Standard Media

Last updated
Standard Media Group LLC
Company type Private
Industry
Founded2018
Headquarters Nashville, Tennessee
Area served
Flag of the United States.svg United States (Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast)
Key people
Products
Website www.standardmedia.com

Standard Media Group is an American broadcast and digital media company based in Nashville, Tennessee. Standard Media was founded in 2018 by Deborah A. McDermott, who serves as the company's CEO. Previously, McDermott was the chief operating officer of Media General and CEO-president of Young Broadcasting.

Contents

History

Between 2012 and 2017, McDermott and her team led the acquisition of more than 90 television stations and helped grow Young/Media General from a $220 million regional TV group to a nearly $5 billion media company. [1] In 2017, Media General was acquired by Nexstar Broadcasting Group for $4.6 billion. [2]

On May 16, 2019, Standard Media announced plans to purchase two ABC-affiliated television stations from Citadel Communications for $83 million. [3] The stations, WLNE-TV in Providence, Rhode Island and KLKN in Lincoln, Nebraska, have been operated by Citadel since 2011 and 1996 respectively. [4] [5] The company announced the acquisition of Waypoint Media and its affiliated companies in November 2019. [6] The Waypoint deal collapsed in January 2021. [7]

In November 2020, Sinclair Broadcast Group announced that they would sell Fox affiliate KBSI and MyNetworkTV affiliate WDKA in Paducah, Kentucky, to Community News Media (a subsidiary of Standard Media) for $28 million, in a transaction that closed in 2021. [8]

On February 22, 2022, a partnership of Standard General and Apollo announced their intent to acquire Tegna; Apollo will hold non-voting shares in the company. As part of the sale, Standard General will sell Standard Media to Cox Media Group, which will also acquire Tegna's stations in Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston, and Austin (including WFAA, KHOU, and KVUE). WFXT in Boston will then be divested to Standard General. [9] [10] [11] The sale was approved by Standard General and Apollo Global Management on May 17, 2022. [12] [13] In February 2023, it was confirmed that the deal would be given a hearing before an administrative law judge, which the FCC Commissioner's Board voted to remand the merger review toward on May 22. [14] The deal was terminated on May 22, 2023. [15] [16]

In May 2024, the The Athletic reported that the Chicago Bulls, Chicago Blackhawks, and Chicago White Sox would move to a new network run by the company. [17]

Stations

City of license / MarketStationChannel
TV (RF)
AcquiredNetwork affiliation
Paducah, KentuckyHarrisburg, IllinoisCape Girardeau, Missouri KBSI 23 (36)2021 Fox
WDKA 49 (25)2021 MyNetworkTV
New Bedford, MassachusettsProvidence, Rhode Island WLNE-TV 6 (24)2019 ABC
Lincoln, Nebraska KLKN 8 (8)2019ABC

Related Research Articles

KBSI is a television station licensed to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, United States, serving as the Fox affiliate for Southeastern Missouri, the Purchase area of Western Kentucky, Southern Illinois, and Northwest Tennessee. It is owned by the Community News Media subsidiary of Standard Media alongside Paducah, Kentucky–licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate WDKA. The two stations share studios on Enterprise Street in Cape Girardeau; KBSI's transmitter is located in unincorporated Cape Girardeau County north of the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WDKA</span> MyNetworkTV affiliate in Paducah, Kentucky

WDKA is a television station licensed to Paducah, Kentucky, United States, serving as the MyNetworkTV affiliate for Western Kentucky's Purchase region, Southern Illinois and Southeastern Missouri, and Northwest Tennessee. It is owned by the Community News Media subsidiary of Standard Media alongside Cape Girardeau, Missouri–licensed Fox affiliate KBSI. Both stations share studios on Enterprise Street in Cape Girardeau, while WDKA's transmitter is located in Vienna, Illinois.

In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it is a sort of lease or time-buy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WLNE-TV</span> ABC affiliate in New Bedford, Massachusetts

WLNE-TV is a television station licensed to New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States, serving as the ABC affiliate for the Providence, Rhode Island, area. The station is owned by Standard Media, and maintains studios in the Orms Building in downtown Providence; its transmitter is based in Rehoboth, Massachusetts.

