Tegna Inc. (stylized in
all caps
In typography, all caps (short for "all capitals") refers to text or a font in which all letters are capital letters, for example: "THIS TEXT IS IN ALL CAPS". All caps may be used for emphasis (for a word or phrase). They are commonly seen in ...
as TEGNA) is an American publicly traded broadcast, digital media and marketing services company headquartered in
Tysons Corner, Virginia
Tysons, also known as Tysons Corner, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, developed from the corner of Chain Bridge Road ( SR 123) and the Leesburg Pike ( SR 7). Located in Northern Virginia between the c ...
.
It was created on June 29, 2015, when the
Gannett Company
Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.[broadcast television
Broadcast television systems (or terrestrial television systems outside the US and Canada) are the encoding or formatting systems for the transmission and reception of terrestrial television signals.
Analog television systems were standardized b ...]
and digital media divisions of the old Gannett, while Gannett's publishing interests were spun off as a "new" company that retained the Gannett name. Tegna owns or operates 66 television stations in 54 markets, and holds properties in digital media.
In terms of audience reach, Tegna is the largest group owner of
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
-affiliated stations, ahead of
Hearst Television
Hearst Television, Inc. (formerly Hearst-Argyle Television) is a broadcasting company in the United States owned by Hearst Communications. From 1998 to mid-2009, the company traded its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ...
and
Sinclair Broadcast Group
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBG) is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb of Cockeysville, Maryland, t ...
, and the fourth-largest group owner of ABC affiliates, behind Hearst, the
E. W. Scripps Company
The E. W. Scripps Company is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglomerate. The company is he ...
, and Sinclair. Tegna also owns three
digital multicast networks (
True Crime Network
True Crime Network (formerly Justice Network) is an American digital multicast television network that is operated by True Crime Network, LLC, a limited liability company, which is owned by Tegna Inc. The network specializes in true crime, inv ...
,
Quest
A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. The word serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of ever ...
, and
Twist
Twist may refer to:
In arts and entertainment Film, television, and stage
* ''Twist'' (2003 film), a 2003 independent film loosely based on Charles Dickens's novel ''Oliver Twist''
* ''Twist'' (2021 film), a 2021 modern rendition of ''Olive ...
).
History
In June 2015, Gannett spun off its broadcasting division. Robert Dickey – who led Gannett's newspaper group – would continue as CEO of the company as a sole newspaper publisher, leaving the former broadcasting and digital operations under the leadership of
Gracia Martore Gracia C. Martore is the former president and CEO of Tegna, Inc. and was CEO of the predecessor Gannett Company before its split. She was succeeded by Dave Lougee on 1 June 2017. She replaced Craig Dubow on 6 October 2011.
She serves on the Board ...
. In a statement, she explained that the split plans were "significant next steps in our ongoing initiatives to increase shareholder value by building scale, increasing cash flow, sharpening management focus, and strengthening all of our businesses to compete effectively in today's increasingly digital landscape." Additionally, the company announced that it would buy out the remainder of
Classified Ventures
Classified Ventures, LLC was a very successful Chicago-based digital media company. The company was established to capitalize on the revenue growth opportunities in the online classified advertising categories of automotive and rentals. It was a ...
(a joint venture between Tegna and several other media companies) for $1.8 billion, giving it full ownership of properties such as
Cars.com
Cars.com is an automotive classified website focused on the United States that launched in June 1998 and now is the second largest automotive classified site. Its headquarters are located in Chicago, Illinois.
History
A 2003 ''Library Journal' ...
.
As part of the separation, the company announced that the broadcasting and digital company would be named Tegna—a partial
anagram
An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' itself can be rearranged into ''nag a ram'', also the word ...
of "Gannett".
The spin-out was structured so that "old" Gannett changed its name to Tegna, Inc., then spun off its newspaper holdings into a "new" Gannett. The split was completed on June 29, 2015. Tegna retained "old" Gannett's stock price history, though it trades under a new ticker symbol, TGNA. The "new" Gannett inherited old Gannett's longtime ticker symbol, GCI. The two companies, however, continued to share a headquarters complex.
Tegna also retained G/O Digital, a digital marketing services brand that it launched in August 2013, and the 20 broadcast stations it acquired from
Belo Corporation
Belo Corporation was a Dallas-based media company that owned 20 commercial broadcasting television stations and three regional 24-hour cable news television channels. The company was previously known as A. H. Belo Corporation after one of the ...
in December 2013 and the six stations it acquired from London Broadcasting Company in July 2014.
