channel2 980 Posted May 2, 2019 Share Posted May 2, 2019 They really wanna end up like Cumulus, don't they? Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/15961-the-meredith-thread/page/3/#findComment-225672 Share on other sites More sharing options...
dman748 1256 Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 On 5/2/2019 at 12:27 PM, Weeters said: Chances are, if Apollo is already "in talks" with them, and the news of the sale is out, Apollo is who the stations are going to. I'd say it's extremely likely that Apollo initiated the talks themselves. We already know Apollo has approached other groups with sacks of cash. Not every sale has to include some drawn out bidding process like Tribune has had. We are entering an interesting dilemma, where there's a decreasing number of potential buyers of stations out there. I predict that it won't be long before we see the bigger players approaching the FCC and Congress to raise or eliminate that pesky cap, in the interests of commerce and business. Problem is, however, and it's not that the FCC can't do anything with the cap, it's the House is controlled by the Dems and we know where the Dems stand on media consolidation. Until the Republicans can win back control of the House in 2020 (if they do) any notion of raising and/or eliminating that pesky cap is going to go nowhere. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/15961-the-meredith-thread/page/3/#findComment-226149 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weeters 1931 Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 2 hours ago, oknewsguy said: Problem is, however, and it's not that the FCC can't do anything with the cap, it's the House is controlled by the Dems and we know where the Dems stand on media consolidation. Until the Republicans can win back control of the House in 2020 (if they do) any notion of raising and/or eliminating that pesky cap is going to go nowhere. Technically, the cap is an FCC regulation and the power to adjust it lies in the hands of the FCC. Historically, they have done it on their own, without congressional intervention, like they do with the majority of their rules and regulations (such as the UHF discount.) Congress has oversight of the FCC as they do the rest of the government. The problem right now is there is an outstanding order from Congress in 2004 keeping the cap at 39% (from when the FCC tried to raise it to 45%) and directed them to not consider the cap in their quadrennial review of ownership rules. Which creates the chance for Congress to do this on the down low, if they chose to. Withdrawing that order would put the power back in the hands of the FCC. There just hasn't been any motivation to do it, and the last time it would have been relevant (Sinclair/Trbune) it would have been fairly toxic. But I suspect we'll eventually end up in a situation (Not to get into "what if's", but let's say Hearst is trying to sell) where such a motion will be quietly rolled into some big bill, touted as "saving the television industry from outdated ownership rules that aren't compatible with today's media landscape." This paper is an interesting read on the matter. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/15961-the-meredith-thread/page/3/#findComment-226166 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyHarry 727 Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 On 5/10/2019 at 2:13 PM, oknewsguy said: Problem is, however, and it's not that the FCC can't do anything with the cap, it's the House is controlled by the Dems and we know where the Dems stand on media consolidation. We do? They stand for whatever the person who stuffs the most money in their pockets want. Both Democrats and Republicans. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/15961-the-meredith-thread/page/3/#findComment-227833 Share on other sites More sharing options...
dman748 1256 Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 25 minutes ago, DirtyHarry said: We do? They stand for whatever the person who stuffs the most money in their pockets want. Both Democrats and Republicans. That's not what I'm talking about sir (not even remotely close). What I'm talking about is Democrats (like Free Press and other consumer advocacy groups) hate media consolidation because they're afraid of groups such as Tegna, Sinclair, and Nexstar having too much control Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/15961-the-meredith-thread/page/3/#findComment-227835 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyHarry 727 Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 22 minutes ago, oknewsguy said: That's not what I'm talking about sir (not even remotely close). What I'm talking about is Democrats (like Free Press and other consumer advocacy groups) hate media consolidation because they're afraid of groups such as Tegna, Sinclair, and Nexstar having too much control They all talk a good game, but when the rubber meets the road they always find enough votes to get what the money people want. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/15961-the-meredith-thread/page/3/#findComment-227839 Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidwestTV 1232 Posted April 20, 2020 Share Posted April 20, 2020 Meredith is cutting pay 15% to 60% of its workforce. The highest-paid employees will see cuts of 20%-40%. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/15961-the-meredith-thread/page/3/#findComment-244242 Share on other sites More sharing options...