KTBU is a television station licensed to Conroe, Texas, United States, serving as the Houston area outlet for the digital multicast network Quest. It is owned and operated by Tegna Inc. alongside CBS affiliate KHOU. The two stations share studios on Westheimer Road near Uptown Houston; KTBU's transmitter is located near Missouri City, in unincorporated northeastern Fort Bend County. Previously, KTBU maintained separate facilities on Old Katy Road in the northwest side of Houston, while the KHOU studios only housed KTBU's master control and some internal operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nexstar Media Group</span> American media company

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is an American publicly traded media company with headquarters in Irving, Texas, Midtown Manhattan, and Chicago. The company is the largest television station owner in the United States, owning 197 television stations across the U.S., most of which are affiliated with the four "major" U.S. television networks and MyNetworkTV in markets as large as New York City and as small as San Angelo, Texas. It also operates all of the stations owned by affiliated companies, such as Mission Broadcasting and Vaughan Media, under local marketing agreements to satisfy existing regulations set in place by the Federal Communications Commission. In addition, Nexstar owns one radio station, WGN in Chicago, and operates major TV network the CW through a 75-percent majority stake where all CW affiliates are directly owned-and-operated stations (O&O), two terrestrial television networks airing classic shows, Antenna TV and Rewind TV, and has full or partial ownership stakes in three pay television networks.

KVUE is a television station in Austin, Texas, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Tegna Inc. The station's studios are located on Steck Avenue just east of Loop 1 in northwest Austin, and its transmitter is located on the West Austin Antenna Farm northwest of downtown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTVR-TV</span> CBS affiliate in Richmond, Virginia

WTVR-TV is a television station in Richmond, Virginia, United States, affiliated with CBS and owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. Its studios are located on West Broad Street on Richmond's West End, and its transmitter is located in Bon Air near the studios of PBS member stations WCVE-TV and WCVW. WTVR-TV's former transmitter is located behind the station's studio, and only WTVR-FM broadcasts from that tower today. It still remains as part of WTVR-TV's history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WSNN-LD</span> MyNetworkTV affiliate in Sarasota, Florida

WSNN-LD is a low-power television station in Sarasota, Florida, United States, affiliated with MyNetworkTV. Owned by Nexstar Media Group as sister to NBC affiliate WFLA-TV and CW owned-and-operated station WTTA, the station's Suncoast News Network (SNN) service provides news coverage focusing primarily on the North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota Metropolitan Statistical Area. SNN operates in conjunction with the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and is headquartered in downtown Sarasota. The station's transmitter is located on Fruitville Road east of the city.

Young Broadcasting, LLC was an American media company that owned or operated 12 television stations in 10 markets with a total U.S. television household coverage of 5.9%. The company was formerly known as Young Broadcasting Inc. and was the outgrowth of the ad representation firm Adam Young Inc., which was founded in 1944 by Adam Young. Previously a public company, Young Broadcasting voluntarily declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy on February 13, 2009, to restructure its debts.

Citadel Communications Ltd. was an American private broadcasting company. It was based in Bronxville, New York and most recently owned 1 low-power television station on which it operated a regional 24-hour cable news channel. The company was founded in 1982 by former National Association of Broadcasters joint board chairman and current Broadcasters Foundation of America chairman Phil Lombardo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WHBF-TV</span> CBS affiliate in Rock Island, Illinois

WHBF-TV is a television station licensed to Rock Island, Illinois, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for the Quad Cities area. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Burlington, Iowa–licensed CW owned-and-operated station KGCW ; Nexstar also provides certain services to Davenport, Iowa–licensed Fox affiliate KLJB under a shared services agreement (SSA) owner Mission Broadcasting. The three stations share studios in the Telco Building on 18th Street in downtown Rock Island; WHBF-TV's transmitter is located in Bettendorf, Iowa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KLKN</span> ABC affiliate in Lincoln, Nebraska

KLKN is a television station in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States, affiliated with ABC. Owned by Standard Media, the station maintains studios on 10th Street south of downtown Lincoln and broadcasts from a transmitter located near Utica, Nebraska.

KMPX is a television station licensed to Decatur, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex as an affiliate of the Spanish-language network Estrella TV. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Dallas-licensed ABC affiliate WFAA. KMPX's offices are located on Gateway Drive in Irving, and its transmitter is located in Cedar Hill, Texas. Master control and most internal operations are based at the WFAA Communications Center Studios on Young Street in Downtown Dallas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global Broadcasting</span>

Global Broadcasting LLC. was a private broadcasting company in the United States. Global was a Delaware corporation based in San Francisco, California, and Providence, Rhode Island, and was founded by Kevin O'Brien and Robinson Ewert. Founded in early 2007, Global owned WLNE-TV, the ABC affiliate in Providence from 2007 to 2011. This was the company's first and only television station, purchased from Irvine, California-based Freedom Communications in 2007, who previously owned WLNE since 1983. The owners of Global Broadcasting planned to expand into other regions of the country; however, they were unable to acquire any additional stations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Curtis (broadcaster)</span> American journalist

