Nexstar bids for Media General

[bhratbrat 437]

And the FCC is allowing iON to own so much O&O?!

 

iON is worst than Sinclair, and the Nexstar + Media General deal is as bad as iON.

 

iON is not worse than Sinclair. Yes they do own an obscene amount of television stations. But when you only own and control 58 stations and they don't use sidecar companies to pick up extra stations.

 

When Nexstar and Sinclair currently owns well in excess of 200 television stations..stations that play a major part in the communities they serve its way worse. When you take a look at these companies and the shareholders getting rich off of the M&A craze, than yes they are getting rich.

 

Let me ask you this Koopa? When you think of an iON station, what are you thinking of? In my opinion they are nothing more than a second tier Diginet. They have great second and third tier programming (Loved being able to watch Monk on a Saturday Night) but at the same time to the normal viewer, you are not going to have your television tuned into iON and would probably just skip past it when you saw the next episode of "Criminal Minds" in their hours long marathon. I mean, they start showing Criminal Minds at 1 PM and will literally go through a good twelve-fifteen episodes until they signed off in the morning.

[mvcg66b3r 100]

iON is not worse than Sinclair. Yes they do own an obscene amount of television stations. But when you only own and control 58 stations and they don't use sidecar companies to pick up extra stations.

 

And yet ION doesn't have stations in Baltimore, Charlotte, San Diego, etc.

[nathannah 2444]

And the FCC is allowing iON to own so much O&O?!

 

iON is worst than Sinclair, and the Nexstar + Media General deal is as bad as iON.

 

Better to have those stations airing one network with a consistent schedule than carrying infomercials and programming with no reason to exist. Most of those stations were 50-69 stations with little to no chance of surviving without Ion, and who would never do well carrying Univision or Telemundo in extraneous markets without a large Hispanic-American population. Back in 1996 and around 2005 they were infomercial mills, but the current management has done wonders in stabilizing the network. The worst you can say they do is pump over QVC and HSN over the air on subchannels, but otherwise give me six Ions over one Nexstar any day of the week.

[tyrannical bastard 3955]

Let's not forget TBN, Daystar, and the like, with their sole existence being to beg for money so they can stay on the air to keep their must-carry status on cable. Now if this isn't a waste of the airwaves, I don't know what is.

 

I'll take "local" over this any day....

[CircleSeven 1955]

And the FCC is allowing iON to own so much O&O?!

 

Let's not forget the Ion stations were first bought by the late Lowell "Bud" Paxson in the late 90s as he took advantage of the UHF Discount. As some of you remember, the analog signal had its disadvantages, unlike the digital signal which was far more superior today. This is why the FCC now wants to eliminate the discount altogether.

[PanchamBro 19]

I think cosmetic concerns should be the least of your worries.

 

Also, I don't know why people seem to dislike Arnold's music so much.

I don't hate it, I just don't want WAVY to remove that signature of theirs.

[mardek1995 200]

Let's not forget the Ion stations were first bought by the late Lowell "Bud" Paxson in the late 90s as he took advantage of the UHF Discount. As some of you remember, the analog signal had its disadvantages, unlike the digital signal which was far more superior today. This is why the FCC now wants to eliminate the discount altogether.

It's too late now! If they wanted to remove the UHF discount, they should've done so back in 2009!

[CircleSeven 1955]

Looks like some of the spin-offs are in order.

 

From TVNewsCheck this morning, Nexstar is selling stations in conflict markets plus in markets that are over the ownership cap.

• Graham Media (Finally) is buying Jacksonville's CW station WCWJ & Roanoke's NBC station WSLS for $120M.
  
• Bayou City Broadcasting will acquire NBC affilate KLAF-LD & Fox station KADN for $40M.
  
• And as previously stated on this board Nexstar is selling KREX's satellite KREG to Marquee Broadcasting for $350K. The station will air separate programming post-consummation.
  

Nexstar is expected to announce the spinoffs of the other cities in Davenport, Green Bay, Terre Haute & Fort Wayne at a later time.

[promoguy98 253]

Looks like some of the spin-offs are in order.

 

No word on which station Green Bay is going to spinoff.

 

We have great timing! I literally just posted this under the Nexstar...again thread. Haaa!! It will be interesting to see what other stations they wind up selling.

 

Cue responses from Mardek1995 in.... 3.....2....

[GoldenShine9 1513]

Looks like some of the spin-offs are in order.

 

From TVNewsCheck this morning, Nexstar is selling stations in conflict markets plus in markets that are over the ownership cap.

• Graham Media is buying Jacksonville's CW station WCWJ & Roanoke's NBC station WSLS for $120M.
  
• Bayou City Broadcasting will acquire NBC affilate KLAF-LD & Fox station KADN for $40M.
  
• And as previously stated on this board Nexstar is selling KREX's satellite KREG to Marquee Broadcasting.
  

Nexstar is expected to announce the spinoffs of the other cities in Davenport, Green Bay, Terre Haute & Fort Wayne at a later time.

 

Surprises there - I figured KADN and KLAF would be kept, given they have tied them to other stations, while KLFY would be sold off. But I guess no good buyers?