PTVNews 194 Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 4 hours ago, MidwestTV said: Meredith is cutting pay 15% to 60% of its workforce. The highest-paid employees will see cuts of 20%-40%. Thats sucks. I wonder who the 40% are that aren't getting cut. Publishing or TV? (EDIT: This article answers that, which also says 1 furlough day per week as well! Yikes.) I did some rough math to compare this to Tegna's furlough. If you average out Tegna's 1 week of no pay over 4 months, that's equivalent to about an 8% pay cut compared to Meredith's minimum of a 15% pay cut. I'd rather be at Tegna and at least get a week off rather than do the same amount of work for less pay. (EDIT: If you calculate the impact of the 1 day per week furlough, that's an additional 20% cut.) Though I do wonder, depending on the rules of the state someone works in and their weekly income, some Meredith employees potentially could apply for UI each of the 16 weeks and get the state amount + federal $600 (until the expiration date) which would more than make up for their loss. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/15961-the-meredith-thread/page/3/#findComment-244266 Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyrannical bastard 3962 Posted May 12, 2020 Share Posted May 12, 2020 It just keeps getting worse for Meredith.... https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/business/2020/05/11/coronavirus-related-losses-prompt-delay-meredith-earnings-report/3111288001/ Furloughs and pay cuts could now lead to defaulting on loans and layoffs. From a company that wanted to be the next Tegna or Gray (in terms of station ownership) could now be on the auction block (need I say once more that GRAY the perfect company to buy their TV stations?) Most of the hurt is probably on the magazine side, but the advertising declines could be doing a serious number on TV as well. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/15961-the-meredith-thread/page/3/#findComment-245130 Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenShine9 1513 Posted May 12, 2020 Share Posted May 12, 2020 25 minutes ago, tyrannical bastard said: It just keeps getting worse for Meredith.... https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/business/2020/05/11/coronavirus-related-losses-prompt-delay-meredith-earnings-report/3111288001/ Furloughs and pay cuts could now lead to defaulting on loans and layoffs. From a company that wanted to be the next Tegna or Gray (in terms of station ownership) could now be on the auction block (need I say once more that GRAY the perfect company to buy their TV stations?) Most of the hurt is probably on the magazine side, but the advertising declines could be doing a serious number on TV as well. How are Scripps, Gray, Nexstar and the networks managing with no cuts at all and Hearst being able to even give bonuses in these times? Huge difference. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/15961-the-meredith-thread/page/3/#findComment-245131 Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyrannical bastard 3962 Posted May 12, 2020 Share Posted May 12, 2020 Hearst because they're a solid, conservative company that puts out excellent newscasts in virtually every market they operate. Scripps, Gray and Nexstar are all pure-play broadcasters after dumping their newspaper holdings and scaling up (the first two) and despite the crippling debt, cheapness and problems integrating Tribune, anything LOCAL seems to be working for Nexstar right now. Meredith may as well be the next Media General (of the last decade before they wised up and sold Warren Buffett their money-bleeding newspaper division). When was the last time you ever picked up a magazine to read? Especially now, they could be carrying germs and waiting rooms are a (hopefully temporary) thing of the past, same goes for the check out aisle....we have more important things to buy than magazines.... Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/15961-the-meredith-thread/page/3/#findComment-245136 Share on other sites More sharing options...
dman748 1256 Posted May 12, 2020 Share Posted May 12, 2020 And this is something that @GoldenShine9 and I have talked about in a seperate convo and even in the Speculation thread the question becomes which one of the divisions goes? Do you get rid of the Publishing unit and focus in on growing the company? I think Meredith should either sell one of the 2 units (likely Television since they'll most likely get more interest in that than they would with it's publishing units) or, alternatively spin off the Publishing unit and become the next (insert company name here) for it's TV unit. I think in order for Meredith itself to survive they need to spin off either the publishing unit or it's broadcasting unit otherwise if they're not going to do that they need to sell one or the other Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/15961-the-meredith-thread/page/3/#findComment-245154 Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenShine9 1513 Posted May 14, 2020 Share Posted May 14, 2020 The results...not very good. https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/248945/meredith-station-quarterly-revenue-dips-1-6/ According to their data, they were $289M in the red in the last quarter and $240M in the red for the year so far. That was entirely on the national media side, despite revenue decreases across the board. https://meredith.mediaroom.com/2020-05-14-Meredith-Reports-Fiscal-2020-Third-Quarter-And-Nine-Month-Results From what I can tell, Meredith gets only about 15% of its revenue from its local stations. The bulk of its losses came from the national media side - digital and print - due to increased costs there. Revenue declined more on the TV side but so did expenses (local TV still made somewhat of a profit). https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/248954/meredith-looks-to-grow-share-in-ad-downturn/ Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/15961-the-meredith-thread/page/3/#findComment-245235 Share on other sites More sharing options...
