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 owns 14 television stations in 11 media markets in the United States. The company 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. A publicly-held company, Young Broadcasting is currently in bankruptcy proceedings that would see the company purchased by its secured creditors.
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[edit] History
Young Broadcasting entered station ownership in 1986, when it purchased stations in Lansing, Michigan and La Crosse, Wisconsin. (A separate deal in 1986 would see Young acquire a station in Rockford, Illinois.) Young would expand its station roster to include a 1993 purchase of 3 stations formerly owned by Nationwide Insurance's broadcasting arm, as well as Los Angeles independent KCAL-TV, which was purchased from the Walt Disney Company in 1996.
In 1999, Young Broadcasting set a record for the purchase price of a single station when it purchased KRON-TV in San Francisco, California from Chronicle Broadcasting for $823 million. (The purchase also included a sister cable network, BayTV, which would be shuttered in 2001.) Fortunes for KRON, and with it its new owners, would soon take a sharp decline: NBC, angry at being outbid for KRON, severed its relationship with KRON in 2001, eventually buying competiting San Jose station KNTV, and moving its transmitter to San Francisco. KRON suddenly became an independent station, eventually taking affiliation with MyNetworkTV in 2006. As a result of losing NBC, KRON's value eventually dropped into the range of $150-$250 million by 2009. Young would eventually sell off 3 of its stations (see below) in an effort to either finance or pay off debt pertaining to the KRON purchase.
Young would never really recover from KRON's loss of NBC affiliation and subsequent loss of value. For several years, rumors of the company either being bought or selling some or all of its remaining stations circulated. Ironically, Young put KRON up for sale on January 10, 2008, eventually suspending efforts to sell the station 10 months later (November 17, 2008) after receiving no interest from possible buyers.[1] The massive debt load Young incurred from its purchase and ownership of KRON was widely believed to have been a contributing factor to the company's 2009 bankruptcy declaration.[2]
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.
[edit] Financial Difficulties and Bankruptcy
In January 2009, after failing to meet the minimum standards for being listed on NASDAQ, Young Broadcasting was dropped from the exchange.[3] One month later, on February 13, 2009, the company declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[4]
Young Broadcasting originally planned to auction off its stations in a New York City bankruptcy court on July 14, 2009, but it cancelled the auction at the last minute, a move likely believed to have been due to lack of interest from buyers or from bids deemed unacceptable.[5][6]
Instead of the auction, a deal was reached where Young's secured lenders (among them Wachovia and Credit Suisse) would take control of the company, which would be renamed New Young Broadcasting Holding Co, Inc., for $220 million. Chairman/CEO Vincent Young would remain on the company's 5-member Board of Directors (2 members of which would be appointed by the lenders). Federal Bankruptcy Judge Arthur Gonzalez gave his final approval of the deal in New York City on July 30, 2009;[7] approval by the Federal Communications Commission is still needed before the sale becomes official.
Another caveat of the deal involves a management contract with Gray Television, which would see that company handle day-to-day management and operations of 7 of Young's 10 stations until December 31, 2012.[8] New Young would continue ownership of its stations, as well as continue to operate KRON-TV as well as WATE-TV and WLNS-TV. (Gray Television already operates stations in the Knoxville and Lansing markets; not having them operate WATE and WLNS would resolve possible fears of common ownership, potential or otherwise, involving two top-rated stations in the same market, something that is forbidden by the FCC.)[9][10]
[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) 11.3: weather |
1996 | |
| Florence, SD | KDLO | 3 | 3 | 3.1: CBS (KELOLAND Television) 3.2: MyNetworkTV (My UTV) 3.3: weather |
1996 | Satellite of KELO-TV | |
| Reliance, SD | KPLO | 13 | 6 | 6.1: CBS (KELOLAND Television) 6.2: MyNetworkTV (My UTV) 6.3: weather |
1996 | Satellite of KELO-TV | |
|
#123
|
Lafayette, LA | KLFY | 10 | 10 | CBS | 1988 | |
|
#175
|
Rapid City, SD | KCLO | 16 | 15 | 15.1: CBS (KELOLAND Television) 15.2: weather |
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 |
[edit] References
- ^ http://eastbay.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/11/17/daily43.html
- ^ "Young Eyes Watershed Sale at Stations Auction", from Broadcasting & Cable, 7/13/2009
- ^ 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
- ^ "KRON parent Young Broadcasting cancels auction", from San Francisco Business Times, 7/15/2009
- ^ "Young Broadcasting Calls Off Auction", from broadcastingcable.com 7/14/2009
- ^ "Bankruptcy Judge Signs Off on Young Deal", from broadcastingcable.com, 7/30/2009
- ^ "Gray to manage most Young stations", from rbr.com 7/22/2009
- ^ "Banks' Bid on Young Stations Clears Hurdle", from broadcastingcable.com, 7/22/2009.
- ^ "Gray Gets Nod to Manage Young Stations", from tvnewsday.com, 7/22/2009
[edit] External links
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