If this story has legs, and it looks as if it does, then think about this: could Fox be a player for KRON?
Seriously, KRON has a strong, dynamic signal. I know for a fact that NBC regretted, and to this day, still regrets dropping KRON as an affiliate. It was bad business then and it's bad business today.
Let the rumors begin.
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FACT: In 1994, Rupert Murdock made an effort to by KTVU, and turn it into a Fox O&O,. It was rejected by the Cox family, which is a LOT richer than Murdoch. I mean a LOT richer than Murdoch. It's like comparing Bill Gates to Steve Jobs, okay?
ReplyDeleteFACT: On or about 2003 or 2004, Cox (KTVU) signed a 10-year iron-clad affiliation agreement with Fox.
FACT: Fox forced KTVU to abandon the San Francisco Giants broadcasts after 50 years. The "King Dufus" Tim McVay was behind this egregious mistake!
FACT: Cox always despised KTVU, even though it was a bigger cash-cow than Cox's beloved WSB in Atlanta. Cox is a "southern" company, whose biggest profits come from cable TV, not broadcast TV.
FACT: KTVU was always a thorn in the side of the Cox family. It was a rebel, renegade operation especially when Kevin O'Brien ran it to HUGE profitability. (Little known fact...O'Brien was sent here in 1986 to put KTVU up for sale. Instead, he made so much money, there was no way they'd sell).
FACT: Cox is HUGELY embarrassed by the Asiana "namegate" scandal, because it has hurt the Cox family name. It would sell KTVU for the right price - even to the arch conservative Murdoch (the Cox's are arch liberals). Cox wants its fingerprints off of KTVU.
FACT: The asking price for KTVU... how about at whopping $1.2 billion dollars? That's about $400 million more than KRON sold for. It would be the biggest sale price for any U.S. television station.
How do I know all this?
"Deep Throat"
Would you mind posting a link proving your assertions. I'd like to see it (or them). Thanks again.
Deletehttp://www.newsblues.com/Secure/Bluezette/2013/08-19-13.htm for starters. More to come!
DeleteMore: http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/fox-reportedly-eyeing-stations-in-seattle-st-louis-san-francisco_b100934
DeleteEither way (sale, or no-sale) Fox stands to gain.
ReplyDeleteWhen negotiating the affiliate agreement, Fox may say, "Listen, we may take our programming over to KRON--whether we end up owning that property or not." Then, they may leverage that threat against a nice little "reverse compensation" contract.
Now, this may be BETTER than owning a broadcast property. Why? Well... While O&O's are still cash cows, the milk is beginning to dry up in this new media landscape. Fewer and fewer viewers are watching local TV. (Some models suggest a whole generation is growing up not even AWARE of over-the-air broadcast signals.) In fact, CBS and NBC have both flirted with becoming just "cable channels," dropping their broadcast affiliations and selling their O&O properties.
ALSO INTERESTING: This has happened before in the SF Market. When the DeYoung family put KRON-TV on the block a decade ago, NBC put in a bid... but, not before scaring off the other bidders... by letting the other bidders know that KRON "may not NECESSARILY be an NBC-affiliated-station if you acquire it." The suitors dropped out like flies, and bad blood flowed. Later, when Young Broadcasting bought the signal, NBC brass got pissy and tried to shove a huge reverse compensation agreement down Young's throat. Young blinked. NBC began to invest in the San Jose property.
So, either way Fox wins. They either get more money from Cox. Or they move to their own property.
Conservative media deep in the heart of FRISCO.
ReplyDeleteOff TOPIC...
ReplyDeleteNeed advice from informed your community here.
Just heard news that 'Art Bell' will be returning to radio and will be heard on Sirius XM only.
Question:
Can Sirius XM be found on the Computer?
Does one need to buy a Sirius XM Radio specifically? Would that then be hooked-up to the computer? Where would such a radio be purchased and approximately how much would that Sirius Radio cost?
Any information on this subject would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/headlines/20130802-radios-art-bell-returning-with-sirius-xm-show.ece
Google is your friend.
DeleteThere are several ways this could play out, but if there is any kind of bad blood or rivalry between Cox and KTVU it gets interesting. A scenario much like the one that saw KRON lose its affiliation could happen again. Fox would go in and buy KRON and transfer the affiliation. KTVU is then left as an independent and Cox would be squeezed. The question is whether the station could survive on news alone. Losing Fox would mean no more 49ers games or baseball playoffs. Those are big bread winners right now. Quite a conspiracy theory but how plausible is it?
ReplyDeleteInteresting indeed. Could very well materialize that way. I cannot see FOX being affiliated with both KTVU and KRON.
DeleteSeems one station would have to leave.
KRON has had a for sale sign out for almost 10 years, yet there has been no sale. What could this mean? The price is too high, perhaps? Those with deep pockets don't see the value?
ReplyDeleteSpeculate all you want. The station will be sold when the price reflects the value, which is likely to be a lot less than the current owners believe.
I worked at KRON as an AE when we were an NBC affiliate and returned years later when we were going through the transition from NBC to IND (never forget when our GM share went from 23% to 2% in the matter of of one book)
ReplyDeleteThe FOX thing was a bedtime story back then and its a bedtime story now. Dig a bit deeper and find out about the state of 1001 Van Ness, the building itself, and how that has had an effect on any sale of the station, signal, etc.
Absolutely brilliant move financially if FOX pulls this off. The NFL is a cash cow. I wouldn't put much stock in a St. Louis deal. The Rams and the city are in a pretty big fight over the team's lease and there is a good chance the Rams might return to Los Angeles very soon. The St. Louis lease I think gives them an out before or after the 2014 season. But if FOX could get SF and Seattle they would be set.
