Young Broadcasting
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Type | Public (YBTVQ.PK) |
|---|---|
| Fate | Bankrupt |
| Founded | 1986 |
| Founder(s) | Adam Young; Adam Young, Inc. |
| Headquarters | New York, NY, United States |
| Key people | Vincent J. Young (Chairman/CEO) Deborah A. McDermott (president) James A. Morgan (Executive VP/CFO) |
| Industry | Media |
| Services | TV stations |
| Website | http://www.youngbroadcasting.com |
Young Broadcasting is an American holding company that operates 13 television stations. Though the company is publicly held, it is the outgrowth of the ad representation/invest firm Adam Young, Inc. which was founded in 1944 by Adam Young and is currently run in part by his son, Vincent.
Young Broadcasting entered station ownership in 1986, when it purchased stations in Lansing, Michigan and La Crosse, Wisconsin, and in 1993 purchased the three television stations of the Nationwide Broadcasting division from Nationwide Insurance. In 1999, Young Broadcasting set a record for the purchase price of a single station when it purchased KRON-TV in San Francisco, California (along with sister cable network Bay TV, which was closed shortly after) for $823 million from Chronicle Broadcasting. On January 10, 2008, Young Broadcasting announced that they intend to sell KRON, which during Young's ownership has migrated from an NBC affiliation to an independent to its current affiliation with MyNetworkTV. These changes have adversely affected KRON-TV's value, with broadcasting experts anticipating that Young will sell the station as a huge loss, possibly as much as 40 percent.
In December 2008, Dish Network dropped all of Young Broadcasting's stations in a retransmission fee dispute. Each station posted a letter similar to the one on KRON's website to notify their viewers of the dispute. The dispute lasted for 3 days before a new agreement was signed late on December 14, returning Young's stations to Dish Networks.
In January 2009, after failing to meet the minimum standards for being listed on NASDAQ, they were dropped from the exchange.[1] One month later, on February 13, 2009 Young Broadcasting declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. [2] The company planned to auction off its stations in a New York City bankruptcy court on July 14, 2009, but cancelled the auction at the last minute.[3]
Contents |
[edit] TV stations currently owned by Young Broadcasting
|
Current DMA#
|
Market | Station | Digital | Virtual | Current Affiliation | Year Acquired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
#6
|
San Francisco, CA | KRON-TV | 38 | 4 | 4.1 & 4.2: MyNetworkTV 4.3: Traffic info |
2000 | Young's flagship station. Was NBC until becoming independent on 1/1/2002; joined MyNetworkTV on 9/5/2006. |
|
#30
|
Nashville, TN | WKRN-TV | 27 | 2 | 2.1: ABC 2.2: Nashville WX Channel |
1989 | |
|
#56
|
Albany, NY | WTEN | 26 | 10 | 10.1: ABC 10.2: News 10 Storm Tracker Weather Channel 10.3: Retro Television Network |
1989 | |
| Adams, MA | WCDC-TV | 36 | 19 | ABC | 1989 | Satellite of WTEN | |
|
#58
|
Knoxville, TN | WATE-TV | 26 | 6 | ABC | 1993 | |
|
#59
|
Richmond, VA | WRIC-TV | 22 | 8 | ABC | 1993 | |
|
#70
|
Green Bay, WI | WBAY-TV | 23 | 2 | 2.1: ABC 2.2: Weather (StormCenter 2 24/7) 2.3: Retro Television Network (RTV 2-3) |
1993 | |
|
#96
|
Davenport, IA | KWQC-TV | 6 | 6 | 6.1: NBC 6.2: Weather (KWQC 24-7 Weather Channel) |
1995 | |
|
#112
|
Lansing, MI | WLNS-TV | 36 | 6 | CBS | 1986 | First station purchased by Young (with WKBT) |
|
#114
|
Sioux Falls, SD | KELO-TV | 32 | 11 | 11.1: CBS (KELOLAND Television) 11.2: MyNetworkTV (My UTV) |
1996 | |
| Florence, SD | KDLO | 3 | 3 | 3.1: CBS (KELOLAND Television) 3.2: MyNetworkTV (My UTV) |
1996 | Satellite of KELO-TV | |
| Reliance, SD | KPLO | 13 | 6 | 6.1: CBS (KELOLAND Television) 6.2: MyNetworkTV (My UTV) |
1996 | Satellite of KELO-TV | |
|
#123
|
Lafayette, LA | KLFY | 10 | 10 | CBS | 1988 | |
|
#175
|
Rapid City, SD | KCLO | 16 | 15 | CBS (KELOLAND Television) | 1996 | Satellite of KELO-TV |
[edit] Former Young Broadcasting Stations
| Market | Station | Digital (Virtual) | Affiliation | Year Purchased | Year Sold (Buyer) | Current Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, CA | KCAL-TV | 9 (9) | Independent | 1996 | 2002 (CBS Corporation) | Owned & Operated by CBS Corporation (Duopoly with KCBS-TV) |
| Rockford, IL | WTVO | 16 (17) | NBC, ABC | 1986 | 2004 (Mission Broadcasting) | Owned by Mission Broadcasting (Controlled by Nexstar-owned WQRF) |
| La Crosse, WI | WKBT | 8 (8) | CBS | 1986 | 1999 (Morgan Murphy Media) | Owned and operated by Morgan Murphy Media |
All of these sales were done to either finance or pay off debt pertaining to the KRON purchase. For several years, rumors of the company either leaving broadcasting, selling off more stations, or being bought have circulated though any future deals remain to be seen. Ironically, KRON itself was put up for sale. Most analysis feel that the debt of the company may exceed the value of their assets. On November 17, 2008, after receiving no interest from possible buyers, the company decided to suspend its efforts to sell the station for the time being.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090127005778&newsLang=en
- ^ http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/business/6262997.html
- ^ "Young Broadcasting Calls Off Auction", from broadcastingcable.com 7/14/2009
- ^ http://eastbay.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/11/17/daily43.html
[edit] External links
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