dman748 1256 Posted May 14, 2020 Share Posted May 14, 2020 4 hours ago, GoldenShine9 said: The results...not very good. https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/248945/meredith-station-quarterly-revenue-dips-1-6/ According to their data, they were $289M in the red in the last quarter and $240M in the red for the year so far. That was entirely on the national media side, despite revenue decreases across the board. https://meredith.mediaroom.com/2020-05-14-Meredith-Reports-Fiscal-2020-Third-Quarter-And-Nine-Month-Results From what I can tell, Meredith gets only about 15% of its revenue from its local stations. The bulk of its losses came from the national media side - digital and print - due to increased costs there. Revenue declined more on the TV side but so did expenses (local TV still made somewhat of a profit). https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/248954/meredith-looks-to-grow-share-in-ad-downturn/ Honestly, I think that given the Local Media side has somehow made a profit is telling me that my theory that Meredith should spin the publishing units off may actually come to fruition. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/15961-the-meredith-thread/page/3/#findComment-245241 Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyrannical bastard 3962 Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 22 hours ago, oknewsguy said: Honestly, I think that given the Local Media side has somehow made a profit is telling me that my theory that Meredith should spin the publishing units off may actually come to fruition. It's Media General all over again. The pain on the publishing side is dragging down the rest of the company. If these troubles continue when things begin to recover, then the investors should start revolting. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/15961-the-meredith-thread/page/3/#findComment-245263 Share on other sites More sharing options...
dman748 1256 Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 3 hours ago, tyrannical bastard said: It's Media General all over again. The pain on the publishing side is dragging down the rest of the company. If these troubles continue when things begin to recover, then the investors should start revolting. Exactly. I'd be willing to bet that the TV side will keep the Meredith name when the split happens although "Local Media Group" while it may sound generic however I'll take that over names such as Tegna any day of the week so the TV side really can't go wrong with either name. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/15961-the-meredith-thread/page/3/#findComment-245276 Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyrannical bastard 3962 Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 1 hour ago, oknewsguy said: Exactly. I'd be willing to bet that the TV side will keep the Meredith name when the split happens although "Local Media Group" while it may sound generic however I'll take that over names such as Tegna any day of the week so the TV side really can't go wrong with either name. Not diving into speculation, they could do what MG eventually did, and become a pure-play broadcaster by sending the print to investors (luckily Warren Buffett was in a buying mood and saved the company from potential ruin if it didn't take place.) That however, could make them ripe for a takeover, much like Soo Kim did in the Young-Media General merger, and later the merger with LIN. Meredith at least has some brand equity in it's magazine brands, and the licensing of them that transcends into the retail and media marketplaces. In an alternate universe, how would they be faring now had the Meredith Media General merger happened as planned? A good topic for the speculatron. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/15961-the-meredith-thread/page/3/#findComment-245277 Share on other sites More sharing options...
dman748 1256 Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 3 hours ago, tyrannical bastard said: Not diving into speculation, they could do what MG eventually did, and become a pure-play broadcaster by sending the print to investors (luckily Warren Buffett was in a buying mood and saved the company from potential ruin if it didn't take place.) That however, could make them ripe for a takeover, much like Soo Kim did in the Young-Media General merger, and later the merger with LIN. Meredith at least has some brand equity in it's magazine brands, and the licensing of them that transcends into the retail and media marketplaces. In an alternate universe, how would they be faring now had the Meredith Media General merger happened as planned? A good topic for the speculatron. That sounds like a good idea. In fact I may start that when I get home Honestly though I don't see Buffett coming in to rescuing this time around the print and publishing units were already in decline to begin with and I imagine it'll continue even after COVID eventually blows over because I can't imagine very many people wanting to go into say a doctors office or wherever and pick up a magazine not knowing who touched the magazines last. I do agree with Meredith being the next MG but I can also see a combination of them also being the next Belo and the next Media General. Quite frankly this is the only chance Meredith has left to become buyers is by becoming pure play. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/15961-the-meredith-thread/page/3/#findComment-245278 Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenShine9 1513 Posted May 16, 2020 Share Posted May 16, 2020 With all the Meredith talk, the key point: local TV only makes up 15% of their revenue. The national media they have is 85% of their business. Regardless, it's clear the company is in financial trouble right now. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/15961-the-meredith-thread/page/3/#findComment-245280 Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyrannical bastard 3962 Posted May 29, 2020 Share Posted May 29, 2020 While Meredith seems to be cutting pay and freezing hiring, they somehow managed to replace the General Managers at WGCL and WALA. https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/249479/meredith-names-new-gms-in-atlanta-mobile/ WGCL? Because you rent, don't buy. If it ain't fixed by now.... I wonder if WALA's GM was bounced too or left on his own. Despite the constant turnover of reporters, it's a much more stable place than some of their Meredith counterparts. UPDATE: He left due to "budget cuts"...so essentially forced out. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/15961-the-meredith-thread/page/3/#findComment-245887 Share on other sites More sharing options...
