Gray/Raycom Merger Thread

[CircleSeven 1955]

3 hours ago, TheRolyPoly said:

So this could mean that Lockwood would start up (or continue) news departments for WFXG (basically expand from just morning) and WDFX (which would need to start from scratch).

Either that of WFXG goes all alone and Lockwood continues the 1-year extensions for WDFX.

That is speculation. What will Lockwood do after a year passes, who knows? But the DOJ hopes that keeping it a status quo for a year would be enough for Lockwood to come up with some sort of plan.

[broadcastfan9751 140]

On 12/15/2018 at 9:04 AM, CircleSeven said:

What's also posted on the order, WDFX & WFXG will keep their current news share agreements for one year after the deal is complete. 

WDFX airs a 9pm show produced out of WSFA, while WFXG airs a 10pm show produced out of WTOC. 

 

Also, Gray will be retaining the Telemundo affiliations for KWES and KXXV and the CW affiliations for KWES and WSWG.

 

Quote

E. “Excluded Assets” means

(1) the Telemundo affiliation agreement and programming stream (including any syndicated programming), receiver, program logs and related materials, related intellectual property and domain names, relating in all cases to KWES-TV and/or the Odessa-Midland, Texas, DMA;

(2) the CW affiliation agreement and programming stream (including any syndicated programming), receiver, program logs and related materials, related intellectual property and domain names, relating in all cases to KWES-TV and/or the Odessa-Midland, Texas, DMA;

(3) the Telemundo affiliation agreement and programming stream (including any syndicated programming), receiver, program logs and related materials, related intellectual property and domain names, relating in all cases to KXXV; and

(4) the CW affiliation agreement and programming stream (including any syndicated programming), receiver, program logs and related materials, related intellectual property and domain names, related in all cases to WSWG.
 

 

[TheRolyPoly 2451]

43 minutes ago, broadcastfan9751 said:

Also, Gray will be retaining the Telemundo affiliations for KWES and KXXV and the CW affiliations for KWES and WSWG.

 

 

Even though Marquee Broadcasting will have WSWG.

[GoldenShine9 1513]

1 hour ago, TheRolyPoly said:

Even though Marquee Broadcasting will have WSWG.

I'd expect it to move to WALB 10.3 until another signal can come online.

[JCB4TV 347]

5 hours ago, TheRolyPoly said:

Even though Marquee Broadcasting will have WSWG.

What about CBS?

[CircleSeven 1955]

6 hours ago, broadcastfan9751 said:

Also, Gray will be retaining the Telemundo affiliations for KWES and KXXV and the CW affiliations for KWES and WSWG.

4 hours ago, GoldenShine9 said:

I'd expect it to move to WALB 10.3 until another signal can come online.

This is why Gray bought an LP in Albany, concurrent to this deal.

7 minutes ago, JCB4TV said:

What about CBS?

CBS is staying put on WSWG. Wouldn't be surprised if WSWG's signal would be repeated on WSST's subchannel so it can serve the northern sections of the Albany market.

[GoldenShine9 1513]

15 minutes ago, CircleSeven said:

This is why Gray bought an LP in Albany, concurrent to this deal.

CBS is staying put on WSWG. Wouldn't be surprised if WSWG's signal would be repeated on WSST's subchannel so it can serve the northern sections of the Albany market.

Likewise I wouldn't be surprised if WSST's signal goes on 44.2 as well, covering the southern areas.

[CLETVFan 367]

Could new ownership see more changes at WOIO and WUAB from staff to branding?  I would love to see "Cleveland 19" go bye bye.  I don't think it's working, and was hatched from a failed regime.

On 11/19/2018 at 6:13 PM, NEOMatrix said:

Not only that, Malrite ran mainly turn-key Fox affiliates that ran no news whatsoever. They built WXIX's news operation from the ground up but other than that, they were no different from Sinclair's early years.

WOIO was successful though as "Fox 19" or "Fox nineteen" once they got that network affiliation, and later popular sitcom reruns that beat out WUAB in the ratings.  So much so that Channel 43 ended up airing Star Trek: The Next Generation and Cops reruns in place of laughs.

