Post by bob q on Jul 27, 2013 16:45:22 GMT -5
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MENAFN - - 7/26/2013 5:36:19 PM
Tribune looks to sell WNEP
Jul 26, 2013 (The Morning Call (Menafn - Allentown - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --Less than two weeks after Tribune Co. proposed purchasing for 2.7 billion 19 television stations from Local TV Holdings, the Chicago media company filed an application with federal regulators to sell stations in Pennsylvania and Virginia.
The proposed sale, which includes Scranton/Wilkes-Barre ABC affiliate WNEP, would remove potential regulatory obstacles to Tribune's purchase of Local TV Holdings, which will significantly expand Tribune's stake in the broadcast TV market.
The Federal Communications Commission, which regulates broadcast television, discourages one company from owning television stations and newspapers in the same markets. Tribune owns The Morning Call, the Lehigh Valley's largest newspaper.
Tribune on July 15 submitted an application with the FCC to transfer control of WNEP and two television stations in Virginia to Dreamcatcher Broadcasting. Tribune also owns the Daily Press in Newport News, Va.
TVNewsCheck.com said the proposed sale price is 27 million.
"In light of the FCC's regulations regarding cross-ownership, we began taking the steps necessary to ensure the company is in compliance in two relatively small markets where, upon the closing of our acquisition of Local TV, we would otherwise own both a television station and a newspaper," Tribune spokesman Gary Weitman said.
WNEP is a prominent source for local news in northeastern Pennsylvania. It reaches 21 Pennsylvania counties with 581,000 homes with TV viewers, the state's fourth-largest television market and the No. 54 market in the country, according to the Nielsen Co.
Spencer.soper@mcall.com
MENAFN - - 7/26/2013 5:36:19 PM
Tribune looks to sell WNEP
Jul 26, 2013 (The Morning Call (Menafn - Allentown - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --Less than two weeks after Tribune Co. proposed purchasing for 2.7 billion 19 television stations from Local TV Holdings, the Chicago media company filed an application with federal regulators to sell stations in Pennsylvania and Virginia.
The proposed sale, which includes Scranton/Wilkes-Barre ABC affiliate WNEP, would remove potential regulatory obstacles to Tribune's purchase of Local TV Holdings, which will significantly expand Tribune's stake in the broadcast TV market.
The Federal Communications Commission, which regulates broadcast television, discourages one company from owning television stations and newspapers in the same markets. Tribune owns The Morning Call, the Lehigh Valley's largest newspaper.
Tribune on July 15 submitted an application with the FCC to transfer control of WNEP and two television stations in Virginia to Dreamcatcher Broadcasting. Tribune also owns the Daily Press in Newport News, Va.
TVNewsCheck.com said the proposed sale price is 27 million.
"In light of the FCC's regulations regarding cross-ownership, we began taking the steps necessary to ensure the company is in compliance in two relatively small markets where, upon the closing of our acquisition of Local TV, we would otherwise own both a television station and a newspaper," Tribune spokesman Gary Weitman said.
WNEP is a prominent source for local news in northeastern Pennsylvania. It reaches 21 Pennsylvania counties with 581,000 homes with TV viewers, the state's fourth-largest television market and the No. 54 market in the country, according to the Nielsen Co.
Spencer.soper@mcall.com