Drewry Communications

Drewry Communications Group
Type	Private
Industry	Media
Founded	1941
Founder	Ransom H. Drewry
Defunct	December 1, 2015
Fate	Acquired by Raycom
Successor	Raycom Media ; Gray Television ;
Headquarters	Lawton, Oklahoma , United States
Area served	Oklahoma ; Texas ;
Key people	Robert Drewry (President); Bill Drewry (CEO); Larry Patton (General Manager);
Products	Broadcast television ; radio ;

Last updated December 04, 2023

The Drewry Communications Group was a media company based in Lawton, Oklahoma, wholly owned and operated by the Drewry family. The company was run by Robert Drewry (as the company's president), Bill Drewry (as its chief executive officer), and Larry Patton (as general manager). Robert and Bill are the sons of late patriarch Ransom H. Drewry.

History

Ransom H. Drewry founded radio station KSWO (1380 AM, now KKRX) in Lawton, Oklahoma in 1941. Six years later in 1947, Drewry started his second radio station, KRHD (1350 AM, now KFTP) in Duncan (the KRHD call letters, derived from Drewry's initials, were later assigned to a television station in Bryan, Texas, that serves as a translator of the company's ABC affiliate in Waco, KXXV-TV). Drewry entered television broadcasting in 1953, when he and a group that included J.R. Montgomery, T.R. Warkentin, Robert P. Scott, and G.G. Downing founded KSWO-TV (channel 7) in Lawton as the city's ABC affiliate, which signed on the air on March 8 of that year.

Over the years, the Drewry family gradually acquired other stations in the northern half of Texas. Drewry, in partnership with Ray Herndon (majority owner of KMID-TV in Midland, Texas), acquired CBS affiliate KFDA-TV (channel 10) in Amarillo, Texas, in 1976 through their company, Amarillo Telecasters.

Sons Robert and Bill Drewry took over the company following the elder Drewry's death. The company expanded by acquiring, among other stations: KTPX-TV (now KWES-TV) in Midland, Texas and Big Spring satellite KWAB-TV (both in 1991); KXXV-TV in Waco (in 1994); K60EE (now KTLE-LD) in Odessa (in 2001); KSCM-LP in Bryan (in 2006), and KEYU in Amarillo (in 2009).

Drewry sold KSWO radio, as well as KRHD and KRHD-FM (102.3 FM, now KKEN at 97.1 FM), to Anadarko, Oklahoma-based Monroe-Stephens Broadcasting in 1998. The company re-entered into radio in August 2002, when Drewry purchased Regional Mexican station KTXC (104.7 FM) in Lamesa, Texas.^[1] In 2014, the company purchased in KRGN (102.9 FM) in Amarillo from Family Life Radio, and relaunched it as a Spanish-language adult hits station under the call letters KEYU-FM.

On July 1, 2008, Drewry Communications announced its intention to sell its eleven television stations to Dallas-based London Broadcasting Company—a company founded by Terry E. London the previous year to acquire broadcast properties in small- to mid-sized markets within Texas (its first being the purchase of CBS affiliate KYTX in Tyler in February 2008)—for $115 million. While the deal received approval by the Federal Communications Commission, London Broadcasting filed a notice of non-consummation to the FCC in January 2009, terminating the deal due to market uncertainties resulting from the Great Recession.^[2]^[3]

On July 31, 2009, Drewry Communications entered into a joint sales and shared services agreement with KAUZ-TV owner Hoak Media, in which KSWO-TV would provide advertising and promotional services for KAUZ (Hoak retained responsibility for that station's programming, master control and production services). Although the two stations are jointly operated, KSWO-TV and KAUZ-TV each retained separate studio facilities and news operations at their respective facilities in Lawton and Wichita Falls.^[4]

On August 10, 2015, Raycom Media announced that it would purchase Drewry Communications for $160 million; in addition to acquiring its 11 television stations, as KTXC and KEYU-FM were included in the sale, the deal marked Raycom's re-entry into radio station ownership after it sold WMC and WMC-FM in Memphis, Tennessee to Infinity Broadcasting Corporation in 2000. As part of the deal, American Spirit Media would purchase KAUZ-TV from Hoak Media. While KSWO and KAUZ remained jointly operated, the existing joint sales agreement between KSWO and KAUZ was terminated upon the sale's closure to comply with FCC rules. The sale was completed on December 1, 2015.^[5]

Former stations

Television

(**) – Indicates that station was built and signed on by Drewry.

