UPDATE APRIL 2021
TEGNA takes over KTBU 55
KHOU 11's owner TEGNA, just bought KTBU 55 from Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) for $15 million
TEGNA, owner of KHOU 11 in Houston, has bought channel 55 KTBU for $15 million.
A new Houston duopoly is born.
This is making big news in the radio trade world because current KTBU owner, Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS), is really more of a radio company and are reportedly selling off unrelated assets to pay off debt. Looking at my old post, SBS paid $16 million for KTBU around nine years ago.
Since 2011, KTBU has been Spanish language network Mega TV. Now that SBS is selling the station, one would assume the Mega network it runs leaves with it, but you never know, maybe TEGNA will keep it.
More likely, TEGNA will program its other offerings on it.
For example, it owns multicast programming like Justice Network and Quest. Will these shows stay on the KHOU digital sub-channels or go to KTBU? Who knows?
Will KTBU re-air KHOU newscasts like #HTownRush or maybe its own shows like Great Day Houston mixed in with syndicated fare? Once again, who knows right now?
This will not the first Houston duopoly or one owner owning multiple stations.
Houston TV already has:
Fox Television Stations Incorporated
KRIV FOX
KTXH My20
Univision
KXLN‐DT UNI
KFTH‐DT UnM
So how can one company own multiple television stations in one city?
Let's go straight to the TEGNA-KTBU deal's FCC filing where attorney's say:
The Transaction complies with the Commission’s local television multiple ownership rule, as reinstated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit effective as of November 29, 2019. The rule allows ownership of two television stations in the same DMA that have overlapping contours so long as (1) at least one of the stations is ranked below the top four stations in the market, based on the most recent all-day audience share measured by professional, accepted audience ratings services,2
and (2) “[a]t least 8 independently owned and operating, full-power commercial and noncommercial TV stations would remain post-merger in the DMA in which the communities of license of the TV stations in question are located.”
The Transaction meets this requirement because, in Nielsen’s December 2019 survey, KTBU placed below the top four stations in all-day household share,4 and after consummation of the proposed Transaction there would remain more than eight independently owned and operating full-power commercial and noncommercial television stations in the Houston DMA.5
Furthermore, because TEGNA has no attributable interest in any radio station or newspaper in the Houston DMA, the Commission’s local media ownership rules governing local radio ownership, radio-television cross-ownership, and newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership are not implicated by the Transaction.
Finally, because TEGNA already owns KHOU, a VHF station located in the Houston DMA, TEGNA’s acquisition of KTBU (a UHF station) would have no effect on TEGNA’s national television audience reach.6 Accordingly, grant of the instant license assignment application would comply with the Commission’s media ownership rules.
Still awake? I'm not. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.
Now some Houston TV watchers might remember when KTBU 55 was "The Tube" and owned by Pastor Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church. Or maybe the actual church owned it, not sure. Lakewood sold KTBU in 2006 to USFR Media Group.
In 2007, USFR Media Group moved KTBU to the old News 24 Houston facility on Beltway 8.
I would assume that TEGNA moves KTBU in with channel 11 at its new digs at 5718 Westheimer. Now both staffs can run across the street for a Pappas Burger run.
Stay tuned.
