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Breaking: Nexstar reaches agreement to purchase Tribune

Discussion pertaining to Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Battle Creek, Big Rapids, and Michiana
MasterB
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Re: Breaking: Nexstar reaches agreement to purchase Tribune

Post by MasterB » Sun Dec 09, 2018 1:11 am

There was a lot of companies that wanted Tribune I read a lot on the merger even Bryon Allen wanted to buy Tribune.


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MWmetalhead
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Re: Breaking: Nexstar reaches agreement to purchase Tribune

Post by MWmetalhead » Tue Dec 11, 2018 6:27 pm

We lost a few posts from this thread due to the hacking attack during the midday hours of Monday, December 10.

JackAttackFM had written that Nexstar, in fact, has indeed used Sinclair-like tactics to get around divestiture requirements for prior M&A transactions. I believe he cited a shell company called Mission Broadcasting, and he even mentioned a few specific TV markets where Nexstar "sold" stations to Mission Broadcasting.

So, while Nexstar does indeed have the ability to use the Tribune / Sinclair snafu as a learning experience, one doesn't know for sure if they will act wisely here.

I will say the Tribune shareholder who want to block this transaction due to alleged insufficient marketing barely have a leg on which to stand. A well-known investment bank ran a sale process prior to Tribune inking a deal with Sinclair. That sale process was conducted not terribly long ago. Broadcast valuation multiples generally don't change much over the course of two years when economic conditions are relatively stable. The Nexstar offer is richer than the Sinclair offer. It's even possible that Nexstar was the "runner up" bidder to Sinclair. Everyone & their mother knows the Tribune properties were still on the selling block. If other parties wanted to tender an updated offer, they had plenty of opportunity to do so.



JackAttack FM
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Re: Breaking: Nexstar reaches agreement to purchase Tribune

Post by JackAttack FM » Thu Dec 20, 2018 4:36 pm

Well this one is going to be interesting.

I cited the Nexstar - Mission relationship in Little Rock with Nexstar's NBC affiliate and "Mission's" Fox affiliate and their respective duopolies with the market's MyTV and CW affiliates.

As I get into reading about the proposed merger I'm seeing that Shared Service Agreements or Shared Sales or LMAs with holding companies have come under scrutiny with the FCC. And its basically what had undone Sinclair's attempted purchase of Tribune.
(Like Sinclair trying to sell WGN-TV to a Maryland car dealer.)

So, Nexstar's CEO said the company would submit a plan to the FCC on what it would do with 13 stations in 15 markets where Nexstar and Tribune both own stations.

Those markets could include: Washington, DC, Indianapolis, Memphis, Salt Lake City, Portland, OR, Des Moines, Richmond, Norfolk, Hartford, Scranton-Wilkes Barre, Davenport, Harrisburg, Huntsville and Grand Rapids.

Indy will be interesting though with Tribune stations WTTV (CBS) and WXIN (Fox) and Nexstar stations WISH (CW) and WNDY (MyTV). And as Master said a handful of other owners, including Scripps and Gray, and two hedge funds are interested in the stations.

It gets a little more complicated because during the failed Sinclair purchase of Tribune, Fox wanted to purchase these Tribune stations;
KCPQ (Fox) Seattle, WSFL (CW) Miami, KDVR (Fox) Denver, KTXL (Fox) Sacramento, KSWB (Fox) San Diego, KSTU (Fox) Salt Lake City and WJW (Fox) Cleveland.
And Fox has these stations on a one year affiliation deal.

Selling some stations in chunks to one owner would be better for tax purposes then one here and one there.

I gotta say the FCC will probably take a pass on objecting to SSAs with "license holders" and Nexstar stations that are not in the top 25 markets. So I think WXMI and the WOOD combo could come together.
Its the larger markets that will have to be straightout duopolies.

I also don't know if its financially better to sell a station like WXMI to a Mission and then run it on a SSA or just sell it off for cash and/or trade. I would guess both WOOD and WXMI must be the top sellers for airtime during local news.