In September 2016, Tegna announced plans to spin off Cars.com to create two independent publicly traded companies. Tegna shareholders approved an initial public offering of Cars.com as a publicly traded spin-off in May 2017. Shortly after, Tegna completed the spin-off of Cars.com, which now trades under a new ticker symbol, CARS. Upon the completion of the spin-off, Dave Lougee, president of Tegna Media, was named president and CEO of Tegna and joined the company's board of directors. Gracia Martore, president and CEO of Tegna, retired and stepped down from the board.
Prior to the company's completion of the spin-off of Cars.com, it was reported by DealReporter that Nexstar Media Group
Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is an American publicly traded media company with headquarter offices in Irving, Texas; Midtown Manhattan; and Chicago, Illinois. The company is the largest television station owner in the United States, owning 197 te ...
may be considering a bid to acquire Tegna. In June 2017, Tegna announced it had entered into a definitive agreement, together with the other owners of CareerBuilder
CareerBuilder is an employment website founded in 1995 with offices in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. In 2008, it had the largest market share among online employment websites in the United States, where it was founded. CareerBuil ...
, to sell CareerBuilder to an investor group led by investments funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management
Apollo Global Management, Inc. is an American global private-equity firm. It provides investment management and invests in credit, private equity, and real assets. As of March 31, 2022, the company had $512 billion of assets under management, ...
and the board of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board (french: Régime de retraite des enseignantes et des enseignants de l'Ontario) is an independent organization responsible for administering defined-benefit pensions for school teachers of the Canadian p ...
.
Tegna and Cooper Media, parent corporation of the Justice Network
True Crime Network (formerly Justice Network) is an American digital multicast television network that is operated by True Crime Network, LLC, a limited liability company, which is owned by Tegna Inc. The network specializes in true crime, inv ...
, announced on November 7, 2017, a new multicast network, Quest
A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. The word serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of ever ...
. Tegna would be the charter station group as such would receive a minority stake in the network, which launched in January 2018. The range of programming on the network would be engineering and science, human achievements, military history and natural history.
On December 18, 2017, Tegna announced it would acquire KFMB-AM- FM- TV in San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
from Midwest Television, Inc. for $325 million, pending approval from the Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
. The acquisition was completed on February 15, 2018.
On August 20, 2018, Tegna agreed to purchase two stations spun off from the Gray Television
Gray Television, Inc. is an American publicly traded television broadcasting company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1946 by James Harrison Gray as Gray Communications Systems, the company owns or operates 180 stations across the United St ...
-Raycom Media
Raycom Media, Inc. was an American television broadcasting company based in Montgomery, Alabama. Raycom owned and/or provided services for 65 television stations and two radio stations across 44 markets in 20 states. Raycom, through its Commun ...
merger, CBS affiliate WTOL-TV
WTOL (channel 11) is a television station in Toledo, Ohio, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Tegna Inc., which provides certain services to Fox affiliate WUPW (channel 36) under a joint sales agreement (JSA) with American Spirit ...
in Toledo (the sale likely includes rights to an existing shared services agreement with American Spirit Media
American Spirit Media, LLC is a broadcasting company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded by Thomas B. Henson in 2003 as Ottumwa Media Holdings, it owns television stations in several cities in the Southeastern United States.
History
In 2 ...
-owned Fox affiliate WUPW) and NBC affiliate KWES-TV
KWES-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Odessa, Texas, United States, serving the Permian Basin (North America), Permian Basin area as an affiliate of NBC. The station is owned by Tegna Inc. and maintains studios on West County R ...
in Odessa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
in order to alleviate ownership conflicts involving Gray's ownership of ABC affiliate WTVG
WTVG (channel 13) is a television station in Toledo, Ohio, United States, affiliated with ABC and The CW. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains studios on Dorr Street (Ohio State Route 246, SR 246) in Toledo, and its transmitter is loc ...
in the Toledo market and CBS affiliate KOSA-TV
KOSA-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to Odessa, Texas, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for the Permian Basin area. It is owned by Gray Television alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate KWWT (channel 30, also licensed to Ode ...
in the Odessa market.
In March 2019, Tegna announced its formation of VAULT Studios, its first, in-house digital content studio. The studio's first content would be true crime podcasts, drawing on its station news content.
