Gray TV acquiring Schurz

[MidwestTV 1232]

That price seems a little low for KAKE. I'm surprised that it didn't go to a larger company. Does Lockwood have the resources/finances to keep KAKE competitive? Their only news producing station is KTEN in Sherman, Texas. I would be concerned if I was a KAKE employee.

 

Agreed. Selling them to Lockwood seems very strange, especially when Lockwood only owns ONE other news producing station? How does KTEN do in its market? That may be a indication of what may come to KAKE.

[effseesee 101]

Agreed. Selling them to Lockwood seems very strange, especially when Lockwood only owns ONE other news producing station? How does KTEN do in its market? That may be a indication of what may come to KAKE.

 

It's a 2 station market squeezed between Dallas and OKC. Ironically, the other station, KXII, is owned by Gray. Historically, KTEN has been seen as the Oklahoma station, even though the studio is in Texas, while KXII has been the Texas station. Both stations have to deal with the availability of Dallas and OKC stations.

[TheRolyPoly 2449]

It's a 2 station market squeezed between Dallas and OKC. Ironically, the other station, KXII, is owned by Gray. Historically, KTEN has been seen as the Oklahoma station, even though the studio is in Texas, while KXII has been the Texas station. Both stations have to deal with the availability of Dallas and OKC stations.

 

For example, if you live in the Texas side, Dallas stations are seen there. In Oklahoma, you got the OKC stations. If you live in the border, you'd be lucky if you get all 3 markets.

[TheRob 938]

Part of me wonders if Lockwood is trying to make itself more attractive for a future buyer. KAKE + satellites are larger and far more complex than anything Lockwood has operated before.

[atlnews2 591]

Part of me wonders if Lockwood is trying to make itself more attractive for a future buyer. KAKE + satellites are larger and far more complex than anything Lockwood has operated before.

 

They may be trying to pull a Lilly. Buy a station for cheap, operate it for a few years then sell it for a profit.

[tyrannical bastard 3955]

Maybe Sinclair can create a better logo for WSBT ;-)

The one they have now versus the old one before is a MAJOR downgrade...

[CircleSeven 1955]

Maybe Sinclair csn create a better logo for WSBT ;-)

The one they have now versus the old one before is a MAJOR downgrade...

 

I missed their old logo so much....

 

 

And I was the first to say that new (current) logo was ugly. So should it be a brand new logo, anything would be an improvement than what they have now.

[channel2 979]

You were the first, but you won't be the last.

[tw-804 192]

Maybe Sinclair can create a better logo for WSBT ;-)

The one they have now versus the old one before is a MAJOR downgrade...

 

I hope not. I actually like WSBT's current logo and I can see it with the new Sinclair graphics. Heck, some stations that were acquired by Sinclair kept their current logos (for example: WHAM, WJLA, WPEC, KEYE, WTOV...).

 

But back to Gray. They'll have western and southwestern Virginia covered: the Charlottesville Newsplex, WHSV and WSVF in Harrisonburg, and soon, WDBJ7 in the Roanoke/Lynchburg area.

[CircleSeven 1955]

A quick follow-up, as some of the spin-off paperwork is now been posted.

 

According to this description posted, it looks like KOTA's satellite station in Lead, SD, KHSD will also be assigned to Legacy Broadcasting.

 

Make sense when you already have a satellite station in that same town (KIVV repeats KEVN).

[CircleSeven 1955]

As of tonight, Gray has updated it's transaction description to include the spin-off transactions.

 

And with this updated document comes new info. Gray is planning on converting KOTA's Sheridan, WY repeater KSGW into a new repeater of Casper's NBC station, KCWY-DT.

[TheRolyPoly 2449]

When Gray says that they don't know nothing about radio, no seriously... they really don't know nothing about radio.

 

Today, Radio Insight has reported that Gray Television is divesting its 3 radio clusters to different buyers:

1. The Lafayette, IN cluster goes to Neuhoff Communications.
   
2. The South Bend cluster goes to Midwest Family Broadcasting (WSBT 960 goes to Midwest, WSBT 22 to Sinclair and South Bend Tribune remains at Schurz. I feel sorry for the South Bend cluster.)
   
3. The Rapid City, SD cluster goes to HomeSlice Media Group.
   

https://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/95090/gray-television-divests-schurz-clusters-in-lafayette-south-bend/

[CircleSeven 1955]

Looks like we have a complaint regarding one of the transactions.

