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Owners Of WJBK-TV And The Other Ex-Storer Stations That Was Called SCI Television

Discussion pertaining to Detroit, Ann Arbor, Port Huron, and SW Ontario
Truck451
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Owners Of WJBK-TV And The Other Ex-Storer Stations That Was Called SCI Television

Post by Truck451 » Tue Feb 19, 2019 10:43 pm

What was the deal with the owner of WJBK-TV and the other ex-Storer stations that was called SCI Television, after Gillett Communications had sold the stations; but before New World had purchased the stations, and the fateful changeover of the stations' affiliations to their current FOX affiliations?
Was SCI a portion of the Storer company with a new legal name; since the Storer name was already being used what was originally the company's Cable Television division?
Was SCI, perhaps; run by members of the Storer family who had purchased back the remains of their Broadcast Division, while other Storer family members would run the Cable Television division?



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RingtailedFox
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Re: Owners Of WJBK-TV And The Other Ex-Storer Stations That Was Called SCI Television

Post by RingtailedFox » Tue Feb 19, 2019 11:27 pm

Alright, kiddies, let me tell you a story about the little broadcaster that could: SCI Television.

It all started once upon a time in the 1920s in Toledo, Ohio....

George B. Storer founded Storer Broadcasting in 1927 initially as a side-business to his then-primary operations: gas stations that were positioned next to train tracks so they could off-load fuel directly at the station. They branded their fuel as Speedene and made a profit since they didn't have to pay to truck gasoline from rail yards to their fuel stations, so they were able to make a big profit while passing on some savings to the customers. Things were going well for the company. So well, in fact that Storer bought some radio stations to advertise his fuel company (including WSPD, which still retains its call-letters to this day). At some point in the late 1920s, the broadcast wing was given the name Fort Industry Broadcasting.

By 1948, Storer expanded into television by launching WSPD-TV 13 (now WTVG) in Toledo, WJBK-TV 2 in Detroit a few months later, and in early 1949, launched WAGA-TV 5 in Atlanta. By the time the mid-1950s rolled around, it was renamed Storer Broadcasting. In 1966, he'd even start up legendary superstation WSBK-TV 38 in Boston.

Remeber, most of the radio and television stations owned by storer were CBS Radio or CBS Television affiliates, because George sat on the Board of Directors of CBS! That's why he had such a good relationship with the network, when most others didn't. :P

In 1963, Storer entered the cable television business, and even diversified into owning Northeast Airlines from 1965 to 1972!

George would retire from being the company president in 1973 and the company would sell some radio stations to focus on cable television.

In 1983, it would change its name to Storer Communications, Incorporated. Times were changing, though... after a series of purchases of other smaller broadcasting and entertainment firms, they were themselves the subject of a hostile takeover by Investment firm Kohlberg, Kravis and Roberts (KKR). The reason for the leveraged buy-out by KKR was becuase Comcast started expressing interest in Storer's vast cable television operations. KKR would sell most of the television assets in 1987 to Gillett Communications, though WTVG in Toledo become locally-owned until ABC bought 'em in 1995. Gillett Broadcasting would restructure itself and become SCI Television in 1991. This didn't last too long becuase they were bought by New World Television in 1993. THAT sale was becuase Scripps-Howard (the owners of WXYZ-TV 7 in Detroit) were expressing some interest, but it never went anywhere beyond curiousity. The year after that, Fox Television Stations Group bought New World.

I know, I know... it's like small fish gets eaten by bigger fish, then that is eaten by subsequently bigger and bigger fish afterwards...

As for the cable television operations? Well...

Ultimately, the cable operations would be sold off to Comcast and TCI in 1988, but a few minor cable systems would remain under Storer's ownership until these too were bought by Comcast and TCI in 1998, thus ending 71 years of Storer Broadcasting.


~ The Legendary Raccoon-Fox has spoken!

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TC Talks
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Re: Owners Of WJBK-TV And The Other Ex-Storer Stations That Was Called SCI Television

Post by TC Talks » Wed Feb 20, 2019 5:39 am

A few gentlemen in the neighborhood I grew up in tried in vain to purchase WJBK from Storer but were out bid by KKR.


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borderboy653659200
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Re: Owners Of WJBK-TV And The Other Ex-Storer Stations That Was Called SCI Television

Post by borderboy653659200 » Wed Feb 20, 2019 10:44 am

RingtailedFox,now I know why TV news smells so fishy .



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Re: Owners Of WJBK-TV And The Other Ex-Storer Stations That Was Called SCI Television

Post by borderboy653659200 » Wed Feb 20, 2019 10:44 am

RingtailedFox,now I know why TV news smells so fishy .



