Doubling it up is turning out to be the hottest trend of the summer — and perhaps 2018.
Loosened FCC television station ownership rules have led several companies to add a second station in a market where it already has a presence. Add Perry Sook‘s Nexstar Media Group to the companies taking advantage of this Commission “rule modernization.”
It’s just agreed to acquire a second station in Northern Alabama. It also is grabbing a second station in the Queen City of the Ozarks, where it also enjoys a Management Services Agreement with a third facility.
For a total purchase price of $19.45 million, Nexstar is adding WHDF-15 in Huntsville, Ala., an affiliate of The CW Network; and FOX affiliate KRBK-49 in Springfield, Mo., which carries MeTV, Movies! and Ion Television on its digital multicast channels.
The addition of WHDF isn’t terribly surprising, as Nexstar has been operating the station via a Time Brokerage Agreement with Lockwood Broadcast Group. With the addition of WHDF, it will become an outright sibling to FOX affiliate WZDX-54; the station branded as WAMY-8 is now housed on WZDX’s DT-2 signal and therefore is not counted as a third station.
What is eye-catching is what Nexstar wishes to do in Springfield, Mo. There, it is converting its LMA of Koplar Communications’ FOX affiliated KRBK-49 to an outright purchase. This pairs KRBK-49 with MyNetwork TV affiliate KOZL-27. But, it also unofficially pairs the two stations with CBS affiliate KOLR-10, owned by Mission Broadcasting but operated via a Master Services Agreement with Nexstar.
Pursuant to local marketing agreements, Nexstar “began operating” WHDF-TV on July 15, 2018 and KRBK-TV on August 1, 2018; this reflects its direct 100% control of stations it has had a hand in for years.
The proposed transactions are expected to be immediately accretive to Nexstar’s operating results upon closing, and Nexstar intends to finance the station purchases with cash from operations and borrowings under its senior credit facilities. A Q4 closing is anticipated.
With 20 minutes remaining in Thursday’s trading session on Wall Street, Nexstar shares were down 1.1%, to $72.68.
