FTV rumor regarding FOX O&O

[TheRolyPoly 2449]

How about in Houston, if KRIV is traded for KCPQ? It would mean a triopoly from Tribune because it would own KRIV 26, KTXH 20 and KIAH 39.

[channel2 979]

Triopolies aren't legal, at least they're not supposed to be. And one in a market of Houston's size? Forget it.

[TheOneManHerd 553]

For the football fans among us, where do Orlandoans pledge their allegiance? I mean, they are geographically closest to Tampa (NFC), and if Orlando is Buc country, then this whole move might be kinda silly.

A recent poll found more people in the Orlando DMA actually root for the Dolphins, but for the most part Orlando's really all over the place in terms of favorite teams.

[TheOneManHerd 553]

If Tom Benson and Retirement Systems of Alabama don't want to sell, do you think Fox might offer WOFL to Tribune in exchange for WGNO, or even [the company formerly known as Gannett] for WWL. I realize the latter is highly unlikely, WWL being a powerhouse and all, but it would be a big upgrade in market for at least one company. WGNO for WOFL isn't beyond the realm of possibility, though; Tribune gets a much stronger operation in a bigger market, Fox gets to fuel their NFC market addiction. To paraphrase Ron Jaworski, that's why I truly believe Fox will try to trade for WGNO if they can't get WVUE.

[channel2 979]

Would ABC land back on WVUE in this scenario?

[TVNewsLover 782]

If Tom Benson and Retirement Systems of Alabama don't want to sell, do you think Fox might offer WOFL to Tribune in exchange for WGNO, or even [the company formerly known as Gannett] for WWL. I realize the latter is highly unlikely, WWL being a powerhouse and all, but it would be a big upgrade in market for at least one company. WGNO for WOFL isn't beyond the realm of possibility, though; Tribune gets a much stronger operation in a bigger market, Fox gets to fuel their NFC market addiction. To paraphrase Ron Jaworski, that's why I truly believe Fox will try to trade for WGNO if they can't get WVUE.

I would add that the respective sister stations (WNOL becoming MyNet) would also be traded. That's why I thought that trade made more sense. And this would be trade up for Tribune. Yes, that would leave WVUE with ABC.

[Rusty Muck 4378]

If Fox is dead set on getting an O&O in NOLA (which makes absolutely no sense; New Orleans isn't a top 20 market and nearly got decimated by Katrina) it won't be with WVUE.

 

Furthermore, I can't believe that Fox would even want to trade WOFL-WOGX/WRBW to Tribune for WGNO and WNOL. That is an insanely lopsided deal in Tribune's favor. They would be laughing all the way to the bank while STILL having KCPQ/KXJO in their portfolio.

 

And even then... spurning Tom Benson - an NFC owner - by yanking the Fox affiliation from under his own TV station is criminally insane. Benson bought WVUE in part because it carried his team's games (and also as a vote of confidence to the NOLA population that he wasn't going to relocate the team to San Antonio).

 

Someone at Fox truly has taken the stupid pills if they are dead set on this strategy.

[Thundershock MN 169]

http://www.ftvlive.com/todays-news/2015/9/28/exclusive-fox-looks-to-trade-orlando-oo

So, IDK if this is true something doesn't add up to me. I don't see how WOFL for WVUE would be anywhere remotely close to an equal swap. I don't see Raycom kicking in a boot (ie: cash) to even things up. And, Raycom really doesn't have a whole lot of other assets that might be intriguing to Fox. Also, Scott's article only mentions WOFL as part of this possible trade. Where do WRBW and WOGX fit in then? Is Fox really going to keep a MNT standalone and the Fox affiliate in Gainesville? And, a WOFL/WRBW/WOGX for WVUE is even more lopsided.

 

I hate to just throw out baseless speculation. But, do you think maybe Scott got the station in Orlando wrong? I mean a WRBW for WVUE swap would make a little bit more sense to me. You could argue the merits of if it's a "good deal" or not. But, a MNT affiliate in market 19 for a Fox affiliate in market 50 is a little bit closer to an even swap...in my eyes at least.