On March 20, 2019, Tegna entered an agreement with Nexstar Media Group
Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is an American publicly traded media company with headquarter offices in Irving, Texas; Midtown Manhattan; and Chicago, Illinois. The company is the largest television station owner in the United States, owning 197 te ...
to acquire eleven stations for $740 million in order to reduce Nexstar's national ownership reach under the federally imposed 39% cap and alleviate ownership conflicts with existing Nexstar properties once it completes a merger with Tribune Media
Tribune Media Company, also known as Tribune Company, was an American multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
Through Tribune Broadcasting, Tribune Media was one of the largest television broadcasting companies, owning 39 ...
. Included are stations WOI-DT
WOI-DT (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Ames, Iowa, United States, serving the Des Moines area as an affiliate of ABC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside CW affiliate KCWI-TV (channel 23), also licensed to Ames. Both stations sh ...
–KCWI-DT
KCWI-TV (channel 23) is a television station licensed to Ames, Iowa, United States, serving as the CW affiliate for the Des Moines area. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside ABC affiliate WOI-DT (channel 5), also licensed to Ames. Both stations ...
in Des Moines
Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...
and WQAD-TV
WQAD-TV (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Moline, Illinois, United States, serving the Quad Cities area as an affiliate of ABC and MyNetworkTV. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station maintains studios on Park 16th Street in Moline, and i ...
, based in Moline, Illinois
Moline ( ) is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in 2020, it is the largest city in Rock Island County. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline, Illinois, East M ...
but also serving neighboring Davenport and Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
(WPMT
WPMT, virtual channel 43 (Ultra high frequency, UHF digital terrestrial television, digital channel 36), is a Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox-network affiliate, affiliated television station city of license, licensed to York, Pennsylvania, United ...
/Harrisburg
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...
and WNEP-TV
WNEP-TV (channel 16) is a television station licensed to Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States, serving as the ABC affiliate for Northeastern Pennsylvania. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station maintains studios on Montage Mountain Road in Moosic. Th ...
/Scranton
Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...
–Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the secon ...
). Other Nexstar/Tribune stations going to Tegna are WZDX
WZDX (channel 54) is a television station in Huntsville, Alabama, United States, affiliated with Fox and MyNetworkTV. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station maintains studios on North Memorial Parkway ( US 72/231/431) in Huntsville, and its transmi ...
/Huntsville
Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...
, KFSM-TV
KFSM-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States, serving the Arkansas River Valley and Northwest Arkansas as an affiliate of CBS. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station has studios on South 48th Street in ...
/ Fort Smith– Fayetteville, WTIC-TV
WTIC-TV (channel 61) is a television station in Hartford, Connecticut, United States, serving the Hartford–New Haven market as an affiliate of the Fox network. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Waterbury-licensed CW affiliate WCCT-TV (chan ...
–WCCT-TV
WCCT-TV (channel 20), branded on-air as CW 20, is a television station licensed to Waterbury, Connecticut, United States, serving the Hartford–New Haven market as an affiliate of The CW. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Hartford-license ...
/Hartford
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
, and WATN-TV
WATN-TV (channel 24) is a television station in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside CW affiliate WLMT (channel 30). Both stations share studios at the Shelby Oaks Corporate Park on Shelb ...
–WLMT
WLMT (channel 30) is a television station in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, affiliated with The CW and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside American Broadcasting Company, ABC affiliate WATN-TV (channel 24). Both stations share stu ...
/Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
. The FCC approved the sale on September 16.
On May 6, 2019, it was reported that Tegna was going to acquire the 85% of the Justice Network and Quest from Cooper Media that it did not own already for $77 Million to close by the end of the second quarter. Cooper Media's president and general manager Brian Weiss transferred to Tegna and continue managing the two networks.
On June 11, 2019, it was reported Tegna Inc. purchased the Dispatch Broadcast Group
The Dispatch Broadcast Group was a media company based in Columbus, Ohio. The group was a division of the Dispatch Printing Company, former owner of the ''Columbus Dispatch'', and was owned by the Wolfe family since 1929 until its sale to Tegn ...
's television and radio assets, subject to regulatory approval, for $535 million. The purchase includes the WBNS television (CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
affiliate WBNS-TV
WBNS-TV (channel 10) is a television station in Columbus, Ohio, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside the company's sole radio properties, WBNS (1460 AM) and WBNS-FM (97.1). The stations share studios on Twin R ...
