Tribune Broadcasting: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 10:40, 7 October 2013
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2012) |
 | |
| Company type | Subsidary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcast television, radio |
| Founded | 1981 |
Key people | Peter Liguori (president/CEO of the Tribune Company) Larry Wert (president of Tribune Broadcasting) |
| Parent | Tribune Company |
| Website | tribune.com |
Tribune Broadcasting (legal name: Tribune Broadcasting Company II, LLC) is a subsidary of the Tribune Company, a Chicago, Illinois-based media conglomerate; Tribune Broadcasting owns broadcast television and radio stations, and cable television channels throughout the United States.
Background
The Tribune Company entered broadcasting in 1924 by leasing WDAP, one of Chicago's first radio stations. Tribune later changed the station's call letters to WGN, reflecting the Tribune's nickname, "World's Greatest Newspaper." WGN was purchased in 1926 and went on to make various firsts in the radio industry including the first broadcasts of the World Series, the Indianapolis 500, and the Kentucky Derby.[1]
Tribune moved into the television industry, then in its infancy, in 1948, with the establishments of WGN-TV in Chicago in April and WPIX in New York City in June of that year. The company increased its broadcast station holdings with the acquisition of WQCD-FM in New York in 1964 and KWGN-TV in Denver in 1965. In 1978, WGN-TV became a national "superstation", available to cable providers across the country. Also in 1980, Tribune launched the first syndicated program distributed by the company, the Independent Network News, which originated from WPIX.[1]
History
All of Tribune's television stations were placed under the company's umbrella subsidiary, Tribune Broadcasting Company (TBC), in 1981. The first purchase under Tribune Broadcasting was its 1983 acquisition of WGNO in New Orleans from Glendive Media for $21 million. The following year, Tribune purchased WANX (which the company would change to WGNX to reflect its Chicago sister station) in Atlanta, Georgia from the Christian Broadcasting Network for $32 million.[1]
With addition of Los Angeles-based KTLA to the Tribune Broadcasting station roster from Golden West Broadcasters for a record $510 million in 1985, due to FCC media cross-ownership rules, Tribune was forced to sell the Los Angeles Daily News. With the purchase of KTLA, Tribune became the fourth largest U.S. broadcaster behind the three major networks (ABC, NBC and CBS). The Daily Press in Newport News, Virginia, joined Tribune's newspaper group in 1986, but it sold off the Daily Press's cable television operations.[1]
Beginning the 1990s with six television stations, changes in federal radio and television ownership regulations allowed Tribune's station group to expand during the decade. In 1993, Tribune Broadcasting launched CLTV, a 24-hour cable news channel for the Chicago market.[1]
In November 1994, Tribune Broadcasting formed a partnership with several minority partners, including Quincy Jones, to form Qwest Broadcasting; Qwest operated as a technically separate company from Tribune (which owned stations in a few markets where Tribune had already owned stations, including WATL in Atlanta, which was operated alongside Tribune-owned WGNX);[2]
Tribune purchased a 12.5% stake in The WB Television Network in August 1995. 10 of the company's 16 stations were affiliated with the network.[1] Tribune later invested $21 million in The WB in March 1997, which upped its equity in the network to 21.9 percent.[1]
On July 2, 1996, Tribune acquired Renaissance Broadcasting, which owned Fox- and WB-affiliated stations in several large and mid-sized markets.[3]
In June 1998, Tribune traded New York radio station WQCD to Emmis Communications in exchange for two television stations, KTZZ in Seattle and WXMI in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In turn, it made an even exchange of its original Atlanta station WGNX, for Seattle Fox affiliate KCPQ to the Meredith Corporation, in March 1999. Later that year, Tribune purchased two more WB stations, WEWB in Albany, New York and WBDC in Washington, D.C. In Feburuary 2000, Tribune acquired the remaining 67% interest in Qwest Broadcasting for $107 million, effectively adding two more stations to its roster, increasing its reach 27% of the country.[1]
In 2002 and 2003, Tribune Broadcasting acquired four additional television stations, increasing its total to 26, some of which were acquired via trades of its radio stations, which left WGN-AM as its only remaining radio property. In 2003, Tribune also pushed for the FCC to loosen its regulations barring cross-ownership of newspapers and television stations in a single market; in June 2003, Tribune was granted a temporary cross-ownership waiver for its newspaper-television station combinations in Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Florida (waivers were later also granted for the company's newspaper-television combinations in Los Angeles, New York City and Hartford, Connecticut).[1]