 

I don't think Scott would have posted the story if he did not feel confident in his source.

I have no doubt that Scott is confident in his source. But, Scott is wrong sometimes. He does a great job and 90% of the time he's spot on. But, It's the other 10% that I sometimes read with caution as he may have gotten some bad info resulting in some (or, all) of the details being incorrect. Personally, I think this story might fall more into the latter category.

 

The other thing to remember about Raycom is... it's employee-owned and controlled by the Retirement Systems of Alabama. It's a conservatively run company that just doesn't buy stations with wild abandon.

 

If Fox is thinking that going to Raycom is going to "speed things up," then they really don't stand much of a chance at getting WVUE.

My guess is they want/need Raycom involved because they want to do a swap versus a straight up purchase. Benson likely have would have zero interest in a swap. What good would a station outside NO be to him? So, they need Raycom to potentially swap with. And, It's possible Raycom obtained some sort of "right of first refusal" in the event decides Benson sells the station.

 

But, I wholeheartedly agree with you on Raycom.

[Surplus Engineer 38]

I'm skeptical that this is anything serious. I doubt anything comes of it. This takes a clear strategy designed to leverage the network's biggest investment and cranks it up to a self-destructive, quixotic extent. They're too smart and too good at business for that.

[kruejac 9]

As I've mentioned before, fox most likely won't trade WOFL JUST for WVUE, they most likely would trade it so they can get headroom under the cap so they acquire stations in other NFC markets. Fox's goal in the end is likely to get all NFC markets and they would likely have to sell Orlando and Houston so Fox can get KCPQ, KTVI, WITI and WVUE, and maybe, WLUK.

[Rusty Muck 4378]

As I've mentioned before, fox most likely won't trade WOFL JUST for WVUE, they most likely would trade it so they can get headroom under the cap so they acquire stations in other NFC markets. Fox's goal in the end is likely to get all NFC markets and they would likely have to sell Orlando and Houston so Fox can get KCPQ, KTVI, WITI and WVUE, and maybe, WLUK.

That is a preposterous goal.

 

They had KTVI and WITI, and sold them off. Tribune owns KCPQ/KXJO, KTVI/KPLR and WITI. And as we saw with Fox's utter failure to get KCPQ last year, Tribune is prepared to play hardball. WVUE is an absolute non-starter as has been expounded upon elsewhere in this thread. And does anyone really think that S!nclair is going to give up WLUK?

 

If anyone at Fox Television Stations Group actually has this idea of owning stations in every NFC market, they need to be laughed right out of the room. They can't be that stupid.

[channel2 979]

Fox had a chance to buy WVUE when Emmis had it for sale, but it was a bad time for them to do so (Katrina had happened, and of course it took until 2008 for Emmis to strike the deal to sell the station to Benson. And during some of that time, Fox had put a bunch of O&Os, the ones they would eventually sell to Oak Hill/Local TV, up for auction to finance News Corporation's bid for Dow Jones)

[atlnews2 591]

As I've mentioned before, fox most likely won't trade WOFL JUST for WVUE, they most likely would trade it so they can get headroom under the cap so they acquire stations in other NFC markets. Fox's goal in the end is likely to get all NFC markets and they would likely have to sell Orlando and Houston so Fox can get KCPQ, KTVI, WITI and WVUE, and maybe, WLUK.

 

 

 

That is a preposterous goal.

 

They had KTVI and WITI, and sold them off. Tribune owns KCPQ/KXJO, KTVI/KPLR and WITI. And as we saw with Fox's utter failure to get KCPQ last year, Tribune is prepared to play hardball. WVUE is an absolute non-starter as has been expounded upon elsewhere in this thread. And does anyone really think that S!nclair is going to give up WLUK?

 

If anyone at Fox Television Stations Group actually has this idea of owning stations in every NFC market, they need to be laughed right out of the room. They can't be that stupid.