) and radio (WBNS (AM)
WBNS (1460 kHz) — branded 1460 ESPN Columbus — is a commercial AM radio station in Columbus, Ohio. The station currently broadcasts a sports talk format and carries ESPN Radio programming. It is owned by Tegna Inc., along with WBNS-FM (97.1& ...
and WBNS-FM
WBNS-FM (97.1 MHz) – branded ''97.1 The Fan'' – is a commercial sports radio station licensed to serve Columbus, Ohio, and services the Columbus metropolitan area. Owned by Tegna Inc., it and WBNS (1460 AM) are the only two radio stations cu ...
) stations in Columbus, the Ohio News Network
{{Table Oghamletters
Onn is the Irish name of the seventeenth letter of the Ogham alphabet, ᚑ, meaning "ash-tree", which is related to Welsh ''onn(en)'', from the root was *''ōs-, *osen'' 'ash'. Its phonetic value is
The letter's Bríatharog ...
, and NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
affiliate WTHR
WTHR (channel 13) is a television station in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside low-power, Class A MeTV affiliate WALV-CD (channel 46). Both stations share studios on North Meridian S ...
television in Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
. The sale was approved by the FCC on July 29, 2019, and was completed on August 8.
In December 2019, Tegna agreed to sell KFMB-AM-FM to Local Media San Diego for $5 million; the sale was completed on March 17, 2020.
A carriage dispute with DirecTV
DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It ...
, beginning on December 2, 2020, resulted in the removal of at least 60 Tegna stations in 51 markets, covering about 39% of TV homes, from the DirecTV, AT&T U-verse and AT&T TV streaming platforms.
A carriage dispute with Dish Network
DISH Network Corporation (DISH, an acronym for DIgital Sky Highway) is an American television provider and the owner of the direct-broadcast satellite provider Dish, commonly known as Dish Network, and the over-the-top IPTV service, Sling TV. A ...
, beginning on October 6, 2021, resulted in the removal of at least 64 Tegna stations in 53 markets, covering about nearly 3 million customers. On October 18, Dish Network filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission against Tegna. However, on February 4, 2022, Dish Network finally reached to an agreement with Tegna, resulting with all Tegna owned stations coming back.
Sale to Standard General and Apollo Global Management
In 2020, activist shareholder
An activist shareholder is a shareholder who uses an equity stake in a corporation to put pressure on its management. A fairly small stake (less than 10% of outstanding shares) may be enough to launch a successful campaign. In comparison, a full ta ...
Soo Kim, owner of Standard General
Standard General L.P. is an American hedge fund headquartered in New York City. It was founded in 2007 by Soohyung "Soo" Kim and Nicholas Singer with seed capital from Reservoir Capital Group. Since 2013, Soo Kim has been the Managing Partner and ...
, began to pursue control over Tegna, citing its "pattern of passivity" on the market. In March 2020, Tegna stated that it had turned down two acquisition offers by Gray Television
Gray Television, Inc. is an American publicly traded television broadcasting company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1946 by James Harrison Gray as Gray Communications Systems, the company owns or operates 180 stations across the United St ...
and Apollo Global Management
Apollo Global Management, Inc. is an American global private-equity firm. It provides investment management and invests in credit, private equity, and real assets. As of March 31, 2022, the company had $512 billion of assets under management, ...
, stating that "these two parties made their proposals shortly before the recent market dislocation due to the COVID-19 pandemic and both subsequently informed Tegna that they were ceasing discussions." In regards to other rumored offers from Byron Allen
Byron Allen Folks (born April 22, 1961) is the founder of the U.S. entertainment company Entertainment Studios which includes The Weather Channel. He is also a television producer, philanthropist, and comedian in his younger years.
Notable sh ...
and religious broadcaster TBN (the latter in partnership with Jahm Najafi
Jahm Najafi (born 1963) is an Iranian-American billionaire businessman. He runs Najafi Companies, a Phoenix-based private-equity firm, and is partial owner of the Phoenix Suns NBA team.
Early life
Najafi has a bachelor's degree in economics fro ...
), the company stated that "the other two parties have not signed confidentiality agreements to enable due diligence and have not delivered any information on financing sources".
Kim began to engage in a proxy fight
A proxy fight, proxy contest or proxy battle (sometimes even called a proxy war) is an unfriendly contest for the control over an organization. The event usually occurs when a corporation's stockholders develop opposition to some aspect of the corp ...
