Media General
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| Public | |
| Traded as | NYSE: MEG |
| Industry | Broadcast and Digital |
| Predecessor | Park Communications Spartan Communications Young Broadcasting LIN Media |
| Founded | 1940 |
| Headquarters | Richmond, Virginia Providence, Rhode Island Austin, Texas |
|
Key people
|
Warren Buffett (Financier) Mario Gabelli (Financier) J. Stewart Bryan III (Chairman) Vincent L. Sadusky (President and CEO) |
| Products | Television Radio Internet |
| Website | www |
Media General, Inc. is a media company based in the Southeastern United States. The company was formed in 1940 when Richmond, Virginia's two newspapers, the Times-Dispatch and News Leader, merged to form Richmond Newspapers. In 1969, as the company's media properties grew and diversified, it was renamed Media General. Media General is headquartered in Richmond and the San Francisco Bay Area is its largest market.
In 2013 and 2014, Media General expanded significantly through its mergers with Young Broadcasting and LIN Media; as of the latter merger, Media General is now run by the principal staff of LIN Media, including CEO Vincent L. Sadusky.
History
The conglomeration of newspapers was founded in 1940 when owners of Richmond, Virginia's two newspapers, the Times-Dispatch and News Leader, merged them to form Richmond Newspapers, Inc. In 1969, as the company's media properties grew and diversified, it was renamed Media General.
Additional Acquisitions
In 1982 the company acquired The William B. Tanner Company (previously known as Pepper-Tanner), a commercial radio jingle production company headquartered in Memphis. It was divested in 1988.
In 1996, Media General acquired Park Acquisitions, the holding company for Park Communications, formerly owned by the media entrepreneur Roy H. Park.[1]
In 1999, Media General bought Spartanburg-based Spartan Communications, which increased Media General's station portfolio from 14 to 27.[2]
Four NBC-owned stations in smaller markets that were put up for sale on January 9, 2006 on April 6 NBC Universal and Media General announced that the latter would purchase the four NBC O&O's as part of a $600 million four-station deal between the two companies.
Divestment of properties in the late 2000s
On August 2, 2006, Media General announced that it will sell WIAT and KIMT to New Vision Television for $35 million; the sale was finalized on October 12, 2006.
On October 29, 2007, Media General announced that the company was exploring the sale of WCWJ, KALB-TV, WMBB, WTVQ, and WNEG-TV. On March 14, 2008, the company reached an agreement to sell KALB and WMBB to Hoak Media. The deal was closed on July 16. On June 25, 2008, Media General announced the sale of WNEG-TV to the University of Georgia.[3] On January 28, 2009, the Nexstar Broadcasting Group announced that it had reached an agreement to purchase WCWJ. The deal was finalized on May 1, 2009.
2010s: Additional Mergers and Acquisitions
On June 6, 2013, it was announced that Young Broadcasting and Media General would merge. Due to the way the merger was structured, Young Broadcasting's shareholders controlled a majority of Media General's stock following the merger. The combined company owned 30 stations, reaching 14% of the United States.[4] On November 8, FCC approved the merger.[5]
On March 21, 2014, Media General and LIN Media announced that the two companies would merge. The deal, worth an estimated $1.6 billion, would create an entity of 71 stations with a combined reach of 24% of U.S. television households. 45 Media General staff members were laid off; CEO George Mahoney stepped down in favor of his LIN counterpart Vincent Sadusky, and his own management team.[6] In order to comply with FCC ownership rules as well as planned changes to rules regarding same-market television stations which would prohibit future joint sales agreements, some of the stations would be sold to several other companies in five markets (Birmingham, Green Bay, Mobile, Providence and Savannah) where both groups already own stations.[7][8][9]