 

Nexstar getting out of Jacksonville clears them of considerable space - maybe a trade to get Nexstar into another market through side deals in store?

[swillh2k2 203]

Graham is buying WSLS? That's an interesting move...

 

I'd expect WJXT to add a few newscasts on WCWJ, probably at 7 or 9...

[promoguy98 253]

Graham is buying WSLS?

 

That's an interesting move...

 

Bet that station is going to be celebrating today. Happy times! They will receive much needed investment.

[GoldenShine9 1513]

Graham is buying WSLS?

 

That's an interesting move...

 

Shocked me too, since they have nothing in that region and I figured they were a seller awaiting a deal soon...but the other companies in that market are Sinclair and Gray, so someone had to make a move. Given that most companies had conflicts elsewhere, it was going to be a challenge regardless.

 

Will there still be eight voices in Jacksonville after that duopoly is created?

[mvcg66b3r 100]

Graham Media (Finally) is buying Jacksonville's CW station WCWJ & Roanoke's NBC station WSLS for $120M.

 

This would give Jacksonville its third duopoly! Unless Graham plans to sell WCWJ in the auction.

[GoldenShine9 1513]

I'm thinking, if Quincy is smart, they should make an offer for WBAY right now and link them to the other Wisconsin ABC affiliates. As for the others, with Gray clearly not interested, who is left?

[CircleSeven 1955]

I'm thinking, if Quincy is smart, they should make an offer for WBAY right now and link them to the other Wisconsin ABC affiliates. As for the others, with Gray clearly not interested, who is left?

 

Why not go for WBAY & KWQC? They would have nearly all the NBC affils in the state (sans WHO). The question would be do they have that kind of money. Most of those stations they have are roughly smaller markets (nothing higher than Madison).

 

I'm surprised we haven't heard anything from Meredith. KWQC could be their best fit, since its closer to its flagship in Des Moines.

[GoldenShine9 1513]

Why not go for WBAY & KWQC? They would have nearly all the NBC affils in the state (sans WHO). The question would be do they have that kind of money. Most of those stations they have are roughly smaller markets (nothing higher than Madison).

 

I'm surprised we haven't heard anything from Meredith. KWQC could be their best fit, since its closer to its flagship in Des Moines.

 

I forgot about the Quad Cities, I kept thinking they were already in the market but you're right, it would be an excellent fit for them as well. The two Indiana markets will be the biggest challenge.

[cbs4dallas 17]

I figured Nexstar would divest KXAN to Graham Media instead of WSLS. That way KSAT could have a nearby sister station.

[CircleSeven 1955]

I figured Nexstar would divest KXAN to Graham Media instead of WSLS. That way KSAT could have a nearby sister station.

 

I wouldn't divest MG's Austin station if they were planning on having a statewide bureau for the rest of Nexstar's Texas stations.

[cbs4dallas 17]

I wouldn't divest MG's Austin station if they were planning on having a statewide bureau for the rest of Nexstar's Texas stations.

 

Ah, touché

[Eat News 4745]

I wouldn't divest MG's Austin station if they were planning on having a statewide bureau for the rest of Nexstar's Texas stations.

 

Does any Texas (non Austin) station still have a statehouse news bureau?

A real full time one...with a real reporter/camera and uplink?

[TheRolyPoly 2449]

WJXT buying WCWJ? Much needed help for that station since I believe it was severely underpromoted by Nexstar.

 

Graham Media Group is finally buying? It's about time!!! I thought they were dead but I guess not.

 

And WSLS? Much needed investment. Plus, Nexstar keeps the station it invested in Roanoke which is WFXR.

 

As for KADN/KLAF-LD? Very good move considering that they'll be owned by the same people as those who currently own WEVV/WEEV-LD so I see that as a positive.

 

That's all I gotta say and I think WJXT will take full advantage of WCWJ.

[tyrannical bastard 3955]

Unless they mess with CW prime or try something at 7, I doubt we'll be seeing news on WCWJ any time soon. WJXT has all the time it needs to go 24-7 if they wanted to.

 

I'm glad that WSLS got a buyer through Graham. Had it not been for the Jacksonville sale, it would have never happened. It gives that market an alternative to the other companies they are subjected to...and may finally give that station some success after languishing for decades under MG and other owners.

 

I'm surprised they didnt sell their Phoenix station.....yet. Give them a few years when they want to expand again...

[VideoNewsGuy 1]

Roanoke/Lynchburg was a political advertising hotbed in the past election cycle. Virginia is a swing state and air time over this pretty large DMA is cheap. WDBJ billed something like $10 million in 2012. Here's betting that's a factor in Graham's purchase.

[TVIntheDesert 183]

I'm surprised they didnt sell their Phoenix station.....yet. Give them a few years when they want to expand again...

 

They'll have to wait to get evidence for that "failing station waiver" to sell KASW (they've only owned the station for a year). There's not much of a market for standalone CW stations, plus there's multiple duopolies in Phoenix, and I don't think Scripps or TEGNA could buy KASW without a FSW.