Type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Broadcasting |
Predecessor | Jefferson-Pilot Communications |
Founded | April 2006 |
Defunct | July 17, 2015 |
Fate | Assets acquired by Raycom Media and Entercom |
Successor | |
Parent | Lincoln National Corporation |
Lincoln Financial Media was a subsidiary of Lincoln National Corporation that owned radio stations in the United States. The division was formed in 2006 following the company's acquisition of Jefferson-Pilot's television and radio operations, which were renamed Lincoln Financial Media.
The group, at the time of its closure, owned 14 radio stations in Miami, Florida, San Diego, California, Denver, Colorado, and Atlanta, Georgia. It also owned WBT, WBT-FM, and WLNK (FM) in Charlotte, North Carolina and WBTV, the CBS affiliate in Charlotte; WCSC-TV, the CBS affiliate in Charleston, South Carolina and WWBT, the NBC affiliate in Richmond, Virginia. All three of the aforementioned TV stations are now owned by a successor company Gray Television.
The media company began in 1945 as Jefferson Standard Broadcasting Company, Inc., which became Jefferson-Pilot Communications in 1968. The company was a media-centered division of the Jefferson Standard Insurance Company of Greensboro, North Carolina, which later merged with Pilot Life Insurance Company to form Jefferson-Pilot. Jefferson-Pilot owned WBT-AM-FM and WBTV, all of which are based in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1962, the company conceived Jefferson Productions (later Jefferson Pilot Teleproductions, later Jefferson Pilot Sports), a production arm that produced television programs and commercials, but later chose to produce syndicated sports programming only by the 1980s. It was originally intended to produce promos and local television shows for WBTV but had since grown to produce nationally syndicated talk shows and variety shows; and mainly commercials for major companies that aired nationwide. [1] For further information, see the section "Lincoln Financial Sports" at the end of this article.
In April 2006, the Jefferson-Pilot Corporation merged with the Lincoln National Corporation; taking the media and sports broadcasting division with it, Jefferson-Pilot Communications became Lincoln Financial Media.
In June 2007, the company publicly announced it would explore a sale of this division, and hired Merrill Lynch to assess its strategic options. On November 12, 2007, Raycom Media announced that it would acquire Lincoln Financial Media's three television stations, along with the Lincoln Financial Sports division (which was folded into Raycom Sports, then into Gray Television) for $583 million. The acquisition was completed in April 2008. [2] [3]
On December 8, 2014, Entercom (rebranded Audacy, Inc. as of March 30, 2021) announced its intent to acquire the remainder of Lincoln Financial Media for $110 million and working capital. To comply with ownership limits, Entercom was to divest one of its existing stations in Denver. [4] Later, Entercom announced it would swap four of its stations in Denver to Bonneville International in exchange for KSWD in Los Angeles. The merger was completed on July 17 and Bonneville and Entercom began operating their new clusters under time-brokerage agreements that same day.
This list also contains stations that were owned by Lincoln Financial Media's predecessor Jefferson-Pilot Communications, before its merger in 2006.
Note:
City of license/Market | Station | Channel | Years owned | Current status |
---|---|---|---|---|
Charlotte, NC | WBTV ** | 3 | 1949–2008 | CBS affiliate owned by Gray Television |
Charleston, SC | WCSC-TV | 5 | 1994–2008 | CBS affiliate owned by Gray Television |
Florence, SC | WBTW ** | 13 | 1954–1968 | CBS affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group |
Richmond, VA | WWBT | 12 | 1968–2008 | NBC affiliate owned by Gray Television |
AM Station | FM Station |
Market | Station | Current status |
---|---|---|
San Diego, CA | KNSN 1240 | Owned by Crawford Broadcasting |
KBZT 94.9 | Owned by Audacy, Inc. | |
KIFM 98.1 | KXSN, owned by Audacy, Inc. | |
KSON 97.3 | KWFN, owned by Audacy, Inc. | |
KSOQ-FM 92.1 | KYDQ, owned by Educational Media Foundation | |
Denver, CO | KRWZ 950 | KKSE, owned by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment |
KEPN 1600 | Owned by Bonneville International | |
KKFN 104.3 | Owned by Bonneville International | |
KYGO-FM 98.5 | Owned by Bonneville International | |
KQKS 107.5 | Owned by Audacy, Inc. | |
Miami, FL | WAXY 790 | Owned by Audacy, Inc. |
WAXY-FM 104.3 | WSFS, owned by Audacy, Inc. | |
WLYF 101.5 | Owned by Audacy, Inc. | |
WMXJ 102.7 | Owned by Audacy, Inc. | |
Atlanta, GA | WQXI 790 | Owned by Atlanta Radio Korea, Inc. |
WSTR 94.1 | Owned by Audacy, Inc. | |
Charlotte, NC | WBT 1110 | Owned by Urban One |
WBT-FM 99.3 | Owned by Urban One | |
WLNK 107.9 | Owned by Urban One | |
Greensboro, NC | WBIG 1470 | Defunct, went silent in 1986 [lower-alpha 1] |
Lincoln Financial Sports, originally Jefferson-Pilot Teleproductions (later Jefferson Pilot Sports), produced and syndicated college sports events of the Southeastern Conference, and co-produced Atlantic Coast Conference sporting events with Raycom Sports. It also produced telecasts of pre-season games of the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League, and in the 1980s, syndicated coverage of the NASCAR Winston Cup races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
On November 12, 2007, Lincoln Financial Group announced the sale of this division to Raycom Media. The group would later operate under the Raycom Sports banner as of January 1, 2008. [5]
WBTV is a television station in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, affiliated with CBS and owned by Gray Television. The station's studios are located off Morehead Street, just west of Uptown Charlotte, and its transmitter is located in north-central Gaston County. In addition, WBTV's studios continue to house the operations of its former sister radio stations currently owned by Urban One: WBT-AM/FM and WLNK, as well as WFNZ, which was previously owned by CBS Radio prior to its acquisition by Beasley Broadcast Group in 2014, followed by Entercom in late 2017 and then Urban One in 2020 under a local marketing agreement.