City of license / Market	Station	Channel	Years owned	Current status
Lawton, OK–Wichita Falls, TX	KSWO-TV **	7	1953–2015	ABC affiliate owned by Gray Television
	KAUZ-TV	6	^{[lower-alpha 1]}	CBS affiliate owned by American Spirit Media ^{[lower-alpha 2]}
	KUWF-LP	36	2009–2010^{[lower-alpha 3]}	Defunct, ceased operations in 2010^{[lower-alpha 4]}
Amarillo, TX–Clovis, NM	KFDA-TV	10	1976–2015	CBS affiliate owned by Gray Television
	KZBZ-CD	26	2009–2015	Independent station owned by Gray Television
	KEYU	31	2009–2015	Telemundo affiliate owned by Gray Television
	KTMO-LP	36	2001–2014	Defunct, ceased operations in 2014^{[lower-alpha 5]}
	KTXC-LP	46	2006–2015	Defunct, ceased operations in 2015^{[lower-alpha 6]}
	KAMT-LP	50	2009–2010^{[lower-alpha 3]}	Defunct, ceased operations in 2010^{[lower-alpha 7]}
Odessa–Midland–Big Spring, TX	KWES-TV	9	1991–2015	NBC affiliate owned by Tegna Inc.
	KWAB-TV^{[upper-alpha 1]}	4	1991–2015	The CW affiliate KCWO-TV, owned by Gray Television
	KTLE-LP	20	2001–2015	Telemundo affiliate KTLE-LD, owned by Gray Television
Waco–Temple–Bryan, TX	KXXV	25	1994–2015	ABC affiliate owned by the E. W. Scripps Company
	KRHD-CD^{[upper-alpha 2]}	40	1997–2015	ABC affiliate owned by the E. W. Scripps Company
	KSCM-LP	18	2006–2015	Defunct, ceased operations in 2017^{[lower-alpha 5]}
	KUTW-LP	35	2009–2010^{[lower-alpha 3]}	Defunct, ceased operations in 2010^{[lower-alpha 4]}
	KWKO-LP	38	2009–2010^{[lower-alpha 3]}	Defunct, ceased operations in 2010^{[lower-alpha 5]}

↑ Satellite of KWES-TV.
↑ Semi-satellite of KXXV.

↑ Owned by Hoak Media, Drewry operated KAUZ-TV via joint sales and shared services agreements.^[4]
↑ Operated by Gray Television.
1 2 3 4 Purchased by Drewry from Equity Media Holdings in 2009, but ceased operations in the fall of 2010.
1 2 Was affiliated with Univision at the time of its shutdown.
1 2 3 Was affiliated with Telemundo at the time of its shutdown.
↑ Was an Independent station at the time of its shutdown.
↑ Was affiliated with TeleFutura at the time of its shutdown.

Radio

AM Station	FM Station

City of license / Market	Station	Years owned	Current status
Lawton, OK	KSWO 1380	1941–1998	KKRX, owned by Mollman Media, Inc.
Duncan, OK	KRHD 1350	1947–1998	KFTP, owned by Mollman Media, Inc.
Duncan, OK	KRHD-FM 102.3	1975–1998	KKEN (97.1 FM), owned by Mollman Media, Inc.
Amarillo, TX	KEYU-FM 102.9	2014–2015	KVWE, owned by Alpha Media
Lamesa–Midland, TX	KTXC 104.7	2002–2015^[1]	KVLM, owned by VCY America, Inc.

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References

1 2 "Odessa, Texas, NBC Affiliate Agrees to Purchase Popular Radio Station". Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. August 21, 2002. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
↑ Michael Malone (July 1, 2008). "London Buys Drewry Stations". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
↑ "London Broadcasting buys 11 stations from Drewry". Dallas Business Journal. July 2, 2008. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
1 2 Lynn Walker (August 3, 2009). "KAUZ-TV CBS affiliate in Wichita Falls under new management". Wichita Falls Times Record News. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
↑ "Raycom Media Completes $160 Million Acquisition of Drewry Communications". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved December 14, 2016.

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[13] Satellite of KWES-TV.

[14] Semi-satellite of KXXV.

[6] Owned by Hoak Media, Drewry operated KAUZ-TV via joint sales and shared services agreements.^[4]

[7] Operated by Gray Television.

[Equity-8] 1 2 3 4 Purchased by Drewry from Equity Media Holdings in 2009, but ceased operations in the fall of 2010.

[UniS-9] 1 2 Was affiliated with Univision at the time of its shutdown.

[TeleS-10] 1 2 3 Was affiliated with Telemundo at the time of its shutdown.

[11] Was an Independent station at the time of its shutdown.

[12] Was affiliated with TeleFutura at the time of its shutdown.

[KTXC-1] 1 2 "Odessa, Texas, NBC Affiliate Agrees to Purchase Popular Radio Station". Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. August 21, 2002. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 15, 2015.

[2] Michael Malone (July 1, 2008). "London Buys Drewry Stations". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved August 15, 2015.

[3] "London Broadcasting buys 11 stations from Drewry". Dallas Business Journal. July 2, 2008. Retrieved August 15, 2015.

[KAUZ_New_Management-4] 1 2 Lynn Walker (August 3, 2009). "KAUZ-TV CBS affiliate in Wichita Falls under new management". Wichita Falls Times Record News. Retrieved August 15, 2015.

[5] "Raycom Media Completes $160 Million Acquisition of Drewry Communications". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved December 14, 2016.

