Raycom gets set to liberate some TVs
After buying the 15 television stations at Liberty Corp. (8/26/05 TVBR #168), the "For Sale" sign is officially posted at Raycom Media. The surprise is that there are 12 listings - - overlap problems from the Liberty merger only required four spins. Receipts for the baker's dozen and then some - - the actual stick count includes 13 full powered stations, including two from Liberty the group isn't keeping, and two LPTVs - - is expected to be north of 600M. Belmoro Corporate Advisors and Wachovia Securities are handling financial advisor chores. President/CEO Paul McTear said, "The sale of these properties, which either duplicate existing market holdings or lie outside our core geographies, will allow us to strategically reshape our holdings and provide the resources to reinvest in expanding our reach within priority markets. Although it was a difficult decision to part with these valuable stations and the 833 exceptional people they employ, their sale to interested buyers with whom they have a better strategic fit will benefit not only Raycom and the eventual purchasers, but also the stations and their employees."
Here's the real estate
* Liberty stations never coming home to roost
KGBT-TV (CBS 4) Harlingen-McAllen-Brownsville
WWAY-TV (ABC 3) Wilmington NC, Raycom keeps its own WECT (NBC 6).
* Raycom stations spinning because Liberty keeper exceeds cap
WFXL-TV (Fox 31) Albany GA, keeping Liberty's WALB (NBC 10)
WACH-TV (Fox 57) Columbia SC, keeping Liberty's WIS-TV (NBC 10)
WNWO-TV (NBC 24) Toledo OH, keeping Liberty's WTOL-TV (CBS 11)
* Raycom stations simply being sold
KASA-TV (Fox 2) Albuquerque-Santa Fe NM
KXRM-TV (Fox 21) and KXTU-LP (UPN 57) Colorado Springs CO
KTVO-TV (ABC 3) Ottumwa IA-Kirksville MO
WLUC-TV (NBC 6) Marquette MI
WSTM-TV (NBC 3) and WSTQ-LP (UPN 14) Syracuse NY
WPBN-TV (NBC 7) and WTOM-TV (NBC 4) Traverse City-Cadillac MI
KWWL-TV (NBC 7) Waterloo-Cedar Rapids-Dubuque IA
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