On January 24, 2006, Time Warner announced that it would partner with CBS Corporation to form a new network that would feature The WB and CBS-owned UPN's higher-rated shows mixed with newer series, called The CW Television Network. All but three of Tribune's 19 WB affiliates became affiliates of The CW on September 18, 2006, through ten-year agreements (the exceptions were in Philadelphia, Seattle and Atlanta, due to The CW affiliating with CBS-owned stations in those markets), though Tribune itself would not exercise an ownership stake in The CW as it did with The WB.[4]
In April 2007, Tribune's broadcasting interests were included in the sale of the entire company to Chicago investor Sam Zell, who planned take the publicly traded company private. The deal was completed on December 20, 2007.[5]
On December 21, 2007, Tribune and Oak Hill Capital Partners-controlled Local TV, LLC announced plans to collaborate in the formation of a "broadcast management company" (later named The Other Company); its Tribune Interactive division also operated the websites of its stations as part of the partnership.[6][7][8]
Beginning in July 2008, several Tribune-owned CW affiliates began to de-emphasize the network branding in favor of one with a stronger local identity, either on-air or through their websites (e.g., WPIX in New York City rebranded from "CW 11" to "PIX 11").[9] The rebranding initiative lead to speculation that Tribune's overall relationship with The CW Television Network had become strained, particularly after Tribune decided to shift the network affiliation of its San Diego station KSWB-TV from The CW to Fox in August 2008.[10] Four Tribune-owned CW stations that dropped their CW branding would later reinstate it: Houston's KIAH, when changing its call sign from KHCW in 2008, adopted a "Channel 39" branding before rebranding back to "CW 39" in March 2011;[11] Dallas' KDAF would also change its branding in 2008, from "CW 33" to "KDAF 33" and later to "The 33," before reverting to "CW 33" in 2011. KRCW-TV in Portland, Oregon, which had branded "Portland's CW" at the network's launch, became "NW 32 TV" in 2009; it reinstated the CW branding as "Portland's CW 32" in 2012. KWGN-TV in Denver briefly reincorporated The CW into its branding as "Channel 2, The CW" in 2010, before dropping it favor of referring to itself as "Colorado's Own Channel 2" in July 2011. Some of these stations (including one that has always used a non-CW branding, Chicago's WGN-TV) still employ limited branding references to The CW, either as a minor addition to their logos or as a passing verbal mention in programming promotions (e.g. "Home of The CW").[citation needed]
On December 8, 2008, Tribune announced that it would voluntarily restructure its debt obligations under the protection of Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court. As the company had sufficient funds to do so, Tribune continued to operate its newspaper publishing, broadcasting and interactive businesses without interruption during the restructuring.[12]
On January 1, 2011, Tribune launched the digital broadcast network Antenna TV, a service that features a variety of classic television series and movies, with much of its programming sourced from Sony Pictures Television.[13] On May 13, 2013, Tribune announced that it would purchase a 50% stake in the This TV digital broadcast network from fellow Chicago-based media company Weigel Broadcasting, Tribune will take over operational duties for the network in the fall of 2013.[14]
On July 1, 2013, Tribune announced that it would purchase the 19 stations owned by Local TV, LLC outright for $2.75 billion; the purchase would expand the amount of Big Three network affiliates in its portfolio from one to 10, once the purchase is finalized (New Orleans station WGNO – an ABC affiliate – is currently Tribune's only station affiliated with one of the three pre-1986 networks), as well as form duopolies involving stations in Denver and St. Louis where the two companies maintained local marketing agreements.[15] In order to prevent conflicts with newspaper cross-ownership restrictions (specifically, with Daily Press and The Morning Call), three stations involved in the acquisition – the Norfolk, Virginia duopoly of WTKR and WGNT, and Scranton, Pennsylvania station WNEP-TV – will be sold to the shill company Dreamcatcher Broadcasting, owned by former Tribune Broadcasting executive Ed Wilson and operated by Tribune under shared service agreements.[16]
Television production and distribution
Tribune Entertainment
Tribune Entertainment was Tribune's television production, syndication and ad sales subsidary. Founded in the mid-1980s, this subsidiary produced and/or distributed several first-run syndicated programs including most notably Geraldo, Soul Train and U.S. Farm Report; Tribune Entertainment's production and syndication divisions were shut down in December 2007.
