Media General, Inc.

 

 

 

Media General Ends Deal with Meredith Corporation

-- On January 27, 2016, Media General ended its plan to merge with Meredith Corporation, paying Meredith $60 million for the privilege. Instead, Media General has agreed to sell out to Nexstar Broadcasting Group for $4.6 billion.

Media General To Buy Meredith Corporation

September 8, 2015: Media General, which owns local television stations across the country, has agreed to buy Meredith Corporation for $2.4 billion plus the assumption of $772 million in debt, valuing the deal at about $3.1 billion. Media General has its headquarters in Richmond, Virginia.

Based in Des Moines, Iowa, Meredith Corporation owns a group of 14 local TV stations and publishes national consumer magazines including Allrecipes, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents and Shape.

The combined company will be named Meredith Media General, and will be incorporated in Virginia. The new board of directors will have 12 people, eight appointed by Media General and four by Meredith. J. Stewart Bryan III, current Media General chairman, will be the chairman of Meredith Media General. Meredith's current CEO, Stephen M. Lacy, will be the new company's CEO and president.

The company says it will maintain corporate and executive offices in Des Moines and Richmond. The deal is expected to close by June 30, 2016.

George Mahoney to Succeed Marshall Morton as Media General CEO

-- J. Stewart Bryan III, chairman of the Media General board, announced the appointment on August 22, 2012.

"George has served with distinction in all his roles since joining Media General in 1993," said Bryan. "As a strong company leader with deep media industry experience, he is the right person to lead the company forward as a pure television broadcaster with long-term financing arrangements that provide flexibility for future growth."

Mahoney previously served as VP for growth and performance at Media General.

His appointment as president and CEO takes effect January 1, 2013.

Media General Restructures TV Stations into Two Regional Groups

-- July 2, 2012: The company announced that its present market structure of five geographic regions would be replaced by a new structure of two geographic regions.

The company also announced that James R. Conschafter and John R. Cottingham had been elected corporate VPs by the board of directors. Each will assume operating responsibility for one of the two new regions.

"With our June 25 sale of 63 newspapers to Berkshire Hathaway, Media General is focusing all of its resources on its broadcast television group." said Marshall N. Morton, president and CEO of Media General. "We are committed to increasing broadcast cash flow and EBITDA margins. One component of margin improvement will be the alignment of our corporate structure with our new business focus. The streamlining of our market structure and operations is a key first step in that process."

Conschafter assumes responsibility for the following markets and stations:

WNCT TV 9 in Greeenville, NC
WNCN TV 17 in Raleigh, NC
WYCW TV 62 in Asheville, NC
WCMH TV 4 in Columbus, OH
WJAR TV 10 in Providence, RI
WSPA TV 7 in Spartanburg/Greenville, SC
WBTW TV in Florence/Myrtle Beach, SC
WSLS TV 10 in Roanoke, VA
WJHL TV 11 in Johnson City, TN

Cottingham will oversee the following markets and stations:

WVTM TV 13 in Birmingham, AL
WKRG TV 5 in Mobile, AL/Pensacola, FL
WFLA TV 8 in Tampa, FL
WJBF TV 6 in Augusta, GA
WRBL TV 3 in Columbus, GA
WSAV TV 3 in Savannah, GA
WJTV TV 12 in Jackson, MS
WHLT TV 22 in Hattiesburg, MS
WCBD TV 2 in Charleston, SC

The announced changes take effect immediately.

With Google's One Pass, Two More Newspaper Chains Join The Paywall Brigade

-- On February 16, 2011, the Guardian newspaper's paidContent.org reported:

"Included in the announcement of Google's long-expected One Pass paid content system for publishers is news that two more U.S. newspaper chains are planning to put up online paywalls at some of their newspaper sites this year: Media General, Inc. plans to use One Pass to charge users who access its 180,000-plus circulation Richmond Times-Dispatch, while midwest newspaper chain Rust Communications will soon charge some users at three of its newspaper sites.

