WVUE sold to Saints owner

[PelicanGuy 117]

Tom Benson announces purchase of WVUE-TV

 

by Dave Walker, The Times-Picayune Monday May 05, 2008, 8:26 PM

 

New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson announced Monday that he will purchase local Fox network affiliate WVUE-Channel 8 for $41 million, a purchase that Benson said could be seen as an indicator that the Saints' long-term future in New Orleans is secure.

 

The team is negotiating with the state on a package of inducements to keep the team in the Louisiana Superdome beyond the 2010 season.

 

"Certainly, this shows another commitment on our part," Benson said. "The old saying is, 'We're putting the money where our mouth is.' "

 

The deal requires Federal Communications Commission approval, but it is expected to close late this summer.

 

Benson said he considers the purchase, which would make WVUE the only one of the city's major broadcast network affiliates to be locally owned, a show of confidence in New Orleans' recovery from Hurricane Katrina.

 

"We need to get involved in this, because people just aren't coming and investing a lot of money in the New Orleans area," he said. "This community is going to get something from us having ownership of this station. I think it's going to show outsiders, 'Hey, this is a good place to invest.'"

 

The top-rated national network this TV season, Fox carries the blockbuster talent search "American Idol" as well as Major League Baseball and National Football League games, including the bulk of the Saints regular-season schedule as part of the NFL's national television contract.

 

'It's a local agenda'

 

Aside from investing in the local media infrastructure and offering a show of confidence in New Orleans' recovery, Benson is also buying the primary local distribution channel for his most valuable holding, the Saints.

 

Benson said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has approved the deal.

 

"He didn't see any problems from the NFL's standpoint," Benson said. "We got the attorneys to make sure we didn't have any problems."

 

Fox's NFL deal extends through the 2011 season.

 

"There are obviously a lot of synergies," Saints Chief Financial Officer Dennis Lauscha said.

 

One possible example: The rights to telecast Saints' preseason games would appear to be a natural for the Benson-owned WVUE. Cox Communications' Cox Sports Television carries those games now, and a Saints spokesman said Monday that the team recently extended its CST agreement through the 2010 season.

 

Benson also owns the New Orleans VooDoo, an Arena Football League franchise, which has its regular-season games on CST through 2010. But he and Lauscha said WVUE's primary mission will not be to promote his professional sports franchises.

 

"This station was not bought for the Saints," Benson said, although he added, "the Saints, certainly, and the NFL are an important part of it."

 

"It is going to be a TV station owned by locals, and that is going to be what the focus is going to be," Lauscha said. "It's going to be trying to help out the locals, giving the locals the content that they want. That's the agenda. It's not a Saints agenda, it's not a VooDoo agenda: It's a local agenda."

 

Planning to grow

 

Monday's announcement said that WVUE will be sold to Louisiana Media Company LLC, which is principally owned by Benson.

 

Benson later said the company also might seek to buy other local broadcast properties, such as radio stations, as well as produce feature films.

 

"Our plans aren't to just stop here," he said. "We're planning to get into other media. Our plans are just developing. We're going to be in the movie business.

"This will all be part of this. We're in an infant stage."

 

Benson also said he's interested in having other local investors in the company; no names have surfaced so far.

 

Indiana-based Emmis Communications Corp. has owned WVUE since 1998, when it purchased WVUE and stations in Hawaii, Alabama and Wisconsin for a total of $307 million. Emmis began selling off its 16 TV-station holdings in 2005.

 

WVUE, which suffered extensive damage to its Jefferson Davis Parkway studios and offices during Hurricane Katrina flooding, was the last to sell.

Staffers learned of the sale Monday morning and later met with Emmis Chairman of the Board Jeff Smulyan. Benson toured the station Monday afternoon.

 

General manager leaves

 

One significant change at the station is the departure of Vanessa Oubre, who has been general manager since shortly after Katrina.

 

Her replacement, Joe Cook, was general manager of WVUE for several years before the storm and helped engineer the station's sale to Benson.

 

"The station is in great shape," said Cook, whose title will be president and general manager. "The station has great people. We're excited about the continuation of the news operation as-is.

 

"They have been through so much turmoil. Those people have done a Herculean job of recovering from Katrina. Being for sale for that long puts a shadow over your day-to-day attitude. I've just been so proud of them."

However, WVUE staffers were already confronting questions Monday about the potential conflict-of-interest questions that will arise when news and sports reporters cover other Benson properties.

 

Once they're reporting to the same boss as Sean Payton and Reggie Bush, will WVUE reporters and anchors shape stories to favor their corporate cousins?

 

The news audience "chooses you because they trust you," WVUE newsman John Snell said. "If they can't trust what's coming out of your mouth, you have nothing. You're not going to spend that kind of money on a property and then start to manipulate. It's not something that would be a wise business decision."

 

Benson faced the same questions.

 

"The news has to be the facts, whatever the facts are," Benson said. "We're going to do like everybody else. There are going to be no restrictions on that station. If we find out one of our players is out late at night or something, we're going to report that like anybody else."

 

TV columnist Dave Walker can be reached at [email protected] or (504) 826-3429.

 

Click here to read additional reader comments about Tom Benson's purchase of WVUE.

 

 

[tyrannical bastard 3473]

It's refreshing to see a station that's NOT being sold to a private equity firm for a change!

[jdcnow 14]

It's refreshing to see a station that's NOT being sold to a private equity firm for a change!

 

To borrow a quote from Gordon Ramsay: "Thank God for that!"

[bhratbrat 423]

Now the question is will there be many changes for the 'VUE under Tom Benson? I will say not at the onset...but I will also say to expect more promos to showcase the Crescent City. But this is actually the first bit of refreshing news to see in New Orleans.