Tribune Studios
On March 19, 2013, Tribune Company announced the relaunch of the division as Tribune Studios (not to be confused with the Los Angeles studio facility that formerly held the same name until its sale by Tribune to private equity firm Hudson Capital in 2008, and was subsequently renamed Sunset Bronson Studios). The new company will produce programs primarily for Tribune Broadcasting's television stations and WGN America, some of which will receive national distribution.[17]
Tribune-owned stations
Overview
As of July 2013, Tribune Broadcasting currently owns 26 television stations located in 16 markets (including four duopolies). 22 of its stations are affiliated with each of the current post-1986 broadcast networks: seven are affiliated with Fox, 15 with The CW and three with MyNetworkTV; the only "Big Three" affiliate in its portfolio is ABC affiliate WGNO in New Orleans. It also owns the cable/satellite version of flagship station WGN-TV, known as WGN America (one of four superstations owned by Tribune, along with KTLA, KWGN-TV and WPIX); the Chicago-based regional cable news channel Chicagoland Television (CLTV); and maintains a 30% ownership interest in Food Network (the remaining controlling interest in that channel is held by Scripps Networks Interactive).
WGN Radio is the company's sole remaining radio station, and serves as the flagship station for a regional distribution service known as the Tribune Radio Network.[18] its primary features are farm reports from longtime WGN agriculture broadcaster Orion Samuelson, and broadcasts of Chicago Cubs games.
Television stations
Stations are listed alphabetically by state and city of license.
Note: Two boldface asterisks appearing after a station's call letters (**) indicates a station that was built and signed-on by Tribune.
| City of license/Market | Station | Channel TV (DT) |
Owned Since | Primary affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | KTLA | 5 (31) | 1985 | The CW |
| Sacramento - Stockton - Modesto | KTXL | 40 (40) | 1997 | Fox |
| San Diego | KSWB-TV | 69 (19) | 1996 | Fox |
| Denver | KWGN-TV | 2 (34) | 1966 | The CW |
| Hartford - New Haven, CT | WTIC-TV | 61 (31) | 1997 | Fox |
| Waterbury, Connecticut | WCCT-TV | 20 (20) | 2001 | The CW |
| Washington, D.C. | WDCW | 50 (50) | 1999 | The CW |
| Miami - Fort Lauderdale | WSFL-TV | 39 (19) | 1997 | The CW |
| Atlanta | WATL | 36 (25) | 1999 | MyNetworkTV |
| Chicago | WGN-TV ** | 9 (19) | 1948 | The CW |
| Bloomington, Indiana | WTTV | 4 (48) | 2002 | The CW |
| Indianapolis | WXIN | 59 (45) | 1997 | Fox |
| Kokomo, Indiana | WTTK (satellite of WTTV) |
29 (29) | 2002 | The CW |
| New Orleans | WGNO | 26 (26) | 1983 | ABC |
| WNOL-TV | 38 (15) | 1999 | The CW | |
| Cambridge - Boston, MA | WLVI-TV | 56 (41) | 1994 | The CW |
| Grand Rapids - Battle Creek - Kalamazoo, MI |
WXMI | 17 (19) | 1998 | Fox |
| St. Louis | KPLR-TV | 11 (26) | 2003 | The CW |
| Schenectady - Albany - Troy, NY | WCWN | 45 (43) | 1999 | The CW |
| New York City | WPIX ** | 11 (11) | 1948 | The CW |
| Salem - Portland, OR | KRCW-TV | 32 (33) | 2003 | The CW |
| Philadelphia | WPHL-TV | 17 (17) | 1992 | MyNetworkTV |
| York - Harrisburg - Lancaster - Lebanon, PA |
WPMT | 43 (47) | 1997 | Fox |
| Dallas - Fort Worth | KDAF | 33 (32) | 1997 | The CW |
| Houston | KIAH | 39 (38) | 1995 | The CW |
| Tacoma - Seattle | KCPQ | 13 (13) | 1999 | Fox |
| KZJO | 22 (25) | 1998 | MyNetworkTV |
Radio station
| AM Station |
| City of License/Market | Station/ Frequency |
Owned Since | Current Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | WGN-720 | 1924 | Talk |
Stations being acquired
These are the stations being acquired from Local TV LLC, pending final approval from the Federal Communications Commission:
| City of license/Market | Station | Channel TV (DT) |
Primary affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Huntsville - Decatur, AL | WHNT-TV | 19 (19) | CBS |
| Fort Smith - Fayetteville, AR | KFSM-TV | 5 (18) | CBS |
| KXNW | 34 (34) | MyNetworkTV | |
| Phoenix, Arizona | KASW | 61 (49) | The CW |
| Lakeland - Tampa - St. Petersburg, FL | WMOR-TV | 32 (19) | Independent |
| Des Moines | WHO-TV | 13 (13) | NBC |