On August 20, 2014, Media General and LIN Media announced several sales. Media General sold WJAR, WLUK, and WCWF to the Sinclair Broadcast Group in exchange for Sinclair's KXRM, KXTU, and WTTA. Hearst Television acquired WVTM and WJCL, and Meredith Corporation acquired WALA.[10] On October 6, the two companies' shareholders approved the deal,[11] and the FCC approved the deal on December 12.[12] The merger was completed on December 19.[13] A condition of the deal requires Media General to end the joint sales agreements it has with stations in Youngstown, Ohio, Dayton, Ohio, and Topeka, Kansas, due to tighter scrutiny such deals are getting by the FCC. Media General received a two-year waiver in those markets to end the JSAs.[14]
On July 14, 2015, Media General pulled its stations off of Mediacom cable systems across the United States due to a carriage dispute over retransmission consent fees.[15] This carriage dispute saw Media General stations disappear from Mediacom lineups in 14 television markets across the United States and even three of the Fox affiliates owned by Media General were lost to Mediacom subscribers in Hampton Roads, Virginia, Terre Haute, Indiana, and Topeka, Kansas just before the start of the 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.[16] On July 30, 2015, Mediacom and Media General reached a new agreement, thereby restoring Media General owned stations to Mediacom subscribers in the affected areas.[17]
On September 8, 2015, it was announced that Media General would acquire Meredith Corporation in a cash and stock deal valued at $2.4 billion. Pending regulatory and shareholder approval, the deal is expected to be consummated in June 2016. The combined company would operate under the name Meredith Media General, and be the third-largest owner of television stations in the United States—serving an estimated 30% of households. In order to comply with FCC regulations, some stations would be sold to other companies in six markets where both groups already own stations (Greenville-Spartanburg, Hartford-New Haven, Mobile, Nashville, Portland (OR) and Springfield (MA)). Media General shareholders would control 65% of the company, with Meredith shareholders holding 35%. [18]
On September 28, it was revealed that Nexstar Broadcasting Group had made an unsolicited cash-and-stock offer for Media General, valued at $14.50 per-share. Following the announcement, Media General shareholders Oppenheimer Holdings (7% stake) and Starboard Capital (4.5% stake) opposed the Meredith merger in favor of selling to Nexstar. On October 6, 2015, the New York Post speculated that the deal had been called off, believing that the deal was unlikely to receive further shareholder support due to these objections. Both companies have denied that this was the case, and reported that other major shareholders were backing the merger.[19][20] Media General hired additional firms to evaluate the Nexstar bid.[21] On November 16, Media General rejected the offer but agreed to negotiate after concluding its merge with Meredith.[22]
Major assets
Current Media General stations
Stations are arranged in alphabetical order by state and city of license.
Notes:
- (**) – Indicates a station built and signed on by Media General.
- (¤¤) – Indicates a station owned by Park Communications prior to its acquisition by Media General in 1997.
- (##) – Indicates a station owned by Spartan Radiocasting prior to its acquisition by Media General in 2000.
- (++) – Indicates a station acquired by Media General from NBC Universal in 2006.
- (Y) – Indicates a station owned by Young Broadcasting prior to its merger with Media General in 2013.
- (§§) – Indicates a station owned by LIN Media prior to its merger with Media General in 2014.
| City of license / Market | Station | Channel TV (RF) |
Owned Since | Network Affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham - Tuscaloosa - Anniston, AL | WIAT ¤¤ §§ | 42 (30) | 2014 (previously owned from 1997-2006) |