, with Standard General proposing four nominations to Tegna's board of directors at its next shareholders' meeting in April. Tegna's shareholders chose to re-elect all 12 current board members. Kim accepted the result of the vote, stating that the actions had helped to " hallengemanagement’s narrative about the Company’s performance and seeking greater transparency about Tegna’s numbers, acquisition metrics, and engagement with third parties." In 2021, Standard General once again put forward nominees to Tegna's board of directors, alleging that the company was underperforming and had issues with diversity, equity, and inclusion
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is a conceptual framework claims to promote the fair treatment and full participation of all people, especially in the workplace, including populations who have historically been under-represented or subject ...
; the latter came after a Black nominee put forward by Standard General withdrew, citing a previous incident involving CEO Dave Lougee in 2014. The company stated that Lougee "immediately acknowledged the incident and has stated that he made a mistake, for which he had apologized immediately at the time".
On February 22, 2022, Tegna announced that it had agreed to be taken private by a group led by Standard General and Apollo Global Management for $24 per-share, valuing the company at $5.4 billion. The company, which will retain the Tegna name, will be controlled by an affiliate of Standard General, with Standard Media
Standard Media Group is an American broadcast and digital media company based in Nashville, Tennessee. Standard Media was founded by Deborah A. McDermott, who serves as the company's CEO. Previously, McDermott was the chief operating officer of ...
CEO Deb McDermott (who previously led Young Broadcasting
Young Broadcasting, LLC was an American media company that owned or operated 12 television stations in 10 markets with a total U.S. television household coverage of 5.9%. The company was formerly known as Young Broadcasting Inc. and was the outgr ...
and Media General
Media General was an American media company based in Richmond, Virginia. The company's origins can be traced back to 1887 when Richmond attorney Joseph Bryan acquired ''The Richmond Daily Times'', which later became ''The Richmond Times-Dispatch' ...
) becoming CEO. Affiliates of AGM, as well as Cox Media Group
CMG Media Corporation (doing business as Cox Media Group) is an American media conglomerate principally owned by Apollo Global Management in conjunction with Cox Enterprises, which maintains a 29% minority stake in the company. The company pri ...
(which is principally owned by AGM, with Cox Enterprises
Cox Enterprises, Inc. is a privately held global conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximately 55,000 employees and $21 billion in total revenue. Its major operating subsidiaries are Cox Communications and Co ...
as a minority shareholder) and other investors, will hold non-voting shares in the company. Tegna's digital advertising subsidiary Premion will be held as a standalone business between Standard and CMG. The sale includes a clause that will slowly increase the value that Standard and Apollo will pay per-share if the sale takes longer than nine months to close.
The sale will also result in the realignment of station holdings presently associated with both companies: Standard Media's four stations WDKA, WLNE
WLNE-TV (channel 6) is a television station licensed to New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States, serving as the ABC affiliate for the Providence, Rhode Island area. The station is owned by Standard Media, and maintains studios in the Orms B ...
, KBSI, and KLKN
KLKN (channel 8) is a television station in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States, affiliated with ABC. Owned by Standard Media, the station maintains studios on 10th Street south of downtown Lincoln and broadcasts from a transmitter located near Ut ...
will be sold to Cox Media Group, which will then divest its Boston station WFXT
WFXT (channel 25) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with the Fox network and owned by Cox Media Group. Its studios are located on Fox Drive (near the Boston-Providence Turnpike) in Dedham, and its t ...
to an affiliate of Standard General, and acquire WFAA
WFAA (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex as an affiliate of ABC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Decatur-licensed Estrella TV affiliate KMPX (channel 29), ...
/KMPX
KMPX (channel 29) is a television station licensed to Decatur, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex as an affiliate of the Spanish-language Estrella TV network. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Dallas-licensed ABC a ...
, KHOU
KHOU (channel 11) is a television station in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Conroe, Texas, Conroe-licensed Quest (American TV network), Quest station KTBU (channel 55). Both sta ...
/KTBU
KTBU (channel 55) is a television station licensed to Conroe, Texas, United States, broadcasting the digital multicast network Quest to the Houston area. It is owned and operated by Tegna Inc. alongside CBS affiliate KHOU (channel 11). Both stat ...
, and KVUE
KVUE (channel 24) is a television station in Austin, Texas, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Tegna Inc. The station's studios are located on Steck Avenue just east of Loop 1 in northwest Austin, and its transmitter is located ...
, from Tegna.
The sale was approved by Standard General and Apollo Global Management on May 17, 2022. The sale was then approved by the US Team Telecom on November 18, 2022. It still awaits FCC approval.