MediaGeneral spokesman Raymond Kozakewicz tells us the company will put up a paywall at the Times-Dispatch's site within three months. He would not say how much the chain would charge and did not say how the model would work."

Get the full story.

Media General TV Stations Generated $41.5 Million in 2010 Political Revenues

November 17, 2010 -- Media General announced today that its 18 broadcast television stations generated approximately $41.5 million in political advertising revenues through November 2.

Four Media General television stations generated about two-thirds of the total, including WFLA in Tampa, Fla.; WCMH in Columbus, Ohio; WSPA in Spartanburg, S.C.; and WJAR in Providence R.I. Additionally, a late surge in advocate group and party spending for two hotly contested Congressional races in the Virginia 5th and 9th Districts generated more revenues than anticipated for WSLS in Roanoke, Va., and WJHL in Johnson City, Tenn.

"Media General benefited from a surge in issue and national party spending in the final weeks and days leading up to November 2. Our stations, most of which are rated number one or number two in their respective markets, were in an excellent position to benefit from Political advertising this year. We generated nearly $24 million in political revenues in October and the first two days in November," said Marshall N. Morton, president and chief executive officer of Media General.

Political revenues at WFLA and WCMH were the result of gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races, and WCMH also benefited from three hotly contested Congressional races. WJAR generated the majority of its revenues from Rhode Island's gubernatorial race and from a Congressional race in Massachusetts. The gubernatorial race in South Carolina and a Congressional race in North Carolina accounted for the majority of Political revenues generated by WSPA. Media General stations in Alabama and Georgia delivered significant political revenues this year from gubernatorial elections in both states, and a Congressional race in Georgia.

In addition to the political revenues from its broadcast television stations, Media General's newspapers generated approximately $450,000 in political revenues and the company's websites garnered approximately $50,000. "While the dollars are much smaller compared to television advertising, we were pleased to see our other media platforms viewed as a reliable way to convey issue and campaign messages to a target audience," said Mr. Morton.

-- November 4, 2010 -- Media General, Inc. announced today that Marilyn L. Hammond has been named president and market leader, North Carolina, effective January 1, 2011. Dan Bradley has been named president and market leader, Ohio/Rhode Island, effective immediately. In her new role, Ms. Hammond will succeed James R. Conschafter, who will become president and market Leader, Virginia/Tennessee. In his new role, Mr. Conschafter will succeed James A. Zimmerman, who plans to retire after 35 years with Media General, effective December 31, 2010.

WCMH TV 4 Is the First Media General Station to Launch MDTV

-- September 29, 2010 -- Media General, Inc. said that WCMH TV 4, its NBC Television Network affiliate in Columbus, Ohio, is the company's first broadcast television station to launch mobile digital television (MDTV). The real-time local broadcast service began on September 23, and can be received on suitably equipped laptops, mobile phones and other portable devices.

Marshall N. Morton, president and chief executive officer of Media General, said, "Mobile DTV is an important new way to extend our reach and deliver content to our viewers, when, where and how they want it. Mobile DTV now allows us to deliver our television content to on-the-go consumers. We look forward to launching Mobile DTV in as many as 5-7 additional television markets in the coming months."

Dan Bradley, WCMH-TV vice president and general manager, said, "We are excited to launch this convenient and free new service. We are eager to meet the needs of our viewers with unique content wherever they go, helping to expand their viewing day. Launching a simulcast of WCMH's primary channel is the first step."

Media General is actively engaged with a leading group of broadcasters in deploying mobile television. Mobile DTV allows broadcasters to provide their local content to suitably equipped mobile devices, including live and on-demand video, local and national news from print and electronic sources, and sports and entertainment programming. Some devices have a "chipset" already built in to receive the signal, while others require an external USB-type or other tuner available at electronics stores. Research shows that mobile-equipped consumers watch more television than before and that they particularly appreciate convenient access to live, local news.