CBS |
| Mobile - Pensacola | WKRG-TV ## | 5 (27) | 2000 | CBS |
| WFNA §§ | 55 (25) | 2014 | The CW | |
| San Francisco | KRON-TV Y | 4 (38) | 2013 | MyNetworkTV |
| Colorado Springs - Pueblo, CO | KXRM-TV | 21 (22) | 2014 | Fox |
| KXTU-LD | 57 (20) | 2014 | The CW | |
| New Haven - Hartford | WTNH §§ | 8 (10) | 2014 | ABC |
| WCTX §§ | 59 (39) | 2014 | MyNetworkTV | |
| Tampa - St. Petersburg | WFLA-TV ** | 8 (7) | 1966 | NBC |
| WTTA | 38 (32) | 2014 | MyNetworkTV | |
| Augusta | WJBF ## | 6 (42) | 2000 | ABC |
| WAGT | 26 (30) | 1 | NBC The CW (DT2) |
|
| Columbus, GA | WRBL ## | 3 (15) | 2000 | CBS |
| Savannah - Hilton Head | WSAV-TV | 3 (39) | 1997 | NBC MyNetworkTV (DT2) |
| Honolulu, Hawaii | KHON-TV §§ | 2 (8) | 2014 | Fox |
| Hilo, Hawaii | KHAW-TV §§ (Satellite of KHON) |
11 (11) | 2014 | Fox |
| Wailuku, Hawaii | KAII-TV §§ (Satellite of KHON) |
7 (7) | 2014 | Fox |
| Fort Wayne, Indiana | WANE-TV §§ | 15 (31) | 2014 | CBS |
| Indianapolis - Marion, Indiana | WISH-TV §§ | 8 (9) | 2014 | The CW |
| WNDY-TV §§ | 23 (32) | 2014 | MyNetworkTV | |
| WIIH-CD §§ (Translator for WISH-TV) |
17 (8) | 2014 | The CW | |
| Lafayette, Indiana | WLFI-TV §§ | 18 (11) | 2014 | CBS |
| Terre Haute, Indiana | WTHI-TV §§ | 10 (10) | 2014 | CBS Fox/MyNetworkTV (DT2) |
| Davenport - Moline - Quad Cities | KWQC-TV Y | 6 (36) | 2013 | NBC |
| Mason City, Iowa - Rochester, Minnesota | KIMT ## §§ | 3 (42) | 2014 (previously owned from 2000-2006) |
CBS MyNetworkTV (DT2) |
| Topeka, Kansas | KSNT §§ | 27 (27) | 2014 | NBC |
| KTMJ-CD §§ | 43 (43) | 2014 | Fox | |
| KTKA-TV 2 | 49 (49) | 2014 | ABC The CW (DT3) |
|
| Wichita, Kansas | KSNW §§ | 3 (45) | 2014 | NBC |
| Great Bend, Kansas | KSNC §§ (Satellite of KSNW) |
2 (22) | 2014 | NBC |
| Garden City, Kansas | KSNG §§ (Satellite of KSNW) |
11 (11) | 2014 | NBC |
| McCook, Nebraska | KSNK §§ (Satellite of KSNW) |
8 (12) | 2014 | NBC |
| Salina, Kansas | KSNL-LD §§ (Satellite of KSNW) |
47 (47) | 2014 | NBC |
| Lafayette, Louisiana | KLFY-TV Y | 10 (10) | 2013 | CBS Cozi on DT2 (11-2-2015) |
| Springfield, Massachusetts | WWLP §§ | 22 (11) | 2014 | NBC |
| WFXQ-CD §§ (Satellite of WWLP) |
28 (28) | 2014 | NBC | |
| Grand Rapids | WOOD-TV §§ | 8 (7) | 2014 | NBC |
| WXSP-CD §§ | 15 (15) | 2014 | MyNetworkTV | |
| Battle Creek, Michigan | WOTV §§ | 41 (20) | 2014 | ABC |
| Lansing | WLNS-TV Y | 6 (36) | 2013 | CBS |
| WLAJ 3 | 53 (51) | 2013 | ABC The CW (DT2) |
|
| Jackson, Mississippi | WJTV | 12 (12) | 2000 | CBS The CW (DT2) |
| Hattiesburg - Laurel | WHLT (Semi-satellite of WJTV) |
22 (22) | 2000 | CBS |
| Albuquerque - Santa Fe | KRQE §§ | 13 (13) | 2014 | CBS |
| KASA-TV §§ | 2 (27) | 2014 | Fox | |
| KWBQ 4 | 29 (19) | 2014 | The CW | |
| KASY-TV 4 | 50 (45) | 2014 | MyNetworkTV | |
| Roswell, New Mexico | KBIM-TV §§ (Satellite of KRQE) |
10 (10) | 2014 | CBS |
| KRWB-TV 4 (Satellite of KWBQ) |
21 (21) | 2014 | The CW | |
| Durango, Colorado | KREZ-TV §§ (Satellite of KRQE) |
6 (15) | 2014 | CBS |
| Albany - Schenectady - Troy | WTEN Y | 10 (26) | 2013 | ABC |
| WXXA-TV 3 | 23 (7) | 2013 | Fox | |
| Adams, Massachusetts | WCDC-TV Y (Satellite of WTEN) |
19 (36) | 2013 | ABC |
| Buffalo | WIVB-TV §§ | 4 (39) | 2014 | CBS |
| WNLO §§ | 23 (32) | 2014 | The CW | |
| Greenville - New Bern - Washington | WNCT-TV ¤¤ | 9 (10) | 1997 | CBS The CW (DT2) |
| Raleigh - Durham - Fayetteville | WNCN ++ | 17 (17) | 2006 | NBC |
| Columbus, OH | WCMH-TV ++ | 4 (14) | 2006 | NBC |
| Dayton - Springfield, Ohio | WDTN §§ | 2 (50) | 2014 | NBC Escape on DT2 (January 1, 2016) |
| WBDT 2 | 26 (26) | 2014 | The CW Bounce TV (DT2) Ion Television (DT3) |
|
| Youngstown, Ohio | WKBN-TV §§ | 27 (41) | 2014 | CBS |
| WYFX-LD §§ | 19 (19) | 2014 | Fox | |
| WYTV 2 | 33 (36) | 2014 | ABC MyNetworkTV (DT2) |
|
| Portland, OR | KOIN §§ | 6 (40) | 2014 | CBS |
| Harrisburg - Lancaster - Lebanon - York | WHTM-TV | 27 (10) | 2014 | ABC |