In October 2022, Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee
The Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committees of the United States House of Representatives. Established in 1795, it has operated continuously—with various name changes and jurisdictional changes—for more than ...
Frank Pallone
Frank Joseph Pallone Jr. (; born October 30, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for , serving since 1988. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 3rd district from 1988 to 1 ...
and Speaker of the House
The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England.
Usage
The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...
issued a letter to the FCC expressing concerns for the transaction, arguing that it "would violate the FCC's mandate by restricting access to local news coverage, cutting jobs at local television stations, and raising prices on consumers." They specifically cited statements by Standard General regarding plans for a Washington, D.C. bureau to produce content for local newscasts, and arguing that Tegna's stations had "too many employees". Standard General responded to the letter, denying that they planned to cut jobs or hub content, and promoting that Tegna would become the largest female-run and minority-owned broadcaster in the United States. They also responded to objections by NewsGuild-CWA
The NewsGuild-CWA is a labor union founded by newspaper journalists in 1933. In addition to improving wages and working conditions, its constitution says its purpose is to fight for honesty in journalism and the news industry's business practices ...
describing Standard General as "backed by anonymous investors located in the Cayman Islands", stating that the entirety of its board is represented by U.S. interests.
Properties
Tegna owns or operates 68 television stations located in 54 markets (including fourteen duopolies); it also owns two radio stations in Columbus, Ohio. Twenty-two of the company's stations are affiliated with NBC (including one digital subchannel of KBMT
KBMT (channel 12) is a television station in Beaumont, Texas, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC and NBC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside low-power broadcasting#Television, low-power MyNetworkTV affiliate KUIL- ...
and two semi-satellite
A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tran ...
s of KCEN-TV
KCEN-TV (channel 6) is a television station licensed to Temple, Texas, United States, serving Central Texas as an affiliate of NBC. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station maintains studios on North 3rd Street in downtown Temple, with a news bureau and ...
and WCSH
WCSH (channel 6) is a television station in Portland, Maine, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Tegna Inc. The station's studios are located on Congress Square in Downtown Portland, and its transmitter is located on Winn Mountain in ...
), fifteen are affiliated with CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
, thirteen are affiliated with ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
, and six are affiliated with Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
. In addition, the company owns seven CW affiliates (including three digital subchannels of KFMB-TV
KFMB-TV (channel 8) is a television station in San Diego, San Diego, California, United States, affiliated with CBS, The CW, and MyNetworkTV. Owned by Tegna Inc., it has studios on Engineer Road in the Kearny Mesa, San Diego, Kearny Mesa section ...
, KYTX
KYTX (channel 19) is a television station licensed to Nacogdoches, Texas, United States, serving East Texas as an affiliate of CBS and The CW Plus. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station has studios near Loop 323 in the southeastern portion of Tyle ...
, and WMAZ-TV
WMAZ-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Macon, Georgia, United States, affiliated with CBS and The CW Plus. The station is owned by Tegna Inc., and maintains studios on Gray Highway on the northeast side of Macon; its transmitter is lo ...
), four Estrella TV
Estrella TV () is an American Spanish-language broadcast television network owned by the Estrella Media subsidiary of HPS Investment Partners, LLC. The network primarily features programs, the vast majority of which are produced by the network ...
affiliates (including three digital subchannels of KENS
KENS (channel 5) is a television station in San Antonio, Texas, United States, affiliated with CBS and owned by Tegna Inc. The station's studios are located on Fredericksburg Road in northwest San Antonio, near the South Texas Medical Center, wh ...
, KTTU and KVUE
KVUE (channel 24) is a television station in Austin, Texas, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Tegna Inc. The station's studios are located on Steck Avenue just east of Loop 1 in northwest Austin, and its transmitter is located ...
), ten MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...
affiliates (including five digital subchannels of KFMB-TV, KIDY
KIDY (channel 6) is a television station in San Angelo, Texas, United States, affiliated with Fox and MyNetworkTV. The station is owned by Tegna Inc., and has studios on South Chadbourne Street in San Angelo; its transmitter is located in rural ...
, KXVA
KXVA (channel 15) is a television station in Abilene, Texas, United States, affiliated with Fox and MyNetworkTV. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station broadcasts from a transmitter located in rural southwestern Callahan County. Its operations and lo ...
, WQAD-TV
WQAD-TV (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Moline, Illinois, United States, serving the Quad Cities area as an affiliate of ABC and MyNetworkTV. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station maintains studios on Park 16th Street in Moline, and i ...