 

On top of what myronfalwell has said it should be pointed out that if Fox wanted a station in Green Bay they missed a GOLDEN opportunity last year when MG sold WLUK during their LIN merger. The station was right there for the taking and there is no doubt that if they really wanted the station that Fox would not let Sinclair beat them in a bidding war. I believe that Fox will stay out of Wisconsin.

[cbs4dallas 17]

Why can't fox trade KTBC for WVUE, instead of trading WOFL? It would make more sense because Orlando is a higher market, while Austin is quite lower, and it is also Fox's smallest affiliate.

 

I figured Fox wanted to keep its large market affiliates.

[channel2 979]

Freeing up cap space if WRBW is included too?

[Darius22 122]

Just thought I clarify who gets what from CBS and AFC:

 

WCBS 2 (Jets)

KCBS 2 (Raiders)

KPIX 5 (Raiders)

WBZ 4 (Patriots)

WFOR 4 (Dolphins)

KCNC 4 (Broncos)

KDKA 2 (Steelers)

WJZ 13 (Ravens)

 

CBS and AFC doesn't have WCCO 4 (Vikings on KMSP 9), WWJ 62 (Lions on WJBK 2), WBBM 2 (Bears on WFLD 32), KTVT 11 (Cowboys on KDFW 4), WCBS 2 (already have Jets; Giants on WNYW 5), KYW 3 (Eagles on WTXF 29) and KPIX 5 (already have Raiders; 49ers on KTVU 2).

 

KOVR gets what KPIX Gets (49ers Simulcast Mostly.)

[kruejac 9]

I emailed Scott myself and he said that the talks between Fox and Raycom are just getting started and said that WVUE would be a tough sale for Fox, because Tom Benson really doesn't want to sell the station, however Raycom is all in favor of the deal, and I also asked about Seattle and he said a trade is possible with Fox trading KRIV to Tribune for KCPQ in Seattle, either way this is all speculation and may be a while before we hear some actual news.

[SS8609 59]

This deal is just plain stupid on many accounts. If Fox really thinks that only having O&Os in markets with NFC teams will work, think again. New Orleans is a local-first market, plain and simple. The reason WWL-TV has dominated New Orleans since the 1980s is because of their local focus, since WDSU-TV's owners at the time (Cosmos) chose to focus strictly on news and cut out any sort of New Orleans flavor it wore on its sleeves. And local still matters to WWL-TV, even after Loyola sold the station to a local company, and even after the Belo buyout of said local firm, though I am not sure if their dominance has continued under Gannett (or is it TEGNA?) leadership.

 

Before Tom Benson bailed them out, WVUE was a distant third in the ratings, even when they invested in their news department. The last time they really attempted to mount a challenge was in the 1970s when they had Alec Gifford, Lynn Gansar, Nash Roberts and Buddy Diliberto among others on their team. And even then, they were still an also ran since WDSU and WWL were pretty much in a battle for one and two not unlike what you have in Baltimore between WJZ and WBAL. Since Benson took over, WVUE has pretty much at times given WWL a run for its money and even has WWL alums amongst its top anchors.

 

As far as Seattle goes, if Fox gets what it wants in KCPQ/KZJO, expect the Houston duopoly to get sold. And that's where you have a problem with a KRIV/KTXH/KIAH triopoly, since even though Houston has one of the largest collections of full-power stations in the country, that's still not enough for a triopoly because you have to have 18 stations to form one. Houston only has 17, and that number may reduce depending on what happens between NRJ TV's spectrum speculatron (KUBE), the murky future of ION (KPXB), the potential collapse of the pay-for-pray Crouch empire (KETH, which runs under an educational license), and the possibly of NBC (KTMD) forming a duopoly (KPRC).

 

If ABC were to find an opportunity to start a fleet of duopoly netlets/independents to compete with CBS and Fox, KIAH would be the perfect opportunity since I don't see KRIV and KTXH being split up, and if that happens expect the anchor-less NewsFix to give way to "ABC 13 Eyewitness News on CW39", which means a primetime newscast from KTRK plus a move of the 6:30 news so KTRK can finally air Wheel of Fortune to go with the recently acquired Jeopardy!

