In mid-August, RBR+TVBR first reported on the purchase of construction permits for low-power television stations located in the Southernmost City in the United States and in the heart of the Coachella Valley, respectively, by The E.W. Scripps Co.
That deal, brokered by Bob Heymann of the Chicago office of Media Services Group, has just closed.
The seller is Mako Communications, a Texas limited liability company that gained $70,000 from the sale of the construction permits for W33EP-D, licensed to Key West, Fla. (FCC Facility ID #181691), and K32OR-D, licensed Palm Springs, Calif. (FCC Facility ID #181799).
What will the company use them for? For starters, Key West is within the Miami-Fort Lauderdale DMA, and with WSFL-39 now an affiliate of The CW Network that’s added a 10pm newscast produced by WPLG-10, the Berkshire Hathaway-controlled ABC affiliate, the LPTV could be used as a simulcast partner. Alternatively, it could be used to bring one of the many Scripps digital multicast networks to Key West. This includes Newsy, which is transitioning to an over-the-air model from MVPD distribution after originally serving as an digitally-exclusive offering.
Then there is K32OR-D, serving the Coachella Valley, where Scripps presently owns no TV properties. News Press & Gazette Co. holds The CW Network affiliation in Palm Springs, and as such a KTLA simulcast isn’t possible. As such, the likely scenario would see Scripps use the LPTV for one of its digital multicast networks.
Signing off on the deal for Mako is Chief Administrative Officer Amanda Mintz.
In July, RBR+TVBR reported some 13 LPTV construction permits presently licensed to Mako Communications were placed on the market. They are unique in that the CP expiry dates are not until 2023.
