The Frog 435 Posted July 24, 2018 Posted July 24, 2018 Cox Media Group is looking to sell its 14 TV stations or merge them into a larger station group, according to a copy of the internal announcement obtained by TVNewsCheck. https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/219454/cox-puts-14-tv-stations-auction-block/
Info Junkie 1286 Posted July 24, 2018 Posted July 24, 2018 https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/219454/cox-puts-14-tv-stations-auction-block/ What’s the problem with Cox? They not making enough money? I know Tribune started the Sinclair ordeal because after severing ties with the newspaper they dropped in stock price, also was because of converting WGN America into a cable channel. (This was from Wikipedia)
atlnews2 598 Posted July 24, 2018 Posted July 24, 2018 here's the write up from the AJC https://www.ajc.com/news/local/cox-enterprises-explores-options-for-cox-media-group-television-stations/Vq1Dko4ZCT3s8ahfxiOSbL/
AJClementeFan69 477 Posted July 24, 2018 Posted July 24, 2018 https://forums.tvnewstalk.net/index.php?threads/cox-breakup.16922/#post-214274 Relevant Speculatron thread...
atlnews2 598 Posted July 24, 2018 Posted July 24, 2018 when they say "merge" with another group are they talking about straight out buying another company or about merging the two and having it publicly traded (like what Hearst-Argyle was before it was taken private)
TSSZNews 1052 Posted July 24, 2018 Posted July 24, 2018 when they say "merge" with another group are they talking about straight out buying another company or about merging the two and having it publicly traded (like what Hearst-Argyle was before it was taken private) I interpreted their statement as claiming they were sellers, not buyers. The fact they are selling and not buying when everyone pegged the group as super healthy is what's most alarming here.
TheRolyPoly 2630 Posted July 24, 2018 Posted July 24, 2018 WOAH. Holy shit! I've never expected Cox to be a seller, possibly more of a buyer, but WOAH. I don't feel so good about this, considering all of Cox's stations are #1 or #2 with the exception of WFXT.
TheOneManHerd 555 Posted July 24, 2018 Posted July 24, 2018 This is coming right at the moment it appears Sinclair will not be able to buy Tribune. Scary times for our industry. It’s a bad sign when a Scripps/Cox combination is considered a best case scenario.
TheRob 940 Posted July 24, 2018 Posted July 24, 2018 WSB-TV should make a 25-box with all the potential buyers.
atlnews2 598 Posted July 24, 2018 Posted July 24, 2018 This is a complete head scratchier for me. Cox is an incredibly healthy as a group with strong stations (minus WFXT) and doesn't have significant debt. Sure they might not have the scale like the Nexstars, Sinclairs, and Tegnas of the world, but as a private company they aren't under any sort of Wall Street pressure to build scale. so why sell?
dman748 1256 Posted July 24, 2018 Posted July 24, 2018 What’s the problem with Cox? They not making enough money? I know Tribune started the Sinclair ordeal because after severing ties with the newspaper they dropped in stock price, also was because of converting WGN America into a cable channel. (This was from Wikipedia) No it's not that they weren't making enough money, (as the CEO of Cox Media Group said in the memo obtained by FTVLive) in order for this industry to survive there needs to be scale and by merging with other companies this accomplishes that goal
channel2 982 Posted July 24, 2018 Posted July 24, 2018 I interpreted their statement as claiming they were sellers, not buyers. The fact they are selling and not buying when everyone pegged the group as super healthy is what's most alarming here. Cox is private, meaning access to capital is limited compared to a public company. That's why you saw Hearst do the Argyle merger in the mid-90s too.
TheRolyPoly 2630 Posted July 24, 2018 Posted July 24, 2018 For the record, Cox will continue to operate its radio stations and print holdings. But if Cox gets out of television, its just a surprise on my end. Cox built WSB Atlanta and WHIO Dayton from scratch so its hard to see both stations with a different owner.
atlnews2 598 Posted July 24, 2018 Posted July 24, 2018 For the record, Cox will continue to operate its radio stations and print holdings. But if Cox gets out of television, its just a surprise on my end. Cox built WSB Atlanta and WHIO Dayton from scratch so its hard to see both stations with a different owner. What's so weird about this is that Cox was in the process of merging the WSB and AJC newsrooms. Why sell when you were already going through this merger process?
channel2 982 Posted July 24, 2018 Posted July 24, 2018 For the record, Cox will continue to operate its radio stations and print holdings. But if Cox gets out of television, its just a surprise on my end. Cox built WSB Atlanta and WHIO Dayton from scratch so its hard to see both stations with a different owner. Money talks! Takers for the radio stations and newspapers would be few compared to the TV holdings, and ABC and Fox outlets in top ten markets don't come up for sale every day...
Kenneth Kissel 284 Posted July 24, 2018 Posted July 24, 2018 I hope WPXI becomes an NBC O&O after hearing this announcement and Cox can stay in Pittsburgh by having the cable coverage in this area as a trade off so the DOJ isn't pissed.
ChesapeakeTV 312 Posted July 24, 2018 Posted July 24, 2018 Okay, this is totally out of left field. I think my thoughts have been echoed by pretty much everyone here...I'm at a loss for any sort of reasoning to do this. Guess we get to sit back and hope they think the offers through...
Nelson R. 569 Posted July 24, 2018 Posted July 24, 2018 Crazy time in Charlotte, first WBTV and now WSOC...the top two stations in the market will both be involved in separate takeovers.
Georgie56 3333 Posted July 24, 2018 Posted July 24, 2018 This was totally unexpected. Why even sell or merge? Cox is a well-oiled machine. Anyway, my prediction is that Hearst will be the merger.
MidwestTV 1263 Posted July 24, 2018 Posted July 24, 2018 1) Goodbye WSB mega-dominance 2) Perhaps I shouldn't find this so funny, but I find this hilarious considering Cox, in the grand scheme of media things, just bought stations a few years ago.
Georgie56 3333 Posted July 24, 2018 Posted July 24, 2018 For the record, Cox will continue to operate its radio stations and print holdings. But if Cox gets out of television, its just a surprise on my end. Cox built WSB Atlanta and WHIO Dayton from scratch so its hard to see both stations with a different owner. For the record, Cox still has Cox Cable. So they’re not getting out of TV entirely.
dman748 1256 Posted July 24, 2018 Posted July 24, 2018 1) Goodbye WSB mega-dominance 2) Perhaps I shouldn't find this so funny, but I find this hilarious considering Cox, in the grand scheme of media things, just bought stations a few years ago. Depending upon who the new owner is, WSB may still dominate the Atlanta TV ratings even under new ownership
Rusty Muck 4426 Posted July 24, 2018 Posted July 24, 2018 This actually was some time coming. Cox is smart as hell to get out of television while they still can (and their radio group may not be that far behind). Only thing that’s a bit surprising is that Cox appointed market managers in Orlando, Tulsa and Jacksonville to oversee both their radio and TV stations late last year. But in retrospect, that also did smell of cost-cutting. 1) Goodbye WSB mega-dominance Good grief. People will still watch WSB out of mere habit alone, regardless of the owner.
Georgie56 3333 Posted July 24, 2018 Posted July 24, 2018 1) Goodbye WSB mega-dominance $100 says Channel 2 will still be #1 throughout the day in Atlanta after the new ownership comes in.
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