Gannett announces that it's buying Belo Corp. for $2.2B

UPDATE #2, 9:30 p.m.: Gannett issued a memo to its employees regarding what they can expect from the company's purchase of Belo. TVSpy has obtained and published that memo publicly.

UPDATE, 2:25 p.m.: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports this afternoon that Belo stations KMOV and WHAS11 will be run separately from Gannett's existing operations in St. Louis and Louisville. The stations, along with others in Phoenix, Portland and Tucson, will be under the management of broadcast veteran Jack Sander, who has been a Belo Corp. senior advisor. Gannett expects to enter into some shared services agreements, but in St. Louis and Phoenix, at least, the company plans to have its multiple stations compete against one another. Read more here.

PREVIOUSLY: Gannett, which owns the Louisville Courier-Journal, The Indianapolis Star and St. Louis NBC affiliate KSDK (ch. 5), announced this morning that it will purchase Belo Corp., the owner of St. Louis CBS affiliate KMOV (ch. 4) and Louisville ABC affiliate WHAS11 (ch. 11).

The deal, which is valued at $2.2 billion, will make Gannett a self-described "super group" reaching nearly a third of U.S. TV homes with 43 stations, including stations managed by Gannett through shared services and similar sharing arrangements.

“We are thrilled to bring together two highly respected media companies with rich histories of award-winning journalism, operational excellence and strong brand leadership," said Gannett CEO Gracia Martore in a statement. "We have been successfully transforming Gannett into a diversified multi-media company with broadcast, digital and publishing components across high-growth markets nationwide, and this is another important step in the process.

It will significantly improve our cash flow and financial strength, enabling us to quickly pay down debt while remaining committed to disciplined capital allocation. By enhancing our portfolio with one of the largest, most geographically diverse and network-balanced TV station groups in the country, the new Gannett will be well positioned to lead innovation, bolster our existing growth initiatives and take advantage of new opportunities in the emerging digital media landscape.”

Gannett says the deal will accelerate its "transformation" from print to electronic media, but it isn't immediately clear how the deal will affect its current holdings, particularly in St. Louis and Louisville, where the FCC's cross-ownership rules may require some of the company's assets to be spun off Gannett plans to structure the deal in a way that meets the letter (if not necessarily the spirit) of the law.

Stay tuned ...

For a complete list of the TV stations owned by both companies, click past the jump.

 more coverage 



BELO CORP. STATIONSGANNETT STATIONS
ARIZONA
Phoenix - KTVK (Ind/This), KASW (CW)
Tucson - KMSB (Fox/This), KTTU (MNT)

IDAHO
Boise - KTVB (NBC)
Twin Falls - KTFT-LD (NBC)

KENTUCKY
Louisville - WHAS-TV (ABC)

LOUISIANA
New Orleans - WWL-TV (CBS), WUPL (MNT)

MISSOURI
St. Louis - KMOV (CBS/Me-TV)

NORTH CAROLINA
Charlotte - WCNC-TV (NBC)

OREGON
Portland - KGW (NBC)

TEXAS
Austin - KVUE (ABC)
Dallas - WFAA (ABC)
Houston - KHOU (CBS)
San Antonio - KENS (CBS)

VIRGINIA
Norfolk - WVEC (ABC/Me-TV)

WASHINGTON
Seattle - KING-TV (NBC), KONG (Ind)
Spokane - KREM (CBS), KSKN (CW)
ARIZONA
Phoenix - KPNX (NBC)

ARKANSAS
Little Rock - KTHV (CBS)

CALIFORNIA
Sacramento - KXTV (ABC)

COLORADO
Denver - KUSA-TV (NBC), KTVD (MNT)

D.C.
Washington - WUSA (CBS)

FLORIDA
Jacksonville - WJXX (ABC), WTLV (NBC)
Tampa-St. Petersburg - WTSP (CBS)

GEORGIA
Atlanta - WXIA-TV (NBC), WATL (MNT)
Macon - WMAZ-TV (CBS)

MAINE
Bangor - WLBZ (NBC)
Portland - WCSH (NBC)

MICHIGAN
Grand Rapids - WZZM-TV (ABC)

MINNESOTA
Minneapolis-St. Paul - KARE (NBC)

MISSOURI
St. Louis - KSDK (NBC)

NEW YORK
Buffalo - WGRZ-TV (NBC)

NORTH CAROLINA
Greensboro - WFMY-TV (CBS)

OHIO
Cleveland - WKYC-TV (NBC)

SOUTH CAROLINA
Columbia - WLTX (CBS)

TENNESSEE
Knoxville - WBIR-TV (NBC)

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