Mark Corrigan Curtis is an American broadcast journalist, author and political analyst. He is currently Chief Political Reporter for the Nexstar Media Group stations in West Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cox Media Group</span> American media company

CMG Media Corporation is an American media conglomerate principally owned by Apollo Global Management in conjunction with Cox Enterprises, which maintains a 29% minority stake in the company. The company primarily owns radio and television stations—many of which are located in the South, Pacific Northwest, Eastern Midwest, and Northeast, and the regional cable news network Pittsburgh Cable News Channel (PCNC).

Tegna Inc. is an American publicly traded broadcast, digital media and marketing services company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia. It was created on June 29, 2015, when the Gannett Company split into two publicly traded companies. Tegna comprised the more profitable broadcast television and digital media divisions of the old Gannett, while Gannett's publishing interests were spun off as a "new" company that retained the Gannett name. Tegna owns or operates 68 television stations in 54 markets, and holds properties in digital media.

Standard General L.P. is an American hedge fund headquartered in New York City. It was founded in 2007 by Soohyung "Soo" Kim and Nicholas Singer with seed capital from Reservoir Capital Group. Since 2013, Soo Kim has been the Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer. In 2016 Standard General L.P. was the recipient of the New York City Comptroller's Office Diverse Practitioner Award. Standard General L. P. is controlled by Standard General Management LLC which is controlled by Acme Amalgamated Holdings, LLC, which is ultimately controlled by Mr. Soohyung Kim.

WXVT-LD is a low-power television station licensed to Cleveland, Mississippi, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for the Delta area. It is owned by Imagicomm Communications alongside Greenwood-licensed dual ABC/Fox affiliate WABG-TV and Grenada-licensed low-powered NBC affiliate WNBD-LD. The three stations share studios on Washington Avenue in Greenville; WXVT-LD's transmitter is located near O'Reilly, Mississippi.

References

  1. Staff Writer (16 May 2019). "Nashville company to acquire two TV stations". NashvillePost.com. Nashville Post. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  2. Lieberman, David (17 January 2017). "Nexstar Completes $4.6B Acquisition Of Media General". Dateline.com. Dateline Hollywood. Retrieved 17 Jan 2017.
  3. Jessell, Harry (16 May 2019). "McDermott In The Station Game With WLNE, KLKN". TVNewscheck.com. NewsCheck Media. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  4. "Citadel Communications Named New Owner of ABC6 News". abc6.com. WLNE-TV. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
  5. "Memorandum Opinion and Order". FCC Record. 1. FCC: 786–1040. December 1986. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  6. Lafayette, Jon (November 25, 2019). "Standard Media Group Buys Waypoint, Vision Stations". Broadcasting & Cable . Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  7. Notice of Non-Consummation, January 4, 2021
  8. Jacobson, Adam (2021-01-20). "FCC OK's Sinclair Duo's Spin To Soo Kim". Radio & Television Business Report. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  9. Szalai, Alex Weprin,Georg; Weprin, Alex; Szalai, Georg (2022-02-22). "Local TV Giant TEGNA Sold to Private Equity Firms in Mega-Deal". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-02-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. "WFAA and Houston, Austin TV stations expected to go to Cox Media in Tegna's $5.4 billion sale". Dallas News. 2022-02-22. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  11. "Radio Implications To Today's Standard General Acquisition of TEGNA". RadioInsight. 22 February 2022. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  12. Goldsmith, Jill (May 17, 2022). "Tegna Shareholders Approve Sale Of Broadcaster To Standard General, Apollo Global". Deadline Hollywood .
  13. "FCC Wants More Info Before It Decides Fate Of Tegna-Cox-Standard Deal". Inside Radio. June 6, 2022. Archived from the original on August 28, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  14. Johnson, Ted (February 27, 2023). "Standard General Blasts FCC Decision On Tegna Merger, Calls For Full Commission Vote". Deadline Hollywood .
  15. "Standard General's Tegna Takeover Doomed After Money Dries Up". Bloomberg.com. 2023-05-22. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
  16. Lafayette, Jon (2023-04-16). "Standard General Files Brief Asking Court To Force FCC To Rule on Tegna Deal". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
  17. Powers, Scott; Lazerus, Mike (May 4, 2024). "Blackhawks, Bulls, White Sox find new partner, broadcast home". The Athletic.