Nexstar deal makes it to the finish line

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Nexstar Broadcasting Group
A deal with entities of the disbanding Newport Television group for stations in California has joined the register of done deals. It adds a full- and a low-power station in Bakersfield to the Nexstar portfolio, as well as a Fresno station, a DMA in which it recently inked a deal for a second station.


Newport and its High Plains Broadcasting are listed as the selling entities.

NBC/CW KGET and Telemundo KKEY-LP are the Bakersfield properties.
In Fresno, the station is CBS KGPE.

The value of the deal is $35.4M. It was accepted for filing by the FCC 11/9/12.

In Fresno, Nexstar is also picking up NBC KSEE-TV from Granite Broadcasting for $26.5M, a deal that limbos under the FCC’s relatively stringent television duopoly rules thanks to the presence of eight independent television licensee voices in Fresno after the KSEE deal closes, in addition to the fact that NBC’s ills of late have knocked it out of the top four stations in this particular market.

Nextar’s Perry A. Sook commented, “This transaction is consistent with our acquisition criteria as it further diversifies our operations, creates new duopoly markets and is financially accretive. Together with our announcement earlier this month to acquire the Fresno NBC affiliate, KSEE(TV), Nexstar is creating new duopoly markets in both Fresno and Bakersfield.”