[mvcg66b3r 100]

8 hours ago, broadcastfan9751 said:

Also, Gray will be retaining the Telemundo affiliations for KWES and KXXV and the CW affiliations for KWES and WSWG.

 

 

Meaning CW and Telemundo would go to KOSA. CW would be on 7.2/4.2 in HD; where would MyNetworkTV go?

[GoldenShine9 1513]

50 minutes ago, mvcg66b3r said:

Meaning CW and Telemundo would go to KOSA. CW would be on 7.2/4.2 in HD; where would MyNetworkTV go?

Probably a secondary on 7.2/4.2 (although I could see Telemundo on DT2 and CW/MNT on DT3 due to the large Hispanic population there).

[broadcastfan9751 140]

1 hour ago, GoldenShine9 said:

Probably a secondary on 7.2/4.2 (although I could see Telemundo on DT2 and CW/MNT on DT3 due to the large Hispanic population there).

They also have KTLE-LP, which is being kept by Gray and was just granted a CP to go digital.

[CircleSeven 1955]

2 hours ago, mvcg66b3r said:

Meaning CW and Telemundo would go to KOSA. CW would be on 7.2/4.2 in HD; where would MyNetworkTV go?

1 hour ago, GoldenShine9 said:

Probably a secondary on 7.2/4.2 (although I could see Telemundo on DT2 and CW/MNT on DT3 due to the large Hispanic population there).

Wouldn't be surprised if the keep MyNet. However, i don't think they'll make MyNet a secondary feed to the CW, giving that the MyNet run a boatload of syndie shows (more than the CW Plus feed). They could keep MyNet where they are on now 7.2, & add the CW & Telemundo to 7.3 & 7.4 respectively. 

Gray could easily slide Telemundo in Waco on 10.3/3.3.

[TheRolyPoly 2451]

1 hour ago, CircleSeven said:

Wouldn't be surprised if the keep MyNet. However, i don't think they'll make MyNet a secondary feed to the CW, giving that the MyNet run a boatload of syndie shows (more than the CW Plus feed). They could keep MyNet where they are on now 7.2, & add the CW & Telemundo to 7.3 & 7.4 respectively. 

Gray could easily slide Telemundo in Waco on 10.3/3.3.

WKTC Sumter, WPWR Gary, WUAB Lorain and KFMB 8.2 San Diego came calling.

[CircleSeven 1955]

55 minutes ago, TheRolyPoly said:

WKTC Sumter, WPWR Gary, WUAB Lorain and KFMB 8.2 San Diego came calling.

That does not mean this practice is going to happen in Midland/Odessa. In many Gray markets, The CW (Plus) & MyNet feeds are ran on separate subchannels, instead of running both networks on the same linear stream. Look at KOSA's 7.2 guide & then look at KWES's 9.2. Both CW & MyNet feeds run syndie shows that don't overlap. Where are they going to place all the displaced syndie shows, if they do decide on merging (especially in the middle of a TV season)?

We'll just going to have to wait and see what Gray's going to do after the deal closes.

[TheRolyPoly 2451]

9 hours ago, CircleSeven said:

That does not mean this practice is going to happen in Midland/Odessa. In many Gray markets, The CW (Plus) & MyNet feeds are ran on separate subchannels, instead of running both networks on the same linear stream. Look at KOSA's 7.2 guide & then look at KWES's 9.2. Both CW & MyNet feeds run syndie shows that don't overlap. Where are they going to place all the displaced syndie shows, if they do decide on merging (especially in the middle of a TV season)?

We'll just going to have to wait and see what Gray's going to do after the deal closes.

It's still durable though, kinda my point.

[Rusty Muck 4378]

14 hours ago, CircleSeven said:

Wouldn't be surprised if the keep MyNet. However, i don't think they'll make MyNet a secondary feed to the CW, giving that the MyNet run a boatload of syndie shows (more than the CW Plus feed). They could keep MyNet where they are on now 7.2, & add the CW & Telemundo to 7.3 & 7.4 respectively. 

Gray could easily slide Telemundo in Waco on 10.3/3.3.

