NBC Universal announced Wednesday that it has signed a deal to sell WJAR/NBC 10, its Providence affiliate, and three other stations to Richmond, Va.-based Media General Inc., owner of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, in a cash transaction valued at about $600 million.
“Media General is a highly regarded multi-media company dedicated to local communities,” WJAR/NBC 10 President and General Manager Lisa Churchville said in an announcement posted on the station’s Web site. “We are proud to join Media General, knowing they are as committed as we are to local news and community.”
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Along with WJAR, the most viewed station in its market, the stations Media General is purchasing are WNCN in Raleigh, N.C.; WCMH in Columbus, Ohio; and WVTM in Birmingham, Ala. All four are in major university communities, and three are in state capitals. WJAR’s market is the smallest of the four, ranked 51st in the nation.
“This transaction is compelling from both an operational and financial perspective,” said Marshall N. Morton, president and CEO of Media General, in a news release. “The NBC properties we are purchasing are strong stations in cities with attractive growth prospects.”
Media General already owns 26 network-affiliated TV stations, The Tampa (Fla.) Tribune, the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal, and 22 daily community newspapers. To abide by Federal Communications Commission regulations, it will sell its CBS affiliate in Birmingham, and to raise cash, it plans to sell three additional CBS affiliates in other cities.
Media General’s primary strength is in growing Southeastern markets, and Morton said two of the purchases are meant to reinforce that. The Providence and Columbus stations, for their part, will contribute to the company’s portfolio due to their “strength in audience and revenue share” and their position in growing markets.
Media General said it will finance the transaction using existing capacity under a $1 billion bank facility, $100 million of new public debt, and about $150 million in proceeds from asset sales. The deal is subject to approval by the FCC and the U.S. Department of Justice and is expected to close in the second or third quarter of 2006.
Jay Ireland, president of the NBC Universal Television Stations, said the network had chosen to sell the four stations as “part of our strategy to focus on larger, duopoly markets in local communities which NBC and Telemundo can serve together.”
In the announcement, Churchville said the station was “pleased to remain an NBC affiliate.” She added: “For over 55 years as the leading television station in the market, we have produced quality news products every day, and we will continue to do so.”