newsman123 114 Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 What is going on at WGCL. Any insiders know? Things were going good, then the ND, GM, Assistant ND all out. Are they done w the changes or more on the way? Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/15961-the-meredith-thread/page/3/#findComment-247471 Share on other sites More sharing options...
tw-804 192 Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 SyncBak has added the Meredith stations to their SBTV app. https://sbtv.com/live Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/15961-the-meredith-thread/page/3/#findComment-249829 Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyrannical bastard 3962 Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 Meredith is considering changing their corporate charter, so they can consider splitting their TV interests and their "national" ones. https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2020/9/11/meredith-is-looking-to-split-up-company I agree with Scott, it could signal that they are looking to sell something eventually. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/15961-the-meredith-thread/page/3/#findComment-250538 Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrabbleship 429 Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 31 minutes ago, tyrannical bastard said: Meredith is considering changing their corporate charter, so they can consider splitting their TV interests and their "national" ones. https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2020/9/11/meredith-is-looking-to-split-up-company I agree with Scott, it could signal that they are looking to sell something eventually. I wonder how this would affect the Meredith-produced TV series including that wonderful People boondoggle starting next week. Would Four M Studios qualify as a TV interest or a national interest? On that note, the real sign of something being gravely wrong came last week when WFSB, flagship of the TV group, suddenly parted ways with lead anchor Dennis House on his 28th anniversary with the station. The timing of this move is very, very suspect. While Connecticut has been a success story for containing COVID, it's still going on and all indications showed that House's weekly "Face The State" specials on Thursday nights with Gov. Lamont were going to resume in the Fall. There's an election in two months, and while this is an "off" cycle for the US Senate seats in Connecticut it still is a crucial election. While WFSB can, and has, easily plugged Capitol correspondent Susan Raff to host the main Face the State on Sunday mornings, it still is a bad look, Heck the banner image on WFSB's page for Face the State speaks a ton. This comes less than a year after the very sudden death of Denise D'Ascenzo, a tragedy that left the station catatonic. While this could play a role, Dennis and Denise had a very close relationship as "TV spouses" and "the [opposite gender sibling they] never had", it still isn't a good look given the above especially since it was truly Dennis leaving on his own volition you know they would've milked a goodbye and set up a plan of succession. This said... Meredith is still under a hiring freeze, still hasn't found a replacement for the aforementioned Denise (though finding the right person + COVID hasn't helped), and for men has a bench that boils down to...not much. Hard to build a bench when your station sees little movement. Oh, and let's consider that WFSB still employs his wife. For whom in part they're reviving the last gasp of the "Better" format six months after a COVID hiatus and a year after it got cut from an hour to a half hour. This is a good look on nobody at all, much more Meredith than a very atypically silent Dennis. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/15961-the-meredith-thread/page/3/#findComment-250539 Share on other sites More sharing options...
dman748 1256 Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 9 hours ago, tyrannical bastard said: Meredith is considering changing their corporate charter, so they can consider splitting their TV interests and their "national" ones. https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2020/9/11/meredith-is-looking-to-split-up-company I agree with Scott, it could signal that they are looking to sell something eventually. Which this was reported on the other day seen here: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/meredith-corporation-seeks-shareholder-approval-of-charter-amendment-301126224.html I'll save my thoughts on this latest Meredith development both for Speculation and when I talk to @GoldenShine9 in the private messages Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/15961-the-meredith-thread/page/3/#findComment-250556 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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