Two television stations will be moving in a deal that involves two sellers, two buyers, four networks, four translators, and about 160 pages of lawyerly language for the contracts alone.
The stations are KHSL-TV and KNVN-TV, both licensed to Chico.
For KHSL:
The seller is GOCOM of Northern California LLC, headed by President Richard L. Gorman.
The buyer is California TV License Company LLC, related to Heartland Media LLC, headed by President/CEO Robert S. Prather Jr.
The price is for both stations is $39,775,000 cash, and Heartland will be responsible for all but the amount attributable to KNVN, which is $1,000,000.
KHSL is on digital Channel 41 and uses virtual Channel 12.
It’s a CBS affiliate, and the current contract expires at the end of the year. The seller will consult with the buyer regarding its renewal. It carries CW on a digital side channel.
Coming with it: K35JX-D Westwood CA, K35LB-D Lakeshore CA and K49CT-D Paradise CA.
For KNVN:
The seller is K4 Media Holdings LLC, headed by Theodore T. Horton Jr.
The buyer is Maxair Media LLC, headed by Dan Modisett.
The price, as noted above, is $1,000,000 cash.
KNVN is on Channel 24. It’s an NBC affiliate, and the current contract expires at the end of the year. The seller will consult with the buyer regarding its renewal. It carries Telemundo on a digital side channel.
Coming with it: K42HL-D Oroville CA
The closing of the two transactions will coincide, and the parties will enter into a JSSA, or joint sales and services contract. Under it, Heartland will provide “certain operational and technical” services. It will also sell no more than 15% of KNVN’s advertising inventory in order to comply with the FCC’s new rules regulating such matters.
Further, Heartland stated it has no option or any other rights involving KNVN, and further, that KNVN will solely be responsible for negotiating its own retransmission consent contracts with MVPDs operating in the market.
RBR+TVBR observation: Given the investment in these stations and the impressive slate of network affiliations they hold, we doubt very much that any incentive auction plans are in the works.
Chico-Redding is isolated as DMAs go, located in north central California. Greenhill 1 pegged maximum full power station value at $18M and median value at $16M.
This looks like a pair of buyers who are sticking around to run what they bought.