 

GCI (major telecom company & owners of KTVA) filed a complaint to block the sale of KYES to Gray. They say since they're also acquiring KTUU from the Schurz acquisition, this deal would give them too much control.

 

Remember three years ago, when GCI announced they were acquiring KTVA, several TV stations in town filed complaints, including Fireweed to block the sale for the same reason, but the sale was greenlighted in the end of October of 2013.

 

I'm thinking the only reason GCI is complaining is because Gray could probably go after retrans fees for both stations should the deal closes. But I doubt that the FCC would block the sale. And I don't think GCI has anything to say because don't they have multiple full powers & LPs that they own in or near Juneau that carry both CBS & NBC? So I don't think their complaint has any merit.

[extvtog 4]

I'm wondering what is going to happen to WAGT as its sits in the building with Media General owned WJBF and is operated as SSA. Will WRDW (Gray Owned) take over? Why doesn't Media General just purchase WAGT? WRDW sits in a very small building in North Augusta.

[GoldenShine9 1513]

I'm wondering what is going to happen to WAGT as its sits in the building with Media General owned WJBF and is operated as SSA. Will WRDW (Gray Owned) take over? Why doesn't Media General just purchase WAGT? WRDW sits in a very small building in North Augusta.

 

MG cannot purchase WAGT since they own WJBF. I'd think WRDW will get a new bigger building.

[mvcg66b3r 100]

I'm wondering what is going to happen to WAGT as its sits in the building with Media General owned WJBF and is operated as SSA. Will WRDW (Gray Owned) take over? Why doesn't Media General just purchase WAGT? WRDW sits in a very small building in North Augusta.

 

Read post #8:

 

Note this: "Over time, Gray expects to consolidate WAGT-TV’s operations with Gray’s existing operations in this market. Gray anticipates that the FCC license for WAGT-TV will be offered in the upcoming FCC spectrum auction, with the proceeds from such auction, if any, payable to Gray."

 

And here's my take:

 

Since Gray has already bought WBEK-CD, it would be wise to move The CW stream there. Here's how I'd see things in Augusta:

WRDW: 12.1 CBS (1080i HD), 12.2 NBC (720p HD), 12.3 MNT/Antenna TV (480i SD)

WBEK-CD: 16.1 CW (1080i HD)

WAGT: 26.1 ????

[Guest NewsHound]

WRDW sits in a very small building in North Augusta.

 

Small is an understatement. I interned there once. The building was built in 1953 or 1954.

 

The studio space is probably one-third of a standard studio space. In fact, I was told that when Gil Jiminez came in to build a set in 2005, there was issues building the type of set they wanted, and lots of electrical and design issues of the building that caused quite a challenge.

 

Until the newsroom was renovated a couple years ago, the entire building hadn't been renovated since practically the 1970s. I bet only the newsroom was renovated, the rest of the building is still pretty drab with dimming 1970s fluorescent lighting, wood paneling, dingy commercial carpet in the hallways.

 

Quite frankly, the building is barely big enough for one television station.

 

The only upside for this is that WRDW could finally move out of North Augusta. Where would they go? Lord knows...

[tyrannical bastard 3955]

Too bad the original Television Park was demolished in Downtown Augusta.

The main reason they moved out in the first place was the space it took to absorb WAGT's operations.

[Guest NewsHound]

Too bad the original Television Park was demolished in Downtown Augusta.

The main reason they moved out in the first place was the space it took to absorb WAGT's operations.

 

For real. The Reynolds Street Television Park was a crown jewel of the city, it was a landmark within itself and deserved landmark status. Iconic mustard yellow and virtually unchanged on the exterior since the 1950s. Like WRDW's situation, the building is just too small. In fact, the Reynolds Street Television Park had to be expanded a couple times for just WJBF, as technology changed and as the staff grew bigger, they outgrew the building. As is the case with WRDW now.

 

Augusta West Television Park is not a memorable place. It looks much like a Barnes & Noble from the early 1990s on the exterior, it is the interior that is massive and expansive.

 

There are only two solutions that I see if this deal does go through.

 

Option 1 - WRDW/Gray rents WAGT's space in Television Park temporarily until they can build out new facilities. It would be an unfavorable move for WJBF and WRDW but it would be indeed temporary.

 

Option 2 - WAGT's old studios at 905 Broad Street are sitting vacant. My guess is that Schurz still owns the property and are just sitting on it for a rainy day. The studios have not been upgraded to HD, and as far as I know, hasn't been gutted. WAGT could in theory move back to Broad Street temporarily if Media General decides to evict WAGT after the merger.

