NewsMaster 226 Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 A fairly large station sale for a Salt Lake City religious TV station. KTMW has been sold for $3,000,000 from Alpha Omega Communications to Serestar Communications Corp. Serestar's only television holdings seem to be KCSO, the Telemundo outfit for Sacramento, and KNSO in Fresno (operations only). Apparently NBCU didn't take back operation of that station after ZGS and gave it to this guy. The head of Serestar, Philip Wilkinson, apparently came from Entravision. Telemundo is in Utah on a network of LPTVs branded as Telemundo 10 (KULX), operated by Airwaves but with one of the translators owned by NBCU. There are no full-power stations in the system. Perhaps this is how they're getting one? I would think so. KULX's signal only covers the greater Salt Lake area, while KTMW covers almost all of northern Utah, including Logan and Spanish Fork. I think the motive to the deal is to eventually get rid of the LP stations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 2878 Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 I would think so. KULX's signal only covers the greater Salt Lake area, while KTMW covers almost all of northern Utah, including Logan and Spanish Fork. I think the motive to the deal is to eventually get rid of the LP stations. They might need the Park City one but other than that, this is definitely an upgrade for them. That said Telemundo will kind of have to get KULX's Airwaves group to sell to Serestar... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkolsen 1678 Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 A fairly large station sale for a Salt Lake City religious TV station. KTMW has been sold for $3,000,000 from Alpha Omega Communications to Serestar Communications Corp. Serestar's only television holdings seem to be KCSO, the Telemundo outfit for Sacramento, and KNSO in Fresno (operations only). Apparently NBCU didn't take back operation of that station after ZGS and gave it to this guy. The head of Serestar, Philip Wilkinson, apparently came from Entravision. Telemundo is in Utah on a network of LPTVs branded as Telemundo 10 (KULX), operated by Airwaves but with one of the translators owned by NBCU. There are no full-power stations in the system. Perhaps this is how they're getting one? I'm confused are you saying that with Serestar purchasing KTMW they most likely become the Telemundo affiliate for Salt Lake? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 2878 Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 I'm confused are you saying that with Serestar purchasing KTMW they most likely become the Telemundo affiliate for Salt Lake? That's highly likely. Consider the owner of Serestar (whose name even seems like it's a play on Spanish words) used to be the chairman (and CEO) of Entravision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TVIntheDesert 183 Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Another M&A to report about: KAIL in Fresno, CA (currently a MyNet station), sold for $3M to a group called Aperio Communications Broadcasting Corporation. The station had been owned by the family of the late A.J. Williams for nearly 50 years, and has always been run on a shoestring budget. No word on whether or not KAIL will be converted to a Spanish station (all the Spanish networks, save for Azteca America, have full-powered affiliates there). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 2878 Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Station sale! KHSL-KNVN in Chico, California is going to Heartland Media. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 2878 Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Four months ago, when it was announced that Serestar Communications was buying KTMW with very likely plans to make it a Telemundo outlet, I mused that they were also going to have to get Airwaves, which owned the existing LPTV network of Telemundo stations, to sell to Serestar. That's happened. Serestar is buying KULX Ogden, KULU Park City and K17II-D Logan from Airwaves for $725,000 and taking operation immediately via time brokerage agreement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 2878 Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 The sale of KTMW closed. On the same day, other news from Serestar as KNSO will begin early evening newscasts today. The anchor is Vanessa Ramírez-Ávila, who formerly worked for competitor KFTV as well as television stations in the Mexican state of Zacatecas. Nexstar will provide newsgathering resources; it owns the Telemundo outlet in Bakersfield as well as KGPE/KSEE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRob 920 Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Gray Television acquires KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids. http://gray.tv/index.php?page=press-releases&releaseid=2084226 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 2878 Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Gray Television acquires KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids. http://gray.tv/index.php?page=press-releases&releaseid=2084226 These family broadcasters really like Gray. That $100 million valuation is quite high. If the station weren't in Iowa, would it fetch quite that much of a premium? Note this sentence in the release: "The Gazette Company and Gray will continue the long-standing and successful partnership between The Gazette and KCRG-TV." It almost sounds like they're going to be partners in the operation of the station, with Gray taking the station under its wing and providing significant operational synergies. The Gazette probably realized it needed to do this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRob 920 Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 These family broadcasters really like Gray. That $100 million valuation is quite high. If the station weren't in Iowa, would it fetch quite that much of a premium? I doubt it. It's a good move for the local owners, taking their chips off the table close to the Iowa Caucuses, getting the maximum price for a station in a 90-level market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breaking News 802 Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Will we see by year 2020 that Locally owned stations will cease to exist in broadcast and all stations will be owned by a media conglomerate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 2878 Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Will we see by year 2020 that Locally owned stations will cease to exist in broadcast and all stations will be owned by a media conglomerate? There will be the occasional local outlier, but as scale becomes more and more of an issue in the local TV market, it certainly obligates these small market station owners to sell. The Cedar Rapids Gazette brought to KCRG the backing of the town's newspaper and the strength of its news reputation. But it had to go alone on many of the sales, programming acquisition and services sides. Gray loses a good portion of the newspaper connection, but think. It will run its own national sales business in the near future. It has a standardized graphics package. It buys syndicated programming, negotiates network affiliation, etc. on national-level contracts. Gray has snapped up quite a few stations in recent years from isolated clusters and single-station owners. KEVN, KMVT, WAGM, KOSA, now KCRG. It's a great strategy for them as they are getting decently rated stations in each market. And in the case of KCRG, they may be paying a premium but it's because Iowa is evergreen in terms of political advertising. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 2878 Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Under the hammer: the KX system in North Dakota, to Nexstar from family ownership, for $44 million. Nexstar will also take over the services contract for the ABC affiliates in central and western North Dakota. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 2878 Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Could more foreign ownership be in store for American broadcasting? The FCC today proposed to extend its streamlined common carrier ownership procedures to broadcasting. The rule would codify the FCC's existing policy of allowing more than 25% foreign ownership of a broadcast licensee under review. There are already some stations with interesting ownership structures, particularly where the US-Mexico border is concerned. My personal favorite is R Communications (a boatload of radio stations and KMBH in Brownsville, Texas), whose owner is related to Grupo RCG in the state of Coahuila as well as NRT Communications Group (KVAW Eagle Pass, Texas, and radio stations in Monclova, Coahuila). (It's a knotty mess made worse by political scandal.) In LA, KXOS FM 93.9 is effectively owned and operated by Grupo Radio Centro, which owns 12 Mexico City radio stations and is related to a family business that owns dozens more in the rest of the country. And while Pappas still owns the lion's share of KAZA there, Azteca basically operates the station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRolyPoly 1847 Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Its kinda funny because WGEN 8 (MundoMax in my home market) is 75% owned by Maple, LLC and 25% owned by Caracol, yet XETV 6 (CW in San Diego) is 100% owned by Mexican conglomerate Televisa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A3N 996 Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Its kinda funny because WGEN 8 (MundoMax in my home market) is 75% owned by Maple, LLC and 25% owned by Caracol, yet XETV 6 (CW in San Diego) is 100% owned by Mexican conglomerate Televisa. Not exactly the same situation, as XETV is licensed to Tijuana, Mexico, the other to the U.S. . So this proposal would not have an effect either way. i'm sure Televisa is licking its chops at this news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 2878 Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 I'm sure Televisa is licking its chops at this news. Well it may be helpful if they want to increase their stake in Univision. They own a small slice of the company and get some $310 million a year in royalties. But I can't see them expanding in Mexico, not when they have "preponderant economic agent" status in the broadcasting market. Azteca will certainly be happy, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRolyPoly 1847 Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Not exactly the same situation, as XETV is licensed to Tijuana, Mexico, the other to the U.S. . So this proposal would not have an effect either way. i'm sure Televisa is licking its chops at this news. Oh yeah, I forgot. Whoops. Sorry about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A3N 996 Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Well it may be helpful if they want to increase their stake in Univision. They own a small slice of the company and get some $310 million a year in royalties. But I can't see them expanding in Mexico, not when they have "preponderant economic agent" status in the broadcasting market. Azteca will certainly be happy, though. I read a while back that Televisa was looking to get more into the U.S. market. While Univision was/is a good way, for them it was not enough as they are essentially hamstrung by that ownership cap. In all honesty, Televisa is probably one of a few owners/investors that could turn Univision around and get them profitable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CircleSeven 1944 Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 Gray Television acquires KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids. http://gray.tv/index.php?page=press-releases&releaseid=2084226 ......and that sale is now closed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atlnews2 557 Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 Here's an interesting breakdown of political TV ad spending in Iowa. It's main focus is showing what campaign (and Super PAC's) have spent the most money, but it also shows how much has been spend in each of the Iowa markets and which Des Monies stations have received the most money. I was surprised that Cedar Rapids was the 2nd largest market for political ads, I thought for sure that Quad Cities would have gotten more (This probably explains why Gray paid so much for KCRG). http://www.press-citizen.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/10/10/political-ad-onslaught-has-only-just-begun/73615842/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 2878 Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 Here's an interesting breakdown of political TV ad spending in Iowa. It's main focus is showing what campaign (and Super PAC's) have spent the most money, but it also shows how much has been spend in each of the Iowa markets and which Des Monies stations have received the most money. I was surprised that Cedar Rapids was the 2nd largest market for political ads, I thought for sure that Quad Cities would have gotten more (This probably explains why Gray paid so much for KCRG). http://www.press-citizen.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/10/10/political-ad-onslaught-has-only-just-begun/73615842/ Why would I spend as much money as I do in CR in the Quad Cities, where part of my money will be wasted on Illinois residents? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atlnews2 557 Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 Why would I spend as much money as I do in CR in the Quad Cities, where part of my money will be wasted on Illinois residents? I thought the Quad cities was a larger market (turns out it's not) plus I think the the area around Quad Cities is more swingy politically (voting for Obama in 2008 and 2012, but voting for GOP in Senate and Governor elections). in hindsight it does make sense seeing how half the market is in Illinois, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CircleSeven 1944 Posted December 2, 2015 Author Share Posted December 2, 2015 Station sale! KHSL-KNVN in Chico, California is going to Heartland Media. Follow-up time. As of yesterday (12/1), the KHSL/KNVN sale to Heartland has been closed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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