| Moline, Illinois (Quad Cities) | WQAD-TV | 8 (38) | ABC |
| Kansas City, Missouri | KMCI-TV | 38 (41) | Independent |
| Cleveland - Akron | WBNX-TV | 55 (30) | The CW |
| Oklahoma City | KFOR-TV | 4 (27) | NBC |
| KAUT-TV | 43 (40) | Independent | |
| Scranton - Wilkes Barre | WNEP-TV | 16 (50) | ABC |
| Memphis | WREG-TV | 3 (28) | CBS |
| Norfolk - Portsmouth, VA (Hampton Roads) |
WTKR | 3 (40) | CBS |
| WGNT | 27 (50) | The CW | |
| Richmond | WTVR-TV | 6 (25) | CBS |
Former Tribune-owned stations
Stations are arranged by state and city of license.
Television stations
| City of license/Market | Station | Channel TV / DT |
Years owned | Current Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta | WGNX (now WGCL-TV) |
46 (19) | 1983–1999 | CBS affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Duluth, MN - Superior, WI | KDAL-TV (now KDLH) |
3 (33) | 1960–1978 | CBS affiliate owned by Malara Broadcasting (operated under LMA by Granite Broadcasting) |
Radio stations
| AM Stations | FM Stations |
| City of License/Market | Station/ Frequency |
Years owned | Current Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sacramento | KGNR-1320 (now KCTC) |
1975–1996 | owned by Entercom Communications |
| KCTC-96.1 (now KYMX) |
1975–1996 | owned by CBS Radio | |
| Denver – Boulder | KEZW-1430 | owned by Entercom Communications | |
| KKHK-99.5 (now KQMT) |
owned by Entercom Communications | ||
| KOSI-101.1 | owned by Entercom Communications | ||
| Bridgeport, Connecticut | WICC-600 | 1967–1989 | owned by Cumulus Media |
| Chicago | WFMT-98.7 | 1968–1970 | owned by Window to the World Communications |
| Duluth, MN - Superior, WI | KDAL-610 | 1960–1981 | owned by Midwest Communications |
| New York City | WPIX-FM/WQCD-101.9 (now WFAN-FM) |
1963–1997 | owned by CBS Radio |
Carriage controversies
April 2012 DirecTV dispute
At midnight ET on April 1, 2012, Tribune's carriage agreement with DirecTV ended, resulting in all 23 Tribune Broadcasting-owned stations and WGN America to be pulled from the satellite provider at midnight in the respective time zones of the markets carrying the broadcast stations. Tribune was seeking retransmission consent payments from DirecTV, which under previous carriage agreements, the company received for carriage of WGN America, but not for its local broadcast stations.[19] On April 3, 2012, DirecTV filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission claiming that Tribune Company representatives had negotiated in bad faith and that the company had inappropriately transferred control over its broadcast licenses to its bankruptcy creditors.[20] The dispute lasted four days, ending on April 5, 2012, when the two companies reached a new carriage agreement for the Tribune Broadcasting stations and WGN America (the stations were restored to DirecTV subscribers at 9 p.m. ET that evening); DirecTV's complaint to the FCC against Tribune was dropped as part of the agreement.[21]
August 2012 Cablevision dispute
At midnight ET on August 16, 2012, Tribune's carriage agreement with Cablevision expired, resulting in WPIX, WCCT, and WPHL being pulled from Cablevision systems in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Additionally, KWGN-TV was pulled from Optimum West systems in Colorado and Wyoming.[22] Cablevision accused Tribune of demanding higher carriage fees (that Cablevision claimed totaled in the tens of millions of dollars) to be used to help pay off debt, and alleged that it illegally bundled carriage agreements for WPIX and Hartford's WTIC-TV (which was initially unaffected, unlike sister station WCCT, due to a separate carriage agreement but was later pulled from Cablevision's Connecticut systems as well), which the company denied, stating its approach complied with FCC regulations.[23] The stations and WGN America (which was also dropped due to the dispute) were restored through a new carriage agreement that was reached on October 26, following a plea by Connecticut State Senator Gayle Slossberg for the FCC to intervene in the dispute.[24]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Tribune Company. Answers.com. International Directory of Company Histories, The Gale Group, Inc, 2006. Accessed August 22, 2013.