 

As for any further talk, I'll leave that to the Speculatron 10000+

[TheRolyPoly 2449]

This deal is just plain stupid on many accounts. If Fox really thinks that only having O&Os in markets with NFC teams will work, think again. New Orleans is a local-first market, plain and simple. The reason WWL-TV has dominated New Orleans since the 1980s is because of their local focus, since WDSU-TV's owners at the time (Cosmos) chose to focus strictly on news and cut out any sort of New Orleans flavor it wore on its sleeves. And local still matters to WWL-TV, even after Loyola sold the station to a local company, and even after the Belo buyout of said local firm, though I am not sure if their dominance has continued under Gannett (or is it TEGNA?) leadership.

 

Yes. Yes it has continued. Some of WWL's newscasts end up in double digits and is the ONLY local station to post numbers like that.

[WXmanTim 88]

I think if Fox was serious about trading KRIV for Seattle, it would have been offered up in the first go around with Tribune last year. A 3-way swap, KRIV/KTXH/WPWR might have made a better offer than simply WPWR alone. Tribune would have found someone to buy up KIAH to comply with duop rules.

 

Anything is possible, of course, but I think that deal is simply idle speculation.

[mardek1995 200]

I think if Fox was serious about trading KRIV for Seattle, it would have been offered up in the first go around with Tribune last year. A 3-way swap, KRIV/KTXH/WPWR might have made a better offer than simply WPWR alone. Tribune would have found someone to buy up KIAH to comply with duop rules.

 

Anything is possible, of course, but I think that deal is simply idle speculation.

I think that a swap involving Tribune's KCPQ/KZJO and Fox's WPWR/KDFI makes more sense because it would be easier and smoother to comply with duop rules if they traded that way than with KRIV/KTXH/WPWR.

[TVNewsLover 782]

I think that a swap involving Tribune's KCPQ/KZJO and Fox's WPWR/KDFI makes more sense because it would be easier and smoother to comply with duop rules if they traded that way than with KRIV/KTXH/WPWR.

Tribune would not go for that. They'd be getting two crappy stations. I don't think it's a good idea for FOX to break up their duoplies either.

[Rusty Muck 4378]

I think if Fox was serious about trading KRIV for Seattle, it would have been offered up in the first go around with Tribune last year. A 3-way swap, KRIV/KTXH/WPWR might have made a better offer than simply WPWR alone. Tribune would have found someone to buy up KIAH to comply with duop rules.

 

Anything is possible, of course, but I think that deal is simply idle speculation.

Agreed. While Tribune would easily take the Fox Houston duopoly, ditch KIAH in a heartbeat and laugh all the way to the bank... the notion of a broadcast network trading out of a Top 10 market into a non-top 10 market because the non-top 10 market has an NFC team is patently absurd.

 

The KTVU-for-WFXT/WHBQ swap was an upgrade for Fox. All of the rumored swaps in this thread are not only impossible right now, they are also significant downgrades for the network. It's borderline insanity for them to think otherwise.

 

Besides, it's as if Fox is simply assuming that they will be able to possess the NFC rights in perpetuity. CBS learned the hard way back in 1993 the consequences of such thinking.

[oklahomanewsman 210]

I think that a swap involving Tribune's KCPQ/KZJO and Fox's WPWR/KDFI makes more sense because it would be easier and smoother to comply with duop rules if they traded that way than with KRIV/KTXH/WPWR.

I highly doubt that Tribune would go for it at this point.

[kruejac 9]

I highly doubt that Tribune would go for it at this point.

 

I do as well because Fox already tried to swap WPWR, and we saw how that went. A trade with KRIV makes more sense because it is much more fair than WPWR because KRIV is a Fox station in a Top-10 market, and makes five times as much $$$$ as WPWR does, even though it is in a Top-5 market.