Much has been said about the big payday seen at companies including Entravision Communications and Comcast, which is sacrificing WNBC-4 in New York and Telemundo O&Os in Chicago and Philadelphia for $481.6 million.
However, the biggest bonanza to come in the Reverse Auction involves such individuals as Miami Lakes, Fla.-based Bob Behar and Alex Meruelo, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Meruelo Group.
It also appears that the owners of TV stations serving Spanish-speaking U.S. Hispanics are the biggest winners in the now-concluded FCC Spectrum Auction, based on the dollars set to come their way.
Behar is the President/CEO of Hero Broadcasting, which in 2008 acquired Barbara Laurence’s 76% ownership in Bela Broadcasting. Behar held the other 24% of Bela.
This $100 million deal involved the acquisition of a former MTV Tr3s affiliate — Oxnard, Calif.-licensed KBEH, at digital channel 24 and PSIP 63. KBEH serves the Los Angeles market, and has been running infomercials as of late.
With a post-auction channel-sharing arrangement in place, KBEH is going away.
Behar’s company will receive a cool $146,627,980 for its disappearance.
Meanwhile, Mr. Meruelo is set to receive $123,474,177 for KWHY-22 in Los Angeles.
His Meruelo Group is the owner of radio stations KDAY-FM in Redondo Beach, Calif., and KDEY-FM in Ontario, Calif.
Now, he has a little more money to perhaps invest in his radio operation, as KWHY enters a channel-sharing agreement with another station in the L.A. market.
The Meruelo Group acquired KWHY in July 2011.
TELEMUNDO AFFILIATE OWNER CASHES IN
ZGS Communications is the biggest owner of Telemundo affiliates in the U.S., and its now nearly $75 million richer.
That’s because ZGS is giving up its WZGS-CD in Raleigh for $30,120,779, and entering into a channel-sharing agreement.
ZGS is also making $33,807,537 on the surrender of WRIW-CD in Providence, R.I., with programming shifting via a channel-sharing deal.
Also disappearing is WRDM-CD in Hartford, yielding ZGS some $10,574,516 in cash.
‘RNN’ RUNS AWAY WITH MILLIONS
In December 1985, with Brian Madden and Nancy Cozean offering viewers to “Discover 62,” WTZA-TV signed on the air as the first commercially licensed station to serve New York’s Hudson Valley.
Over the years, WTZA became challenged by downsizing at IBM plants in Kingston, WTZA’s city of license, and a recession that hurt many in the broadcast TV business. Its official placement in the New York City DMA also put WTZA at a dollars and programming disadvantage.
In October 1995, the station became WRNN. It gave up its analog signal, embracing its new digital channel 48 — one of the first station to not use a PSIP to reflect its analog signal.
Today, WRNN is set to disappear forever, with its news and informational programming moving via a channel-sharing agreement.
That’s because the privately owned station received $211,680,472 in the Spectrum Auction.