| Providence - New Bedford | WPRI-TV §§ | 12 (13) | 2014 | CBS |
| WNAC-TV 5 | 64 (12) | 2014 | Fox MyNetworkTV (DT2) |
|
| Charleston, SC | WCBD-TV | 2 (50) | 1983 | NBC The CW (DT2) |
| Florence - Myrtle Beach | WBTW ## | 13 (13) | 2000 | CBS MyNetworkTV (DT2) |
| Greenville - Spartanburg - Asheville - Anderson | WSPA-TV ## | 7 (7) | 2000 | CBS |
| WYCW | 62 (45) | 2001 | The CW | |
| Sioux Falls, SD | KELO-TV Y | 11 (11) | 2013 | CBS MyNetworkTV (DT2) |
| Frorence - Aberdeen, SD | KDLO-TV Y (Satellite of KELO) |
3 (3) | 2013 | CBS MyNetworkTV (DT2) |
| Reliance - Pierre, SD | KPLO-TV Y (Satellite of KELO) |
6 (13) | 2013 | CBS MyNetworkTV (DT2) |
| Rapid City, SD | KCLO-TV Y (Satellite of KELO) |
16 (15) | 2013 | CBS |
| Knoxville | WATE-TV Y | 6 (26) | 2013 | ABC |
| Nashville | WKRN-TV Y | 2 (27) | 2013 | ABC MeTV on 2.2 to launch at a later date |
| Tri-Cities (TN / VA) | WJHL-TV ¤¤ | 11 (11) | 1997 | CBS |
| Austin | KXAN-TV §§ | 36 (21) | 2014 | NBC |
| KNVA 2 | 54 (49) | 2014 | The CW | |
| KBVO-CD §§ (Satellite of KBVO) |
51 (51) | 2014 | MyNetworkTV | |
| Llano, Texas | KBVO §§ | 14 (27) | 2014 | MyNetworkTV |
| Norfolk - Portsmouth - Virginia Beach | WAVY-TV §§ | 10 (31) | 2014 | NBC |
| WVBT §§ | 43 (29) | 2014 | Fox | |
| Richmond - Petersburg | WRIC-TV Y | 8 (22) | 2013 | ABC |
| Roanoke - Lynchburg | WSLS-TV ¤¤ | 10 (30) | 1997 | NBC |
| Green Bay - Appleton | WBAY-TV Y | 2 (23) | 2013 | ABC |
Other Notes:
- 1 Owned by Schurz Communications, operated by WJBF through joint sales and shared services agreements (SSA).
- 2 Owned by Vaughan Media, Media General operates the stations through a Shared Services Agreement.
- 3 Owned by Shield Media, Media General operates the stations through an SSA.
- 4 Owned by Tamer Media, LLC, Media General operates the stations through an SSA.
- 5 Owned by Super Towers, Inc., Media General operates WNAC through a local marketing agreement.
Former Media General stations
| City of license / Market | Station | Channel TV (RF) |
Years Owned | Current Ownership Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham, Alabama | WVTM-TV ++ | 13 (13) | 2006-2014 | NBC affiliate owned by Hearst Television |
| Montgomery, Alabama | WNCF ¤¤ | 32 (31) | 1997-1999 | ABC affiliate owned by SagamoreHill Broadcasting (Operated through a LMA by Bahakel Communications) |
| Jacksonville, Florida | WJKS/WJWB/WCWJ | 17 (34) | 1982-2009 | The CW affiliate owned by Nexstar Broadcasting Group |
| Panama City, Florida | WMBB ## | 13 (13) | 2000-2008 | ABC affiliate owned by Nexstar Broadcasting Group |
| Toccoa, Georgia | WNEG-TV ## | 32 (24) | 2000-2008 | Heroes & Icons affiliate, WGTA, owned by Marquee Broadcasting |
| Wichita, Kansas | KWCH-TV ## | 12 (19) | 2000-2006 | CBS affiliate owned by Schurz Communications |
| Ensign/Dodge City, Kansas | KBSD-TV ## (Satellite of KWCH) |
6 (6) | 2000-2006 | CBS affiliate owned by Schurz Communications |
| Goodland, Kansas | KBSL-TV ## (Satellite of KWCH) |
10 (10) | 2000-2006 | CBS affiliate owned by Schurz Communications |
| Hays, Kansas | KBSH-TV ## (Satellite of KWCH) |
7 (7) | 2000-2006 | CBS affiliate owned by Schurz Communications |
| Lexington, Kentucky | WTVQ-TV ¤¤ | 36 (40) | 1997-2008 | ABC affiliate owned by Morris Multimedia[23] |
| Alexandria, Louisiana | KALB-TV ¤¤ | 5 (35) | 1997-2008 | NBC affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| Utica, New York | WUTR ¤¤ | 20 (30) | 1997 | ABC affiliate owned by Mission Broadcasting (Operated through a LMA by Nexstar Broadcasting Group) |
| Providence - New Bedford | WJAR ++ | 10 (51) | 2006-2014 | NBC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Chattanooga, Tennessee | WDEF-TV ¤¤ | 12 (12) | 1997-2006 | CBS affiliate owned by Morris Multimedia |
Other assets
- Blockdot
- Boxerjam Media
- Atlee Park
- BiteSizeTV
- Hollywood Today Live, a daily syndicated entertainment news program distributed by Media General stations, along with Fox Television Stations under a traditional syndication arrangement.