Or could you split-up and sell the WOOD, WXSP, WOTV combo?
The most interesting scenario is...
Maybe you make a trade with somebody like Gannett (Tegna) and trade them WOTV for an out-of-market Tegna station and cash?
Tegna could at least expand their sales in this market, for whatever that'd be worth.
(I can't believe Tegna is making a dime on WZZM selling to less then the northern half of the 49th market.)

Nexstar can also still use the UHF 1/2 discount to stay under the national 39% cap.

My prediction is Nexstar keeps either the 8, 15, 41 combo or 17 and sells the other to a hedge fund and run them all together under an SSA.

You've got an instant consolidation of operations if all four stations come under one roof at WXMI's shop near Plainfield and 96. And a nice plot of real estate to sell in Heritage Hill.

But, its not implausible that they could sell to a Gray or Scripps.
Because at the end of the day Nexstar is getting into the top markets, NY, LA, Chicago, and why worry too much about keeping GR/K-zoo.



MasterB
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Re: Breaking: Nexstar reaches agreement to purchase Tribune

Post by MasterB » Sat Feb 02, 2019 11:21 pm

Not GR related but it looks like Nexstar wants WXIN & WTTV taking the Fox/CBS combo and selling Wish TV/WNDY The CW/MYNet TV combo. My opinion I think Nexstar should keep Wish TV and try and get CBS back on Wish TV since they did have CBS for 50 plus years before 2015 will be interesting to see if the DOJ will let a TV station keep 2 Top 4 stations in one market? Although I don't think WTTV could be a stand-alone TV Station since that has been at the hip with WXIN since 02 when Tribune bought WTTV from Sinclair, the only way I could see it being a stand-alone would be if CBS made it an O&O but I don't think that CBS was interested in buying WTTV they would only want the Colts if they wanted to get into Indy?


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MWmetalhead
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Re: Breaking: Nexstar reaches agreement to purchase Tribune

Post by MWmetalhead » Sun Feb 03, 2019 9:53 am

Without knowing which stations at the moment are in the Top 4 in Indy, it's tough to know which options are even plausible.

Fox 59 is usually #1 in early morning news and is #1 at 10PM (their 10PM numbers are stronger than competing 11PM newscasts found on the other stations).

WTHR, channel 13, is usually #1 by a mile everywhere else.

WISH-TV, Scripps' low rated abortion known as RTV-6 (ABC affiliate), and CBS 4 are generally within spitting distance of one another in most dayparts, although I suspect CBS 4 is #1 at 11p.

In terms of ratings from sign-on to sign-off, WTHR channel 13 is the clear frontrunner. My guess is WISH-TV is fifth now given lack of network affiliation. I have no idea who is #2 through #4.

Also, in terms of determining top 4 ratings performers, I have no idea how far back the FCC examines viewership habits for rank determination purposes. Is it one year? Two years? Five years? Ten years? That timetable obviously would have a gigantic impact on where WTTV (CBS channel 4) and WISH-TV (channel 8) rank.

In terms of Grand Rapids, WOOD-TV and WWMT are far & away the market's top two billers. I believe WZZM is still clinging to number 3 (mainly because of heritage), although WXMI is nipping their heels.

I doubt the FCC would permit Nexstar to own both WXMI and WOOD-TV outright. Remember, Sinclair (who only owns one OTA license in the market at present) was gearing up to sell WXMI and already had a buyer lined up. Adding possible further complexity to the Nexstar situation is the fact the company owns WLNS-TV in Lansing. There is considerable service contour overlap between the Lansing station and the West Michigan stations.

Now, could Nexstar pull a "fast one" by moving the FOX affiliation off WXMI and onto WOTV? My guess is FOX would have something to say about that, and my guess is they would tell Nexstar to pound sand.