- ^ Tribune, minority group on TV station Qwest; new company's first buys are WATL-TV Atlanta and WNOL-TV New Orleans, Broadcasting & Cable, November 21, 1994. Retrieved July 20, 2013 from HighBeam Research.
- ^ Tribune Co. Looks to Boost Role in TV with Offer for Six Stations, Los Angeles Daily News, July 2, 1996. Retrieved July 20, 2013 from HighBeam Research.
- ^ UPN and WB to Combine, Forming New TV Network, The New York Times, January 24, 2006.
- ^ Zell buys Tribune Co., Cubs to be sold, CNNMoney, April 3, 2007. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
- ^ "Tribune Interactive, Schurz in Web Deal". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
- ^ Radio Daze: Tribune Gang Sets Out to Reinvent TV, Broadcasting & Cable, April 13, 2008.
- ^ "Tribune and Local TV to Form Broadcast Management Company" (Press release). Tribune Company. 2007-12-20. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
- ^ "Tribune gives CW the cold shoulder". Variety. September 1, 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
- ^ "XETV, KSWB Battle For Fox Affiliation In San Diego".
- ^ [citation needed]
- ^ "Tribune Company to Voluntarily Restructure Debt Under Chapter 11" (Press release). Tribune Company. 2008-12-08. Retrieved 2008-12-08.
Tribune Company to Voluntarily Restructure Debt Under Chapter 11. Publishing, Interactive and Broadcasting Businesses to Continue Operations. Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field Not Part of Chapter 11 Filing; Monetization Efforts to Continue
- ^ Albiniak, Paige (August 30, 2010). "Tribune Launching Classic TV Multicast Network". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- ^ Malone, Michael (May 14, 2013). "Tribune Replaces Weigel As Partner on This TV". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- ^ "Acquisition to make Tribune Co. largest U.S. TV station operator". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
- ^ "Tribune to Put Local TV's WNEP Scranton, Norfolk Stations Up for Sale". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
- ^ Tribune Re-Launching Studio With Matt Cherniss at Helm, Broadcasting & Cable, March 19, 2013.
- ^ Tribune Radio Network website
- ^ Subscribers to lose programming after Tribune Broadcasting fails to agree on settlement with DirecTV, Fox News Channel (via the Associated Press), April 1, 2012.
- ^ DirecTV files FCC complaint against Tribune, Crain's Chicago Business, April 2, 2012.
- ^ Tribune Co. reaches deal with DirecTV -- in time for Cubs opener, Chicago Tribune, April 5, 2012.
- ^ Tribune stations go dark on Cablevision, Variety, August 16, 2012.
- ^ Spangler, Tom (17 August 2012). "Cablevision Charges Tribune With 'Illegally Tying' Stations Deals; Broadcaster Says Its Approach Is Lawful and Complies with FCC Good-Faith Rules". Retrieved 24 August 2012.
- ^ Cablevision, Tribune end retrans spat, Variety, October 26, 2012.
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