The acquisition by Nexstar of 10 Newport television stations in seven markets is a done deal. Nexstar exec Perry Sook said it was exactly the kind of deal his company looks for in pursuit of its growth strategy.
The Newport stations came in for $225.5M. Meanwhile, Nexstar collected $14M in exchange for its KBTV in the Beaumont-Port Arthur TX DMA.
Discussing the Newport deal, Sook commented, “This transaction squarely meets our acquisition criteria from both an operating and financial perspective. The addition of the Newport stations substantially broadens Nexstar’s local television broadcasting platform with stations that are geographically complementary to and diversify our operating base while also presenting significant financial and operating synergies with the Company’s existing portfolio. Inergize Digital, an industry leader offering fully integrated e-Media management solutions on-air, online and for mobile devices, brings multi-year contracts with approximately 75 stations and other entities outside of the Nexstar platform and these operations dovetail well and will be integrated with Nexstar’s existing e-Media and GoLocal.biz platforms.”
The stations acquired from Newport include:
* Salt Lake City UT ACB KTVX, CW KUCW
* Memphis TN: ABC WPTY, CW WLMT
* Syracuse NY: ABC WSYR
* Binghamton NY: NBC WBGH, ABC WIVT
* Elmire NY: NBC WETM
* Jackson TN: FOX WJKT
* Watertown NY: ABC WWTI
The Beaumont-Port Arthur station was sold to San Antonio Television LLC and Deerfield Media [Port Arthur] Licensee, LLC. San Antonio Television is a subsidiary of Sinclair, and Deerfield is Sinclair’s frequent JSA/SSA partner.