Bottom line: If the overall Tribune / Nexstar transaction ever moves forward, look for Nexstar to keep WOOD-TV and WOTV (WXSP doesn't even factor into the equation, since it's a Class-A license, not a full power license) and to sell WXMI.

There is benefit to Nexstar keeping WOTV - it'll help ensure WOTV remains affiliated with ABC so that the station can continue to serve as an ever present thorn in WZZM's side, thus benefiting WOOD-TV. Nexstar / Media General / LIN have been successful in foisting WOTV & WXSP on cable systems as a condition of carrying WOOD-TV. WOTV is even carried on cable in Muskegon these days, for cripe's sake.



ftballfan
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Re: Breaking: Nexstar reaches agreement to purchase Tribune

Post by ftballfan » Mon Feb 04, 2019 2:28 pm

MWmetalhead wrote:
Sun Feb 03, 2019 9:53 am
There is benefit to Nexstar keeping WOTV - it'll help ensure WOTV remains affiliated with ABC so that the station can continue to serve as an ever present thorn in WZZM's side, thus benefiting WOOD-TV. Nexstar / Media General / LIN have been successful in foisting WOTV & WXSP on cable systems as a condition of carrying WOOD-TV. WOTV is even carried on cable in Muskegon these days, for cripe's sake.
WOTV is even carried in Hart and Shelby. The only WZZM-only cable systems in the GR market are the following:
Charter Lakeview
Charter Newaygo/Grant
Charter Riverdale/Vestaburg (this system crosses a market line and has WJRT)
MiCom White Cloud (has WGTU)

The following systems have WOTV only:
Charter Coldwater
Charter Sturgis
Coldwater Board of Public Utilities
Somewhat related, the above three don't carry WGVU either, instead having WKAR (and WNIT in Sturgis) for PBS.

Was there a point in time in which WOTV wasn't carried in Muskegon? Until about ten years ago, WZZM wasn't carried in Battle Creek or Three Rivers



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Bull Shannon
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Re: Breaking: Nexstar reaches agreement to purchase Tribune

Post by Bull Shannon » Thu Feb 07, 2019 12:52 pm

ftballfan wrote:
Mon Feb 04, 2019 2:28 pm
Was there a point in time in which WOTV wasn't carried in Muskegon? Until about ten years ago, WZZM wasn't carried in Battle Creek or Three Rivers
WOTV was carried on Muskegon cable in the 1980s when it was still WUHQ. I don't recall exactly when it was dropped other than it was sometimes in the late '80s/early '90s.

I think it was around 10 years ago when it was re-added to the Muskegon market.

Also, by your list it seems that there isn't a single cable market where WZZM is the ONLY ABC affiliate carried; they're either sharing with WOTV or a bordering market station (WJRT or WGTU).



ftballfan
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Re: Breaking: Nexstar reaches agreement to purchase Tribune

Post by ftballfan » Thu Feb 07, 2019 7:06 pm

Bull Shannon wrote:
Thu Feb 07, 2019 12:52 pm
ftballfan wrote:
Mon Feb 04, 2019 2:28 pm
Was there a point in time in which WOTV wasn't carried in Muskegon? Until about ten years ago, WZZM wasn't carried in Battle Creek or Three Rivers
WOTV was carried on Muskegon cable in the 1980s when it was still WUHQ. I don't recall exactly when it was dropped other than it was sometimes in the late '80s/early '90s.

I think it was around 10 years ago when it was re-added to the Muskegon market.

Also, by your list it seems that there isn't a single cable market where WZZM is the ONLY ABC affiliate carried; they're either sharing with WOTV or a bordering market station (WJRT or WGTU).
Lakeview, Newaygo, and Grant are WZZM only for ABC (cable 4 is taken by WWTV from Cadillac in all three of those towns; Howard City in that same vicinity has WOTV on cable 4, bumping 9&10 to its normal cable 10 slot).

With WOTV occupying cable 9 in Muskegon and Fremont, I wonder if it replaced WWTV on one or both of those systems.



