Nexstar bids for Media General

[who?cares 254]

WTHI is dominate by far. They bring in tons of advertising dollars. They also do not have a Master Control in their new building whatsoever, making them tied to WISH. Could a Nexstar owned WTHI/ Mission owned- WAWV be a possibility? Or WTWO 2.1 NBC / ABC 2.2? Nexstar or a sidecar couldn't own all the stations in the market could they?

[Breaking News 829]

WTHI is dominate by far. They bring in tons of advertising dollars. They also do not have a Master Control in their new building whatsoever, making them tied to WISH. Could a Nexstar owned WTHI/ Mission owned- WAWV be a possibility? Or WTWO 2.1 NBC / ABC 2.2? Nexstar or a sidecar couldn't own all the stations in the market could they?

 

 

Many staffers in many markets are worried, and to have Nexstar in some of the bigger markets. Markets like Nashville, Indy, Tampa it going to be interesting to see how this all washes out.

 

As for Meredith here hoping that Hearst and Meredith can come together, but was hoping that M/MG would move forward.

[Surplus Engineer 38]

WTHI is dominate by far. They bring in tons of advertising dollars. They also do not have a Master Control in their new building whatsoever, making them tied to WISH. Could a Nexstar owned WTHI/ Mission owned- WAWV be a possibility? Or WTWO 2.1 NBC / ABC 2.2? Nexstar or a sidecar couldn't own all the stations in the market could they?

 

 

What they would divest depends heavily on whether they value short term or long term returns.

 

In Terre Haute, if they value long term returns, then the move is clearly to hold onto WTHI and sell WTWO.

 

If they place a higher value on short term return, then the clear play would be to sell WTHI. They would get a much higher sale price from a prospective buyer for THI like Tribune or Scripps. They could also set up an agreement with Mission (I'm pretending that Mission really does have some measure of independence and isn't a complete shell game sham) to split the WTWO/WAWV spectrum auction cash and channel share. Presuming that you want to keep both the CBS and Fox side HD, you likely couldn't do that with WTHI. If they plan on running things the way Nexstar tends to run things, they might as well cash out now because it's an open question how long THI would continue to own the market if it's being starved of resources while somebody else owns TWO.

 

You could make similar arguments in Quad Cities and Fort Wayne where MG has market leading stations and Nexstar has lesser assets (a triopoly in QC).

 

The MC isn't a decision maker. Tribune and Scripps both have hubs in Indianapolis. Other groups could absorb them in their hubs at other locations. Part of the exchange is an agreement to continue running the MC functions until the new owner has things fully set up or has temporary arrangements made with a third party to handle those duties until they can bring them in house.

[TheRob 938]

New York Post report on Nexstar and Media General

[Breaking News 829]

ftvlive.com

 

http://www.ftvlive.com/todays-news/2015/12/23/nexstar-close-to-deal-to-buy-media-general

 

big sigh-

[atlnews2 591]

Take this NY post report with a grain of salt. The Post said that the MG- Meredith deal was dead like a month ago, but it's still officially an option.

[Rusty Muck 4378]

New York Post report on Nexstar and Media General

ftvlive.com

 

http://www.ftvlive.com/todays-news/2015/12/23/nexstar-close-to-deal-to-buy-media-general

 

big sigh-

Someone - either FTVLive or the NY Post - is a fan of the cut-and-paste technique to writing. Seriously. I thought I was reading the exact same thing.

[LTSC1980 112]

So the Nexstar-Media General deal is STILL ON? AARGH!

[mre29 1537]

Kiss those nice, clean MG websites goodbye.

[tyrannical bastard 3955]

CrappyLocalWebsiteProud.com

[tw-804 192]

Kiss those nice, clean MG websites goodbye.

...and the choppers and the livestreaming because Nexstar hates those.

[lugnuts6 91]

And get ready for the nameplate "LOCAL" added on the stations

[ABC 7 Denver 1717]

...and the choppers and the livestreaming because Nexstar hates those.

 

And the nice graphics!

[TheRob 938]

Someone - either FTVLive or the NY Post - is a fan of the cut-and-paste technique to writing. Seriously. I thought I was reading the exact same thing.

 

That's FTVLive pasting from the Post.

[scrabbleship 429]

...and the choppers and the livestreaming because Nexstar hates those.

 

This could get complicated given MG's role in NewsON.

 

Seriously, this deal has little upside for Nexstar. Has any deal of this magnitude ever worked out?

[GoldenShine9 1513]

It also says Meredith has 4 days to match the offer. I would assume that would become a straight Meredith purchase of MG.

 

What would happen to the conflict stations in a purchase of MG?

[mardek1995 200]

It also says Meredith has 4 days to match the offer. I would assume that would become a straight Meredith purchase of MG.

 

What would happen to the conflict stations in a purchase of MG?

They might be consolidated via its shell companies. Just remember the fact that Perry Sook (and David Smith) is a member of the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters), and that the said group has a lot of lobbying power (they extended the length of JSAs by 10 years for one)

[CircleSeven 1955]

They might be consolidated via its shell companies. Just remember the fact that Perry Sook (and David Smith) is a member of the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters), and that the said group has a lot of lobbying power (they extended the length of JSAs by 10 years for one)

 

Keep in mind, it only grandfathers existing JSAs that are already in place. The rule still bans newly-formed JSAs. This rule is still being challenged in the courts.

[mardek1995 200]

Keep in mind, it only grandfathers existing JSAs that are already in place. The rule still bans newly-formed JSAs. This rule is still being challenged in the courts.

I know that and thank god no new JSAs are in place. However, the NAB (including Perry Sook and David Smith) has quite a bit of levying power that if they wanted to, they could lobby to raise the ownership cap (and they're already considering it), especially if Nexstar buys Media General (especially since they secretly wanted stations in larger markets since they acquired WHAG (which counts as a station in the DC area, which is #7))

[GoldenShine9 1513]

The real trouble markets are those where Media General and Nexstar are essentially the only games in town. Surely they will have to get rid of something in Fort Wayne, Terre Haute and the Quad Cities (although at least they have Tribune) at a minimum.

[tyrannical bastard 3955]

Seeing as how Nexstar has swallowed up IBS and Inergize and merged them into Lakana...at least the websites are decently laid out, despite their god-awful naming.

 

But based on what they've laid out thus far, expect "NOW", "LOCAL", "PROUD" or "MATTERS" to follow whatever CrappyLocalSite domain they choose.

 

If they get their hands on some of these Media General stations, expect a major backlash from those who have built their identity or web address around their call letters (WJHL, WKRG, WJTV, WSLS etc...)

 

...and it would be another chapter in their wacky go-around of CMS platforms....

[lugnuts6 91]

There is ONE bizarre thought... what if MG agrees to be bought by Nexstar,could Meredith say gobble the gobbled?? as in ..buy the merged company when the main deal is done ???

[detroiter313 180]

There is ONE bizarre thought... what if MG agrees to be bought by Nexstar,could Meredith say gobble the gobbled?? as in ..buy the merged company when the main deal is done ???

Then they would sell stations that are in conflicted markets, per FCC rules.

[mre29 1537]

I thought Meredith was looking to sell, not buy.

[jero23 105]

I still don't see this one going through. Bloomberg last mentioned that Media General and Meredith deal was still going on on 12/9/15...