Truck451
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Re: Owners Of WJBK-TV And The Other Ex-Storer Stations That Was Called SCI Television

Post by Truck451 » Wed Feb 20, 2019 2:23 pm

Jefferson-Pilot (owners of WBT-AM-FM, and WBTV-TV in Charlotte, North Carolina) should have purchased the Broadcast assets from Storer Broadcasting, and folded them into the portfolio of Jefferson-Pilot stations along with WBT-AM-FM and WBTV-TV, and Jefferson Productions/Jefferson-Pilot Sports.
After all, Jefferson-Pilot did purchase what is now WAQI-AM in Miami from Storer in 1979; before Jefferson-Pilot, in turn; had sold WGBS-AM to Univision-the current owners of the Miami AM station; and had changed the call letters to WAQI-AM.
Besides Storer, Jefferson-Pilot was another company who had close ties to CBS-especially when what was then Jefferson-Standard had purchased WBT-AM from CBS itself in 1945; WBT-AM, since antiquity, has been a CBS Radio affiliate until the early 1970's when Jefferson-Pilot wanted WBT-AM to appeal to a younger demographic, hired Tom McMurray as the new Program Director, adopted at first a Top 40 and later an Adult Contemporary format; and changed affiliations from CBS Radio to ABC Radio. And the fact that WBTV-TV always has been, and always will be a CBS Television affiliate.
Jefferson-Pilot, if they had owned the ex-Storer stations; would have been able to keep the stations to be as sustainable in their ratings and in their overall influence in the industry as a whole as much as Storer had, and Jefferson-Pilot would have been powerful enough to fend off Rupert Murdoch's offer to convert the stations over to being FOX affiliates; or in other words-tell Rupert Murdoch to find other UHF Television Stations to convert over to being affiliated with his newfangled FOX Television Network.
Another family that should have purchased the broadcast assets of Storer, if not Jefferson-Pilot; is the Martin family that up until 2017-had owned WCAX-TV in Burlington, Vermont; and until 1963-had owned WCAX-AM/WVMT-AM in Burlington.
Like Jefferson-Pilot, the Martin family would have also been able to keep the ex-Storer stations to be as to be as sustainable in their ratings and in their overall influence in the industry as a whole as much as Storer had, and the Martin family would have also been powerful enough to fend off Rupert Murdoch's offer to convert the stations over to being FOX affiliates; and they, too would have told Rupert Murdoch to find other UHF Television Stations to convert over to being affiliated with his newfangled FOX Television Network.



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Re: Owners Of WJBK-TV And The Other Ex-Storer Stations That Was Called SCI Television

Post by Deleted User 14888 » Wed Feb 20, 2019 2:26 pm

TC Talks wrote:
Wed Feb 20, 2019 5:39 am
A few gentlemen in the neighborhood I grew up in tried in vain to purchase WJBK from Storer but were out bid by KKR.
Do you have evidence of that or is that just hearsay.



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Re: Owners Of WJBK-TV And The Other Ex-Storer Stations That Was Called SCI Television

Post by borderboy653659200 » Wed Feb 20, 2019 4:53 pm

Oldies84,maybe if TC Talks' buds bought WJBK,it wouldn't suck today !!!!!



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Re: Owners Of WJBK-TV And The Other Ex-Storer Stations That Was Called SCI Television

Post by mtburb » Wed Feb 20, 2019 7:41 pm

RingtailedFox wrote:
Tue Feb 19, 2019 11:27 pm
By 1948, Storer expanded into television by launching WSPD-TV 13 (now WTVG) in Toledo, WJBK-TV 2 in Detroit a few months later, and in early 1949, launched WAGA-TV 5 in Atlanta. By the time the mid-1950s rolled around, it was renamed Storer Broadcasting. In 1966, he'd even start up legendary superstation WSBK-TV 38 in Boston.
Don't forget that Storer would own three other stations as well: WJ(K)W-TV 8 in Cleveland (now a Fox affiliate owned by Tribune), WITI-TV 6 in Milwaukee (also now a Fox affiliate owned by Tribune) and KCST-TV 39 (now KNSD) in San Diego (now an NBC O&O).


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Current setup: Antennas Direct C2Max (2018-present)

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RingtailedFox
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Re: Owners Of WJBK-TV And The Other Ex-Storer Stations That Was Called SCI Television

Post by RingtailedFox » Fri Feb 22, 2019 7:43 pm

borderboy653659200 wrote:
Wed Feb 20, 2019 10:44 am
RingtailedFox,now I know why TV news smells so fishy .
well, yeah.. too corporate, too biased and too untrustworthy... and now, too niche... all from its own actions, too.


~ The Legendary Raccoon-Fox has spoken!

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Re: Owners Of WJBK-TV And The Other Ex-Storer Stations That Was Called SCI Television

Post by borderboy653659200 » Sat Feb 23, 2019 11:18 am

Karl Marx once averred that capitalism would eventually sell the rope which hangs it. (Though as a black man,I'm rather reticent to talk about ropes,for obvious reasons. ) The media in all its iterations seem to be proving ol' Karl prophetic.



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