WSOC-TV is a television station in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, affiliated with ABC and Telemundo. It is owned by Cox Media Group alongside Kannapolis-licensed independent station WAXN-TV. The two stations share studios on West 23rd Street north of uptown Charlotte; WSOC-TV's transmitter is located near Reedy Creek Park in the Newell section of the city.
WCSC-TV is a television station in Charleston, South Carolina, United States, affiliated with CBS and owned by Gray Television. The station's studios are located in the West Ashley section of Charleston, and its transmitter is located in Awendaw, South Carolina. Both the studio and road are named for long-time WCSC personalities: Bill Sharpe, a news anchor from 1973 until his retirement in 2021, and Charlie Hall, the station's original personality who died just months before its relocation to the current facilities in 1997.
WRVA is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Richmond and serving Central Virginia. WRVA airs a talk radio format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. Established in 1925, WRVA is one of Virginia's oldest radio stations, and the most powerful AM station in the Commonwealth. For much of its history, WRVA billed itself as the "Voice of Virginia."
Lincoln National Corporation is a Fortune 200 American holding company, which operates multiple insurance and investment management businesses through subsidiary companies. Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for LNC and its subsidiary companies.
WWBT is a television station in Richmond, Virginia, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Television alongside Ashland-licensed CW affiliate WUPV. The two stations share studios on Midlothian Turnpike in Richmond, where WWBT's transmitter is also located.
Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corp., it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning 235 radio stations across 48 media markets.
WBT is a commercial AM radio station serving the Charlotte metropolitan area, including parts of North Carolina and South Carolina. The station airs a talk radio format simulcast on Chester, South Carolina-licensed WBT-FM (99.3) and the HD2 digital subchannel of co-owned WLNK. First licensed on March 18, 1922, it is one of America's first radio stations.
KQKS is a Rhythmic Top 40 radio station, licensed to Lakewood, Colorado. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and serves the Denver-Boulder metropolitan area. KQKS features a musical mix of R&B, hip hop and rhythmic pop hits.
KBZT is a commercial radio station licensed to San Diego, California. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station broadcasts an alternative rock format. Its studios are located in San Diego's Stonecrest area, and the transmitter is located in La Jolla.
KYGO-FM is a commercial radio station in Denver, Colorado, United States. The Bonneville International country music station has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts. Its studios are located in Greenwood Village, and the transmitter is on Mestaa’ehehe Mountain near Morrison.
KKFN is a commercial radio station serving the Denver-Boulder market. Owned and operated by Salt Lake City–based Bonneville International, KKFN airs a sports radio format. The station is licensed to Longmont, Colorado. Its studios are located in Greenwood Village, and the transmitter is in Lakewood on Green Mountain. KKFN runs local sports shows days and evenings, and carries ESPN Radio programming late nights and weekends.
WLNK is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Charlotte, North Carolina. The station is owned by Urban One. WLNK broadcasts an adult contemporary radio format. Studios are located at One Julian Price Place on West Morehead Street, just west of Uptown Charlotte, and the station shares a broadcast tower with former television partner WBTV located near Dallas at. WLNK broadcasts using HD Radio.
WBT-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Chester, South Carolina, that primarily serves the western region of the Charlotte metropolitan area. The station is owned by Urban One. The station's programming primarily consists of simulcasts of the news/talk radio format of WBT in Charlotte.
Raycom Sports is a Charlotte, North Carolina–based producer of sports television programs owned by Gray Television.
KKSE is a commercial radio station licensed to Parker, Colorado, and serving the Denver metropolitan area. The station is owned by Stan Kroenke's KSE Radio Ventures.
WFNZ, known on air as "102.5 The Block", is a commercial radio station in Charlotte, North Carolina. Owned by Urban One, the station airs an urban contemporary radio format. The studios and offices are at 1 Julian Price Place.
KEPN is a commercial radio station licensed to Lakewood, Colorado, and serving the Denver metropolitan area. It is owned by Salt Lake City–based Bonneville International with studios and located in Greenwood Village, and the transmitter is in Lakewood.
ACC Network was a syndicated package of college sports telecasts featuring football and basketball events from the Atlantic Coast Conference, produced by Raycom Sports, the sports syndication unit of Montgomery, Alabama-based Raycom Media.
The Lorimar Sports Network, or LSN, was an American ad hoc television network providing syndicated college football and basketball. It was based at Lorimar's original headquarters in Culver City, California, with an additional office in Dallas, Texas. It was in operation from 1983 until 1986.