 

The problem with 905 Broad is the lack of parking and security issues, the studios sit in a relatively dangerous part of downtown. If Gray buys Schurz, 905 Broad is theirs if they choose to use it, however the studio was converted from an old movie theater and was barely big enough for WAGT, which in theory makes it an unlikely new home for WRDW/WAGT.

 

The likely option here is that WAGT will continue to operate temporarily out of WJBF's Television Park if the deal goes through. As far as what happens with 905 Broad, only time will tell.

 

Also, what will Media General and WJBF do with all the extra space? (since the new Television Park was built for 2 stations and not one). A likely option here is offering studio space for Raycom's WFXG which has outgrown their Martinez studios. This could provide WFXG with plenty of enough space to expand their news department locally and kill off the outsourced WTOC newscast (which a reliable insider at WFXG told me that both parties have been trying to kill it off for years now).

[effseesee 101]

For real. The Reynolds Street Television Park was a crown jewel of the city, it was a landmark within itself and deserved landmark status. Iconic mustard yellow and virtually unchanged on the exterior since the 1950s. Like WRDW's situation, the building is just too small. In fact, the Reynolds Street Television Park had to be expanded a couple times for just WJBF, as technology changed and as the staff grew bigger, they outgrew the building. As is the case with WRDW now.

 

Augusta West Television Park is not a memorable place. It looks much like a Barnes & Noble from the early 1990s on the exterior, it is the interior that is massive and expansive.

 

There are only two solutions that I see if this deal does go through.

 

Option 1 - WRDW/Gray rents WAGT's space in Television Park temporarily until they can build out new facilities. It would be an unfavorable move for WJBF and WRDW but it would be indeed temporary.

 

Option 2 - WAGT's old studios at 905 Broad Street are sitting vacant. My guess is that Schurz still owns the property and are just sitting on it for a rainy day. The studios have not been upgraded to HD, and as far as I know, hasn't been gutted. WAGT could in theory move back to Broad Street temporarily if Media General decides to evict WAGT after the merger.

 

The problem with 905 Broad is the lack of parking and security issues, the studios sit in a relatively dangerous part of downtown. If Gray buys Schurz, 905 Broad is theirs if they choose to use it, however the studio was converted from an old movie theater and was barely big enough for WAGT, which in theory makes it an unlikely new home for WRDW/WAGT.

 

The likely option here is that WAGT will continue to operate temporarily out of WJBF's Television Park if the deal goes through. As far as what happens with 905 Broad, only time will tell.

 

Also, what will Media General and WJBF do with all the extra space? (since the new Television Park was built for 2 stations and not one). A likely option here is offering studio space for Raycom's WFXG which has outgrown their Martinez studios. This could provide WFXG with plenty of enough space to expand their news department locally and kill off the outsourced WTOC newscast (which a reliable insider at WFXG told me that both parties have been trying to kill it off for years now).

 

It looks like a Barnes and Noble because it was a Barnes and Noble.

[CircleSeven 1955]

Well this is interesting.....

 

Schurz wants to acquire KSPR outright from Perkin, and could resell this station in the auction.

[mvcg66b3r 100]

Well this is interesting.....

 

Schurz wants to acquire KSPR outright from Perkin, and could resell this station in the auction.

 

I assume ABC would move to 3.2, where would CW go?

[LTSC1980 112]

I assume ABC would move to 3.2, where would CW go?

They have low power CW affiliate K15CZ.

[CircleSeven 1955]

The DoJ has cleared the way for the Gray/Schurz deal to go through today.

 

Could they receive an FCC greenlight before the Christmas?

[Guest NewsHound]

Well it seems that the Gray deal is going forward, at least in some areas. The GM at WDBJ just got reassigned recently.

 

And on a personal level in my own market of Augusta, GA, a close friend of mine told me that in about 3 weeks they may not have a job.

 

It was confirmed that at some point the WAGT newscasts will be discontinued. While hopefully some will be reassigned, most will probably be laid off, which is a huge blow.

 

It seems Media General isn't interested in fighting it, once Gray takes over they will receive the intellectual property that isn't controlled by WJBF/MG.

 

Per the shared services agreement, MG operates WAGT's news department while Schurz controlled sales and operations. After the merger, Gray will assume control of the operations and sales, which will effectively render WAGT's time at Television Park done, and the news department will be retained by MG to be dissolved or otherwise.

 

Such a sad state of affairs, I can't confirm as my friend was too upset, but I can only imagine that very shortly WAGT will cease to exist and will be moving to a subchannel of WRDW.