MyTV is a two-hour weeknight block of filler programming. That's all there is to it. You could throw it on in prime-time or late-night/overnights and no one would tell the difference... especially when said two-hour block is "white-label" with no branding whatsoever.

Unless the CW Plus feed has no room for "opt-outs" of any sort, which I can't imagine them being that rigid...

[Greggo 356]

17 hours ago, CircleSeven said:

Wouldn't be surprised if the keep MyNet. However, i don't think they'll make MyNet a secondary feed to the CW, giving that the MyNet run a boatload of syndie shows (more than the CW Plus feed). They could keep MyNet where they are on now 7.2, & add the CW & Telemundo to 7.3 & 7.4 respectively. 

Gray could easily slide Telemundo in Waco on 10.3/3.3.

Remember that Gray bought former PBS affiliate KNCT earlier this year. They haven’t divulged their plans for that station. I’d say that’s where Telemundo will likely land in Waco. 

[CircleSeven 1955]

15 hours ago, Myron Falwell said:

MyTV is a two-hour weeknight block of filler programming. That's all there is to it. You could throw it on in prime-time or late-night/overnights and no one would tell the difference... especially when said two-hour block is "white-label" with no branding whatsoever.

Unless the CW Plus feed has no room for "opt-outs" of any sort, which I can't imagine them being that rigid...

To clarify. I was only taking about the "other" syndie shows that air on KOSA 7.2, not the MyNet primetime shows itself.

If Gray is willing to acquire the CW Plus affiliation, while keeping the status quo that's (all of the syndie shows that's airing) on MyNet 7.2, then what is the problem with operating both separate streams (like what they've done in several of their markets)? It's next to impossible to merge if you're obligated to run the full CW Plus lineup with syndie shows, plus the syndies on 7.2.

They're already going to confuse the viewers once the CW switch happens, whether its 7.2 or 7.3 or whatever.

14 hours ago, Greggo said:

Remember that Gray bought former PBS affiliate KNCT earlier this year. They haven’t divulged their plans for that station. I’d say that’s where Telemundo will likely land in Waco. 

That deal is still waiting for an FCC greenlight (The FCC greenlighted the deal last week (12/12)). 

But look at both KNCT & KWTX contours together. That proposed KNCT signal doesn't even serve the sections north & northeast of Waco (it barely serves Waco itself). And it doesn't even touch Bryan/College Station. Maybe Gray might move the antenna/transmitter to where KWTX is (and that's if their deal goes through).

But even if they don't move the signal, and it does carry Telemundo (Sinclair would have a baby because the contour serves a good chunk of Austin), they would still have to place the network on a sub of KWTX to serve those northern sections mentioned.

[CircleSeven 1955]

On 11/8/2018 at 12:32 AM, CircleSeven said:

The KFVE Paperwork Is Up!!!

Nexstar is buying KFVE & the satellites for $6.5M. 

BREAKING: The FCC has greenlighted yesterday (12/17) Nexstar's KFVE acquisition (and the satellites).

We shall see if the FCC will allow the KGMB/KHNL combo to go through in the Gray/Raycom deal.                           

[NEOMatrix 1299]

6 hours ago, CircleSeven said:

We shall see if the FCC will allow the KGMB/KHNL combo to go through in the Gray/Raycom deal.

Question is who is in the top-4 in Hawaii. If it's both KGMB and KHNL, then Gray may have to unload and possibly autonomize either station.

[CircleSeven 1955]

4 hours ago, NEOMatrix said:

Question is who is in the top-4 in Hawaii. If it's both KGMB and KHNL, then Gray may have to unload and possibly autonomize either station.

Both of them. I think they're second & third ranked respectively. Normally one of the stations would have to be spun-off, if ownership changes hands (like in this case). But Gray have asked to keep the top-4 combo as is, as part of Pai's new rule of allowing certain top-4 combos through a "case-by-case" basis. They're asking the same thing for Amarillo (KFDA/KEYU), but it's different there, because their Amarillo's Telemundo outlet was ranked #4 during the time of the World Cup, when it's normally a 5th ranked outlet.