ReplyDeleteThese deals aren't always cash for a station. You might see them work out some sort of deal with multiple ownership groups where FOX ends up with something like 4-5 stations and they essentially trade a couple of others away to those owners plus perhaps cash. Much like a 3 way trade in baseball.
It seems like KRON is currently signed sealed and delivered with Comcast. They have the 24/7 Newschannel, many sponsored programs with Comcast and believe it or not figuratively speaking Comcast has picked them up from the bottom. That said and Comcast planning a new studio in downtown San Francisco this may mean that NBC Universal has some sort of plan down the road for KRON. NBC Executives deny this but if FOX wants a new facility and the 11 spot like LA then the KNTV studios in San Jose is their ticket. Lets face it the Bay Area wants their NBC station back on 4 and that is the reality of this discussion....end of story.
ReplyDeleteYou do know that Comcast is now the parent company of NBC? So that does make sense. Me thinks Cox sells KTVU to Fox, and Channel 11 goes all Spanish TV! Or Murdock buys KRON and makes it Fox, and KTVU sucks wind, as NBC 11 stays in San Jose. Or NBC buys KTVU, and moves all Spanish TV to 11. I'm telling you....one of these three scenarios is going to happen, even if Cox, Fox, Media General (KRON) and NBC have to do a three-way or four-way swap. The coup is about to commence!
DeleteSpanish TV? What drugs are you on and why aren't you sharing. The Rams back in LA will happen before your Spanish TV pipe dream. Google "Univision"
DeleteEnd of story?
DeleteComcast buys a lot of advertising on ALL channels. They are the second biggest advertiser in the country.
Please cite your source for Comcast building a studio in San Francisco, as they already have one on Third Street.
The tired argument that NBC would buy KRON just to get the "coveted" 4 spot is just that, a tired argument. KNTV is on channel 3 on virtually every cable system. KRON is beyond damaged goods, at this point. Why would they spend millions of dollars to move up one notch on the cable frequencies? NBC owns stations in 3 markets larger than this one where the station is not on 4. They are Dallas, Chicago and Philadelphia.
I also have to agree with 1:26. Telemundo (KSTS), is on the same tower as Univision (KDTV). The hispanic market has less cable & satellite penetration, so over-the-air is more important. It would not make sense for NBC to move that signal to a stick in San Francisco just to be on a VHF channel. None of the hispanic stations in this market are on VHF, anyway.
@1:26 No not Univision, Telemundo...since it is owned by NBC. If NBC buys 2 or 4, it could move Telemundo to Channel 11, instead of the current Channel 48. It's a much better dial (or cable box) position. Spanish language television is the fastest growing segment of the U.S. broadcasting industry and is highly profitable. What do you mean what drugs am I on? This is a for-profit industry and this makes the most $$$$. Your L.A. Rams analogy is not applicable.
DeleteBut think about it 11:52, who would you rather be associated with Comcast (your local cable outlet, Univision etc) or a mover in the national TV industry such as FOX?
DeleteWhen you have the NFL package not to mention MLB, sponsors will come knocking on your door step.
The decision is simple. Go with FOX.
There is no way in the world Comcast/NBC would purchase KRON or KTVU simply to move KSTS to another channel. Its cable position is near its competitors. That is where they want it. It would also not make any kind of financial sense for NBC to buy KTVU or KRON to move NBC over to and then put KSTS on KNTV. The financials are simply not there. It would make a lot of sense for FOX to make a play for one of them, but not NBC. FOX has leverage with the affiliation that could scare off rivals. For NBC, the cost vs. benefit is simply not there.
DeleteI'd like to see FOX4 but the positive aspect of a KTVU purchase is that that ancient, ugly as hell channel 2 logo would be the first thing to go.
ReplyDeleteSounds like A LOT of former KRON staffers are STILL holding out hope that NBC will "realize they made a mistake...and will buy back KRON."
ReplyDeleteAnd in this fantasy/dream, the "new/reborn" KRON will reach out to all of the former "family members"--and hire them back at high-end wages. The new KRON will also hire tons of writers, field producers, grips, editors-who-just-edit, NPPA shooters-who-just-shoot (one PKG a day)...and that everyone will be happy producing a 6pm and 11pm newscast.
HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!
With the Saudi royal family as its second largest shareholder and largest source of capital, all scenarios are possible for Fox and Uncle Rupert.
ReplyDeleteAnd KTVU goes back to plaiying endless reruns of cheers frasier etc seinfield guess they stil get ratings.
ReplyDeleteAlthough admittedly commenting from Left Field, I see KNTV's affiliation with NBC, and its role as that network's Bay Area presence, as a huge failure for both the network and viewers. Does anyone in SF, Oakland, or Marin County perceive KNTV as anything other than an also ran Bay Area player? Are viewers in the South Bay being properly served by its local television station trying to be something it is not -- at the cost of what it once was?
ReplyDeleteThe Santa Clara Valley can either be served by a dedicated, local news source or it can be shortchanged by its choice of any of the four SF-centric news bureaus. The South Bay (shortchanged by a horrible local paper) would be much better served if KNTV went back to being a junior varsity station with a strong and loyal local draw, and NBC took their affiliation over to KRON and returned that station to its past glory.
I totally agree with your comments. KNTV has really never filled that void left when the affiliation moved south to San Jose. The South Bay whose population is now mostly Hispanic needs more diversity in their television viewing options. KNTV has pretended to play out the NBC affiliation but has failed in most cases. KRON or whatever it will be called lets say NBC4 can and has covered the San Jose South Bay very well and would continue as our NBC owned and operated station.
ReplyDeleteFox should look at KOFY as their viable option and work a deal similar to what Granite did back in 2001.