, and WZDX
WZDX (channel 54) is a television station in Huntsville, Alabama, United States, affiliated with Fox and MyNetworkTV. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station maintains studios on North Memorial Parkway ( US 72/231/431) in Huntsville, and its transmi ...
), three independent stations (including two digital subchannels of KTVB
KTVB (channel 7) is a television station in Boise, Idaho, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Tegna Inc. The station's studios are located on West Fairview Avenue (off I-184) in Boise, and its transmitter is located at the Bogus Bas ...
and its satellite of KTFT-LD), a low-powered MeTV
MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television program ...
affiliate, and a Quest
A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. The word serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of ever ...
owned-and-operated station. It also provides operational services to another Fox affiliate, WUPW in Toledo, through a shared services agreement
In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it is a sort of lease or time ...
with that station's owner American Spirit Media
American Spirit Media, LLC is a broadcasting company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded by Thomas B. Henson in 2003 as Ottumwa Media Holdings, it owns television stations in several cities in the Southeastern United States.
History
In 2 ...
(agreements that were carried over from WTOL's previous ownership; ASM had acted in a similar capacity with several stations).
Television stations
Stations are listed alphabetically by state and city of license
In American, Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator.
In North American broa ...
.
Networks
* ''Idaho's Very Own 24/7'' (KTVB
KTVB (channel 7) is a television station in Boise, Idaho, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Tegna Inc. The station's studios are located on West Fairview Avenue (off I-184) in Boise, and its transmitter is located at the Bogus Bas ...
7.2)
* ''NewsWatch 15
NewsWatch on Channel 15 (popularly known as NewsWatch 15) is an American regional cable television channel serving New Orleans, Louisiana. The channel is owned as a joint venture between Tegna and local cable provider Cox Communications. NewsWat ...
''
* True Crime Network
True Crime Network (formerly Justice Network) is an American digital multicast television network that is operated by True Crime Network, LLC, a limited liability company, which is owned by Tegna Inc. The network specializes in true crime, inv ...
* Quest
A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. The word serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of ever ...
* Twist
Twist may refer to:
In arts and entertainment Film, television, and stage
* ''Twist'' (2003 film), a 2003 independent film loosely based on Charles Dickens's novel ''Oliver Twist''
* ''Twist'' (2021 film), a 2021 modern rendition of ''Olive ...
Radio stations
Television shows
In 2015, Tegna Media test-ran a limited-run informative talk show hosted by Dallas-based bishop T. D. Jakes
Thomas Dexter Jakes (born June 9, 1957), known as T. D. Jakes, is an American bishop, author and filmmaker. He is the bishop of The Potter's House, a non-denominational American megachurch. Jakes's church services and Evangelistic sermons are ...
on its owned stations in Dallas, Atlanta, Minneapolis and Cleveland. The show, titled ''T.D. Jakes'', was co-produced by Debmar-Mercury
Debmar-Mercury is a television syndication company. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Lionsgate, it was formed from a merger of Debmar Studios and Mercury Entertainment in 2006.
History Debmar Studios
Debmar-Mercury's history begins on October 31, ...
, Tegna Media, 44 Blue Productions, Jakes' own production company, TDJ Enterprises and EnLight Productions and lasted from August 17, 2016, to September 8, 2017.
On December 9, Tegna greenlit
To green-light is to give permission to proceed with a project. The term is a reference to the green traffic signal, indicating "go ahead".
Film industry
In the context of the film and television industries, to green-light something is to ...
the series for an entire run for the 2016–2017 broadcast season. The series debuted on September 12 on most, if not all Tegna-owned stations, as well as several large markets, including Baltimore (WMAR-TV
WMAR-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. The station's studios and offices are located on York Road (Maryland Route 45) in Towson (though with ...
), Detroit (WMYD
WMYD (channel 20) is an independent television station in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside ABC affiliate WXYZ-TV (channel 7). Both stations share studios at Broadcast House on 10 Mile Road in ...
), Orlando (WFTV
WFTV (channel 9) is a television station in Orlando, Florida, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Cox Media Group alongside independent station WRDQ (channel 27). Both stations share studios on East South Street (SR 15) in downto ...
/WRDQ
WRDQ (channel 27) is an independent television station in Orlando, Florida, United States. It is owned Cox Media Group alongside ABC affiliate WFTV (channel 9). Both stations share studios on East South Street in downtown Orlando, while WRDQ's tr ...