Former assets
On May 17, 2012, it was announced that investment company Berkshire Hathaway will be acquiring Media General's newspaper division (excluding The Tampa Tribune); these newspapers will be merged into Berkshire Hathaway's World Media Enterprises division, a sister company of its other newspaper holdings under the Omaha World-Herald.[24] The deal closed June 25, 2012.[25] Media General's chairman and former CEO, J. Stewart Bryan III said the company faced a choice: either sell its newspaper division or file for bankruptcy protection. The latter, he said, was "unacceptable." [26] At the end of 2011, Media General had $658 million in debt.[27] In October 2012, The Tampa Tribune and its associated print and digital products were acquired by Tampa Media Group, Inc., a new company formed by Revolution Capital Group.[28]
Major newspapers
Community newspapers
Alabama
Florida
- (Brooksville) Hernando Today (associated with The Tampa Tribune)
- (Sebring) Highlands Today (associated with The Tampa Tribune)
- Jackson County Floridan (Marianna)
- CENTRO Tampa (Spanish-language weekly)
- (New Port Richey) The Suncoast News (associated with The Tampa Tribune)
North Carolina
- The (Eden) Daily News
- Hickory Daily Record
- (Concord & Kannapolis) Independent Tribune
- The (Marion) McDowell News
- The (Madison) Messenger
- The (Morganton) News Herald
- The Reidsville Review
- Statesville Record & Landmark
South Carolina
- The Morning News (Florence) Daily Newspaper for Florence and the Pee Dee Region
- The News and Post (Lake City) – Weekly
- The Marion Star (Marion) – Weekly
- The Weekly Observer (Hemingway) – Weekly
- The Hartsville Messenger – Weekly
Virginia
- Amherst New Era-Progress
- Powhatan Today
- Midlothian Exchange
- Mechanicsville Local
- Goochland Gazette
- Bristol Herald Courier
- Culpeper Star-Exponent
- The (Charlottesville) Daily Progress
- Danville Register & Bee
- Nelson County Times
- The News & Advance (Lynchburg)
- The (Waynesboro) News Virginian
- News & Messenger (Manassas) (defunct)
- Richlands News-Press/Clinch Valley News
- The Richmond News Leader (defunct)
- Smyth News and Messenger (Marion)
- The Wytheville Enterprise
- Washington County News (Abingdon)
- Greene County Record
- Madison County Eagle
- Orange County Review
References
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- ↑ Media General, Young Broadcasting To Merge, TVNewsCheck, June 6, 2013.
- ↑ [1] Archived November 21, 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ TV Station Mega Merger: Media General, LIN Set $1.6 Billion Deal from Variety (March 21, 2014)
- ↑ Media General acquiring LIN Media for $1.6 billion, Los Angeles Times, March 21, 2014.
- ↑ Media Gen/LIN To Sell/Swap In Five Markets, TVNewsCheck, March 21, 2014.
- ↑ http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/78615/media-general-lin-sell-stations-in-5-markets
- ↑ http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/media-general-and-lin-merger-approved-by-shareholders_b130680
- ↑ http://www.fcc.gov/document/media-bureau-approves-lin-media-and-media-general-transaction
- ↑ Media General Completes Merger With LIN Media, Press Release, Media General, Retrieved 19 December 2014
- ↑ FCC Okays Media General/LIN Merger Broadcasting & Cable (12/12/2014)
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Media General Rejects Nexstar’s $1.9B Offer, But Agrees To Talk - Deadline
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Deadline: "Media General Shares Soar After Warren Buffett Agrees To Buy Its Newspapers", May 17, 2012.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ ABC News: "The Tampa Tribune Sold to Private Equity Firm", October 8, 2012.
