Consumer broadband company General Communications Inc. is adding television to its array of services with the acquisition of a full power CBS outlet in Anchorage AK and a pair of low power NBC outlets in Juneau AK.
GCI has formed Denali Media Holdings as the license company for the stations, which are coming in deals with two different sellers.
The Anchorage station is KTVA. It’s coming from Alaska Broadcasting Company Inc./Media News Group.
The LPTVs include KATH Juneau and KSCT Sitka. The seller is North Star Broadcasting.
No terms were released.
GCI President Ron Duncan said, “Our intention is to invest our resources and transform KTVA, KATH and KSCT into a news and entertainment leader unparalleled in Alaska. We look at these purchases as the first step toward providing a new statewide platform for news and information, as well as providing unique content and value for GCI’s video subscribers,” Duncan added.
Alaska news veteran John Tracy is being brought in to revamp the stations’ news offerings. “This is not unfamiliar territory,” said Tracy. “Denali Media Holdings is committed to investing significant resources to provide Alaskans with a new choice for quality news programming and high-definition offerings. I welcome the challenge of helping restore KTVA to the community leader it once was and building on KATH and KSCT’s reputations.”