And unrelated to this deal Gray is trying to use new top-4 rule to acquire KDLT (they already own KSFY), That deal is still pending  And.the NCTA & ATVA have wrote objections to this deal,

_______________________

Okay. So it looks like Marquee Broadcasting has relaunched its website. And it appears when they fully acquire WSWG, that station and its new sister WSST will have new logos.

Now I know WSST's physical channel is 34, even though they use virtual channel 22. But I don't understand the "12" next to WSWG. That VC is 44 & the RF is 43 (31 post-repack). And I don't think they use 12 as a cable allotment (you can correct if I'm wrong).

 

[GoldenShine9 1513]

1 hour ago, CircleSeven said:

Both of them. I think they're second & third ranked respectively. Normally one of the stations would have to be spun-off, if ownership changes hands (like in this case). But Gray have asked to keep the top-4 combo as is, as part of Pai's new rule of allowing certain top-4 combos through a :case-by-case" basis. They're asking the same thing for Amarillo (KFDA/KEYU), but it's different there, because their Amarillo's Telemundo outlet was ranked #4 during the time of the World Cup, when it's normally a 5th ranked outlet.

And unrelated to this deal Gray is trying to use new top-4 rule to acquire KDLT (they already own KSFY), That deal is still pending  And.the NCTA & ATVA have wrote objections to this deal,

_______________________

Okay. So it looks like Marquee Broadcasting has relaunched its website. And it appears when they fully acquire WSWG, that station and its new sister WSST will have new logos.

Now I know WSST's physical channel is 34, even though they use virtual channel 22. But I don't understand the "12" next to WSWG. That VC is 44 & the RF is 43 (31 post-repack). And I don't think they use 12 as a cable allotment (you can correct if I'm wrong).

 

In the case of Amarillo, I think that is no longer an issue due to November sweeps showing KEYU down to 5th or 6th. And I think WSWG might be in an LMA with Marquee right now until the deal closes?

[Samantha 2896]

Apparently they're cable 6 in Albany proper on Mediacom (an obvious legacy of WCTV).

The correct answer is the 44 VC must not be hanging on. Hang with me here. The new RF channel is 31. But that's WFXL's virtual channel.

In a case like this, the ATSC standard says to use the physical channel of the conflicting station. In the case of WFXL, their physical channel is 12.

There are a few other stations like this (ex-K26KJ-D El Paso uses VC 25, the physical channel of KINT).

[CircleSeven 1955]

2 minutes ago, GoldenShine9 said:

And I think WSWG might be in an LMA with Marquee right now until the deal closes?

There's no pre-closing LMA between Marquee & WSWG. But there will be a 90-day transition agreement after closing.

[CircleSeven 1955]

On 11/18/2018 at 10:39 AM, CircleSeven said:

And here's another Gray M&A. This was posted last month (10/5).

Although this is unrelated to its Raycom merger, it might as well be related.

Gray wants to give up four of its already-owned LPs in Panama City (W16CX-D & WIDM-LD) & Enterprise, Alabama (WGEI-LD & WFRW-LD) to Edge Spectrum, Inc. in a "like-kind exchange".

In return, Gray wants Edge's LP, W36EG-D. In Albany, Georgia.

It's the same Albany, Georgia where Gray's trying to re-acquire its first owned TV station, WALB.

What's even more strange, just a few days ago, the Albany LP (which is yet to be on the air) has already changed its callsign to WGCW-LD.

So back to Albany, and a follow-up.

Gray has completed its "swap" of its four unused LPs in FL & AL, for an LP in Albany.

And since Gray is keeping the CW affiliation post-merger, I wouldn't be surprised if the new LP would become the new CW affiliate.

And back to Marquee for a second. I was looking the RabbitEars page, and came to thinking. Why not Marquee buy one of these unused LPs to have an in-city repeater for WSWG, Specifically W38EM-D.(owned by HC2 Holding). This signal serves the immediate part of Albany, where  WSWG doesn't. If they want to be a serious competitor in the Albany market, they should buy an LP so folks in the city can get the CBS signal without relying on cable & satellite.