French takes a ride on the Reading

If WTVE-TV Reading was on a Monopoly board, it would be one of those deeds turned over, the format Parker Brothers used to indicate general insolvency. A company headed by Richard French has come forward to buy the station out of Chapter 11. French's WRNN-TV Associates will get the station for 13.5M, a price negotiated my Chapter 11 Trustee George L. Miller after plans for an auction fell through at the last minute. They tried to assemble five bidders, found two and one dropped out the night before the auction would have been held. WTVE is an indy on Channel 51 (DTV 25), considered to be part of the Philadelphia market. French is already active in New York with niche properties WRNN-TV Kingston NY, DTV-only on Channel 48, and it's satellite WRNN-LP Nyack NY. According to Wikipedia, the stations play Jewelry TV and anime-formatted FUNimation Channel fare.

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