graham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T.L. Hughes 751 Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 That's the thing. If he bought all of the P-N stations, it could be feasible that he'd like to get into TV holdings. But then again, he's the same gazillionaire who sank a boatload of money into MediaGeneral's newspaper group (and de facto helped finance MG's purchase of Young Broadcasting). But a standalone TV operation, even being owned by a Warren Buffett, is totally impractical and unsustainable. This isn't the 1970s or 1980s. In order for this to work, he HAS to buy several more stations, a task that becomes challenging with the FCC unwilling to do away with the newspaper/TV cross-ownership ban. I'm curious if Buffett's ownership of the Tampa Bay Tribune likely prevented him from buying WKMG and WJXT. Assuming the same crossownership rules that prevented the Tribune Company from buying WNEP and WTKR/WGNT applied here. In those cases, Dreamcatcher had to buy them because Tribune owned newspapers in cities within (or technically adjacent to, in the case of Scranton) the market areas of those stations. WJXT is in Jacksonville (far and away from the Tampa market), WKMG is in Orlando (adjacent to the Tampa market), I'm not sure that would have been an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Muck 4167 Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Assuming the same crossownership rules that prevented the Tribune Company from buying WNEP and WTKR/WGNT applied here. In those cases, Dreamcatcher had to buy them because Tribune owned newspapers in cities within (or technically adjacent to, in the case of Scranton) the market areas of those stations. WJXT is in Jacksonville (far and away from the Tampa market), WKMG is in Orlando (adjacent to the Tampa market), I'm not sure that would have been an issue. I corrected my previous post a bit too late. Buffett never bought the Tampa Bay Tribune... therefore, nothing would have stopped him from buying WJXT or WKMG (assuming that the FCC would have been extremely stringent on cross-ownership). Which makes this even more bizarre, and does nothing to stop the "he only bought WPLG to sell it" thought process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bixpchiphead 105 Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 So, does this mean Warren thought about buying KXAS? I'm not sure whether that would have gone through. Dallas is a major market, and even with the pockets that Warren Buffett has, I have doubts that NBC would have considered letting go an O&O in such a large market. Unless he was considering just buying out LIN's stake... It goes back even further...When the Carter family wanted to sell The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and WBAP AM-FM and TV, for whatever reason (guessing crossownership rules) CapCities (whom Buffett and BH had a decent chunk of) wanted the Newspaper and the Radio Stations, and turned around to offer WBAP 5 to Warren, who said no (to his regret). CapCities then offered the tv station to the original LIN Broadcasting, who was started by fomer CapCites folks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABC 7 Denver 1554 Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 That's the thing. If he bought all of the P-N stations, it could be feasible that he'd like to get into TV holdings. But then again, he's the same gazillionaire who sank a boatload of money into MediaGeneral's newspaper group (and de facto helped finance MG's purchase of Young Broadcasting). But a standalone TV operation, even being owned by a Warren Buffett, is totally impractical and unsustainable. This isn't the 1970s or 1980s. In order for this to work, he HAS to buy several more stations, a task that becomes challenging with the FCC unwilling to do away with the newspaper/TV cross-ownership ban. It's not as if Buffett owned the Tampa Bay Tribune - the one MG paper he DIDN'T buy. There was nothing to stop him from buying WKMG and WJXT from Graham. I corrected my previous post a bit too late. Buffett never bought the Tampa Bay Tribune... therefore, nothing would have stopped him from buying WJXT or WKMG (assuming that the FCC would have been extremely stringent on cross-ownership). Which makes this even more bizarre, and does nothing to stop the "he only bought WPLG to sell it" thought process. My point exactly. It is impossible these days to own a standalone affiliate in a market without other assets in a similar medium in order to spread the cost! This is why I think Gannett or Scripps are the most likely candidates to acquire WPLG. Both have a strong Florida news presents and can spread the cost to actually make a profit. Do I think Hearst is an option? No. And here's why. They had plenty of clout to create their own Allbritton deal and they could have done the same with the MGH stations. While Hearst has a fairly strong presence in Florida, I get the sense that they are in a holding pattern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CircleSeven 1944 Posted April 21, 2014 Author Share Posted April 21, 2014 The Paperwork for WPLG is up. The deal includes a Transition Services Agreement in which Graham will provide services to WPLG for a period up to two years post-consummation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrtraveler01 737 Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 The Paperwork for WPLG is up. The deal includes a Transition Services Agreement in which Graham will provide services to WPLG for a period up to two years post-consummation. So nothing will change at WPLG for the short-term then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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