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MWmetalhead
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Re: Breaking: Nexstar reaches agreement to purchase Tribune

Post by MWmetalhead » Thu Feb 07, 2019 8:09 pm

I know the system in Fremont in 2005 didn't carry WWTV at all. I presume that remains true today.



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Bull Shannon
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Re: Breaking: Nexstar reaches agreement to purchase Tribune

Post by Bull Shannon » Fri Feb 08, 2019 12:47 pm

ftballfan wrote:
Thu Feb 07, 2019 7:06 pm
With WOTV occupying cable 9 in Muskegon and Fremont, I wonder if it replaced WWTV on one or both of those systems.
Muskegon cable has never carried any adjacent-market stations.



ftballfan
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Re: Breaking: Nexstar reaches agreement to purchase Tribune

Post by ftballfan » Sat Feb 09, 2019 3:43 pm

Bull Shannon wrote:
Fri Feb 08, 2019 12:47 pm
ftballfan wrote:
Thu Feb 07, 2019 7:06 pm
With WOTV occupying cable 9 in Muskegon and Fremont, I wonder if it replaced WWTV on one or both of those systems.
Muskegon cable has never carried any adjacent-market stations.
Even in the very early CATV days? I know Whitehall had WVTV from Milwaukee until 2006 (it only lasted that long due to GR not having a full-time WB affiliate and CW7 ended up taking WVTV's cable slot)



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MWmetalhead
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Re: Breaking: Nexstar reaches agreement to purchase Tribune

Post by MWmetalhead » Mon Feb 11, 2019 6:22 am

If Standard Media doesn't purchase WXMI, it appears Apollo Capital Management could do so.

That private equity firm is in process of acquiring Cox Media's TV stations and also is in talks to acquire Nexstar spin offs upon closing of Nexstar's acquisition of Tribune.



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Bull Shannon
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Re: Breaking: Nexstar reaches agreement to purchase Tribune

Post by Bull Shannon » Mon Feb 11, 2019 11:11 am

ftballfan wrote:
Thu Feb 07, 2019 7:06 pm
Even in the very early CATV days? I know Whitehall had WVTV from Milwaukee until 2006 (it only lasted that long due to GR not having a full-time WB affiliate and CW7 ended up taking WVTV's cable slot)
I mean, i was a small child in the '80s, so my memory for that time period isn't that great. There may have been a time when Muskegon carried Milwaukee stations, but from as far back as I remember, the only out-of-market station Muskegon carried was WKBD when it was also a Fox station.



ftballfan
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Re: Breaking: Nexstar reaches agreement to purchase Tribune

Post by ftballfan » Mon Feb 11, 2019 11:22 pm

Bull Shannon wrote:
Mon Feb 11, 2019 11:11 am
ftballfan wrote:
Thu Feb 07, 2019 7:06 pm
Even in the very early CATV days? I know Whitehall had WVTV from Milwaukee until 2006 (it only lasted that long due to GR not having a full-time WB affiliate and CW7 ended up taking WVTV's cable slot)
I mean, i was a small child in the '80s, so my memory for that time period isn't that great. There may have been a time when Muskegon carried Milwaukee stations, but from as far back as I remember, the only out-of-market station Muskegon carried was WKBD when it was also a Fox station.
I remember GR having WKBD until around 1999/2000, when WXSP picked up UPN (my aunt lived in Grand Rapids at that time)



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Re: Breaking: Nexstar reaches agreement to purchase Tribune

Post by MasterB » Tue Feb 12, 2019 7:43 pm

MWmetalhead wrote:
Mon Feb 11, 2019 6:22 am
If Standard Media doesn't purchase WXMI, it appears Apollo Capital Management could do so.

That private equity firm is in process of acquiring Cox Media's TV stations and also is in talks to acquire Nexstar spin offs upon closing of Nexstar's acquisition of Tribune.
I think Apollo also may have bought Northwest as well from a CNBC article about Apollo buying Cox Media.


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