), Chicago (WCIU-TV
WCIU-TV (channel 26) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, affiliated with The CW. It is the flagship television property of locally based Weigel Broadcasting, which has owned the station since its inception, and is siste ...
), San Antonio (KSAT-TV
KSAT-TV (channel 12) is a television station in San Antonio, Texas, United States, affiliated with ABC. Owned by Graham Media Group, the station maintains studios on North St. Mary's Street on the northern edge of downtown, and its transmitter ...
), and San Diego (KGTV
KGTV (channel 10) is a television station in San Diego, California, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. The station's studios are located on Air Way in the Riverview-Webster section of San Diego, and its ...
). Debmar-Mercury, however, is not participating in the production run, being replaced by independent company Flow Media Partners.
''T.D. Jakes'' ended in September 2017 and was replaced with news and entertainment show ''Daily Blast Live'', which premiered on September 11, 2017.
Other shows Tegna Media has on first-run syndication across most of its stations are ''Sister Circle'' (also shown on cable network TV One), and reality competition ''Sing Like A Star''.
In January 2018, Tegna announced a partnership with Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainm ...
to handle syndication distribution and advertising sales for its original programs.
Digital sites
Gannett Company
Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.[USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...]
, as well as Gannett's newspaper and broadcast properties throughout the United States. It owns:
* G/O Digital
* Premion
* Locked On Podcast Network
Former digital sites
* Cars.com
Cars.com is an automotive classified website focused on the United States that launched in June 1998 and now is the second largest automotive classified site. Its headquarters are located in Chicago, Illinois.
History
A 2003 ''Library Journal' ...
– Tegna completed the spin-off of Cars.com on June 1, 2017.[One of the most prominent Tegna Digital properties.]
* Cofactor Digital (ShopLocal) – On December 15, 2016, sold Cofactor to Liquidus, a digital marketing solutions company.
* CareerBuilder
CareerBuilder is an employment website founded in 1995 with offices in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. In 2008, it had the largest market share among online employment websites in the United States, where it was founded. CareerBuil ...
– Sold to Apollo Global Management.
Former broadcast assets
Television stations
Stations are arranged in alphabetical order by state and city of license
In American, Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator.
In North American broa ...
. The list includes stations owned by Tegna, Inc. during its former existence as the Gannett Company subsidiary Gannett Broadcasting, Inc.
* (**) – Indicates a station that was built and/or signed-on by Gannett.
* 1 Owned by Sander Media, LLC, Gannett operated these stations through a shared services
Shared services is the provision of a service by one part of an organization or group, where that service had previously been found, in more than one part of the organization or group. Thus the funding and resourcing of the service is shared and th ...
agreement (SSA).
* 2 As part of the Gannett/Belo merger, KMOV, KTVK, and KASW were transferred to Sander Media, LLC; Gannett planned to operate the stations through shared service agreements. However, on December 16, 2013, the Department of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...
ordered that the parties (Gannett, Belo and Sander) had a period of 120 days to divest KMOV to a government-approved independent third-party that would be barred from entering into any agreements with Gannett, in order to fully preserve competition in advertising sales with KSDK. On December 23, shortly after the approval and completion of the Gannett/Belo deal, Meredith Corporation
Meredith Corporation was an American media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, that owned magazines, television stations, websites, and radio stations. Its publications had a readership of more than 120 million and paid circulation of more ...
announced that it would purchase KMOV, KTVK and KASW in a $407.4 million deal. The KMOV sale was completed on February 28, 2014. The KTVK/KASW sale was completed on June 19.Gannett-Sander Complete Phoenix Sale
''TVNewsCheck'', Retrieved June 19, 2014.
Cable networks
These cable networks were owned by Belo prior to acquisition by Gannett/Tegna:
*
TXCN
*
Northwest Cable News
Northwest Cable News (NWCN) was an American cable news television channel owned by Tegna Media. The channel, which launched on December 18, 1995, provided 24-hour rolling news coverage focused primarily on the Pacific Northwest region of the Uni ...
Radio stations
(a partial listing)
Notes
License ownership/operational agreements
Mergers and acquisitions
Satellites, semi-satellites and translators
References
External links
*
{{Tegna
Television broadcasting companies of the United States
American companies established in 2015
Mass media companies established in 2015
2015 establishments in Virginia
Companies based in McLean, Virginia
Corporate spin-offs
Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Announced mergers and acquisitions