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v t e Gray Television
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ABC	KAIT KCRG-TV KJCT-LP KLTV / KTRE KOLO-TV KOTA-TV / KHSD-TV / KNEP / KSGW-TV KSPR-LD KSFY-TV / KPRY-TV KSWO-TV WBAY-TV WBKO WCJB-TV WGGB-TV WHSV-TV WLOX WPTA WTOK-TV WTVG WTVM WWSB WALB-DT2
CBS	KAUU KAUZ-TV ^SSA KCTV KEYC-TV KFDA-TV KFVS-TV KGMB KGWN-TV / KSTF KKTV KMOV KMVT KNOE-TV KNPL-LD KOLD-TV KOLN / KGIN KOSA-TV KPHO-TV KSLA KWCH-DT / KBSD-DT / KBSH-DT / KBSL-DT KWTX-TV / KBTX-TV KXII KXDF-CD KXJB-LD KYLX-LD WABI-TV WAFB WAGM-TV WANF WBNG-TV WBTV WCAX-TV WCSC-TV WCTV WDBJ WDTV WECP-LD WFSB / WSHM-LD WIBW-TV WIFR-LD WIYE-LD WKYT-TV / WYMT-TV WNEM-TV WOIO / WOHZ-CD / WTCL-LD WRDW-TV WSAW-TV / WYOW WTOC-TV WTVY WVLT-TV WWNY-TV
Fox	KEVN-LD KIIT-CD KJTV-TV ¹ KMSB ^SSA KNDX / KXND KPTV KSVT-LD KXLT-TV ^SSA KVHP KVVU-TV KYOU-TV WALA-TV WBRC WDBD ^SSA WFLX ² WHNS WNYF-CD WOVA-LD WSFX-TV ^SSA WSVF-CD WVFX WVUE-DT WXIX-TV WXTX ^SSA WZAW-LD
NBC	KALB-TV KATH-LD / KSCT-LP KBJR-TV / KRII KCBD KCWY-DT KDLT-TV / KDLV-TV KFYR-TV / KQCD-TV / KMOT / KUMV-TV KGNS-TV KHNL / KOGG / KSIX-TV KKCO KMNF-LD KNEP KNOP-TV KPLC KSNB-TV KTIV KTTC KTUU-TV KTVF KVLY-TV KWQC-TV KYTV WAFF WAGT-CD WALB WAVE WDAM-TV WEAU WECT WEEK-TV WFIE WGEM-TV WILX-TV / WLNM-LD WIS WITN-TV WJHG-TV WLBT WLTZ ^SSA WLUC-TV WMBF-TV WMC-TV / WANF-LD WMTV WNDU-TV WOWT WRGX-LD WSAZ-TV WSFA WSMV-TV / WTNX-LD / WFET-LD WSVW-LD WTAP-TV WVIR-TV / WVIR-CD WVVA WWBT / WRID-LD WWPI-LD
The CW	KAUZ-TV ^SSA KCWH-LD / KNHL KCWO-TV KNCT KSCW-DT WPCH-TV WQCW WUAB / WOHZ-CD / WTCL-LD WUPV
MyNetworkTV	KAUU-DT4 KFXF-LD KPDX KSMO-TV KWWT WBXH-CD WFXU WIYE-LD WLOO ^SSA WZBJ / WZBJ-CD
Telemundo	KBTX-DT3 KEYU KFVE KKCO-DT3 KJTB-LD KLTV-DT3 KSWO-DT2 KTLE-LD KTRE-DT2 KTSH-CD KWTX-DT2 KXNU-LD KXNV-LD KXTQ-CD WBGS-LD WBQC-LD WBXM-CD WBXX-DT5 WECP-LD5 WKTB-CD / WKSY-LD WMBP-LD2 WQWQ-LD WRGX-LD3 WTBM-CD WTCL-LD / WOHZ-CD WTHV-LD WTNX-LD / WFET-LD WTWL-LD
Other	Ind. K17DL-D ³ KPHE-LD / KAZF / KAZS KTVK WSJV MeTV KHME / KQME WPGA-TV Circle ( O&O ) KDTL-LD Scripps News WPGA-LD
Radio stations	WGEM-FM
Programming	Hawaii News Now Me Time With Frangela Right This Minute
Other assets	Circle ^JV Free TV Networks ^JV The365 Outlaw VCR Action VCR Haha Raycom Sports (ACC Network) PowerNation Studios PowerNation Tupelo Honey
Acquisitions	Benedek Broadcasting Diversified Communications Hoak Media Meredith Local Media Quincy Media Granite Broadcasting Raycom Media Drewry Communications Liberty Corporation Lincoln Financial Media Schurz Communications United Communications
¹Owned by SagamoreHill Broadcasting; Gray operates these stations through an SSA. ²Owned by Gray; E. W. Scripps Company operates these stations through an SSA. ³Owned by Branson Visitors TV; Gray holds a 50.1% interest in this company.