Station Groups

Howard Shapiro, the chairman of Weigel Broadcasting, died on Thursday from complications of pneumonia. He was 86.

“A larger-than-life figure in Chicago business and broadcasting for decades, Howard guided Weigel Broadcasting from a struggling single UHF television station in Chicago to a company with more than ten stations in three markets as well as involvement in two national broadcast networks,” the company said in a statement.

Weigel Broadcasting owns and operates stations in Chicago, Milwaukee and South Bend, IN. Read more

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Hubbard Broadcasting, which last year acquired 17 radio stations from Bonneville International, is interested in purchasing some of Tribune’s radio and TV holdings.

Stanley Hubbard (right), the company’s CEO, recently told Crain’s Chicago that he would consider buying stations from Tribune if the price and location are right.  Though he added that he hasn’t had any discussions with the company, which is reportedly looking to streamline its corporate structure as it emerges from bankruptcy.

Based in St. Paul, MN, Hubbard currently owns a dozen TV stations in New Mexico, New York, and Minnesota, including flagship KSTP in the Twin Cities.  As a result of the Bonneville deal, Hubbard now owns a handful of radio stations in Tribune’s hometown of Chicago.

Media General is selling off its struggling newspapers.

The company today announced a deal with Berkshire Hathaway for the purchase of all of its newspapers, with the exception of its Tampa group, which includes The Tampa Tribune, for $142 million in cash.  Media General is currently in discussions with other prospective buyers about its Tampa print assets.

Under a separate agreement, Berkshire Hathaway will provide Media General with a $400 million term loan, which will be used to pay off bank debt, and a $45 million revolving line of credit. Read more

Philip Stolz, who has been senior vice president of Hearst Television since 1998, will retire next year, the company announced today.

The retirement caps more than 40 years in the television industry. Stolz began his career as an account executive and sales manager at WXOW in La Crosse, WI, and eventually went on to serve as general manager for WBAL in Baltimore, WDTN in Dayton, WQOW in Eau Claire, WI, and KCRG in Cedar Rapids, IA.

“Phil’s insightful understanding of television news, programming, sales and community engagement, coupled with his sound business judgment, has contributed enormously to the success and positive reputation of our company,” Hearst president and CEO David Barrett said in a statement.  Read more

Sinclair Broadcast Group announced today that it has reached a new, long-term deal with Fox to renew the affiliation agreements for 19 stations that Sinclair owns and/or programs.

The new agreements go into effect at the beginning of next year and run through 2017.

“We are very pleased to have reached agreement to renew all of our affiliations with Fox Broadcasting, allowing us to continue as the largest Fox affiliate group,” Sinclair CEO David Smith said in a statement. Read more

LIN Media, which operates or services 32 network affiliates around the country, today reported a 15% increase in revenue for the first quarter, compared to the same period last year.

LIN TV stations brought in $103.2 million in net revenue during the first three months of the year, compared to $89.7 million during last year’s first quarter. Local revenue increased 16% to $67.7 million, and national revenue was up 4% to $23.1 million.

“2012 is off to a great start as a result of strong first quarter results and revenue increases in all areas of our business,” LIN president and CEO Vincent Sadusky said, announcing his company’s financial results. Read more

Emily Barr, who has been president and general manager of WLS since 1997, is leaving the Chicago ABC O&O to lead Post-Newsweek Stations, the television broadcasting division of the Washington Post Company.

Barr will join Post-Newsweek in July, replacing Alan Frank, who is retiring as president and CEO at the end of the year. Her last day at WLS is today.

“We are so fortunate to have Emily Barr join us,” Donald Graham, chairman and CEO of the Washington Post Company, said in a statement. “She’s been an outstanding manager in one of the greatest companies in the industry and a force for innovation everywhere she’s been.” Read more

Nexstar Broadcasting today reported a 19.6% rise in first quarter revenue, including a record amount of retrans revenue.

Nexstar, which owns, operates, programs, or provides services to 55 stations that reach roughly 9.3% of U.S. households, took in $83.6 million during the first three months of the year, with $14.5 million coming from carriage fees–a record for the company.

Core local and national revenue was up 7.8%.  Nexstar’s stations made $45.4 million in local revenue for the first quarter and $17.4 million in national for the period. Read more

LIN Media today announced that it has agreed to purchase 13 stations from New Vision Television for $330.4 million and the assumption of $12 million of debt.

New Vision’s 13 network affiliated stations are located in eight markets across the country, including Birmingham, Honolulu, and Portland, OR.

On its website, New Vision Television describes itself as “the future of local TV” but the deal, which is expected to close by the end of the year, means that there will be little future for the company.

“This is a bittersweet development,” New Vision CEO Jason Elkin said today in a statement.  “The decision to sell to LIN Media was not an easy one, but we negotiated a fair price and so decided that now is the right time for me and others at New Vision to begin to look at new opportunities.” Read more

Fisher Communications brought in $29.2 million in television revenue in the first quarter of 2012, essentially flat compared to the $29.1 million in the first quarter of 2011.

Television revenue declined due to lower national advertising revenue in the pharmaceutical, financial services and tourism categories, according to the company. The decline was balanced by increases in retail and automotive categories.

“We believe Fisher remains well positioned for strong station performance and audience share growth,” president and CEO Colleen Brown said in a statement. “These are the fundamentals that differentiate Fisher from its competitors and will continue to make the Company a leader in redefining the future of local media.” Read more