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networks, the bare-knuckle syndicators, and the bulked up stations across the street. The tiny groups out there—the family owned, the regional, those with but one or two stations—were largely expected to bring to an end to what has been, for some, a half-century in local television, and cash out. Yet as 2015 reaches its midpoint, a funny thing has happened. Several tiny groups, while acknowledging a rapidly altered landscape that has likely made their day-to-day travails more challeng- ing, say they’re not going anywhere. With the proper mix of attributes, those broadcasters are able to not only plug along, but actually thrive. In some cases, it’s the right affiliation, or a regional focus, or a wealthy owner intent on winning the local battle. In just about all cases, it’s an entrenched local brand and community roots that have grown steadfast after decades in the game. The survival of the small guys is about being first and being best on local stories—the most resources, the sharpest local savvy—because an owner is fully committed, and shares a sensibility with viewers. John Kittleman, general manager of KRGV Har- lingen-Weslaco (Texas), part of the two-station Man- ship Family group, says being small has its benefits. KRGV is up against stations owned by Sinclair, Nex- star and Entravision, but having the same owner for over a half-century has cemented the station’s stellar reputation in the Rio Grande Valley. “I hear a lot of, corporate did this and we lost our traffic department, or we have to clear this show in all of our markets,” says Kittleman of his colleagues around the nation. “We can do one thing [here] in the Valley and another thing [at WBRZ] Baton Rouge. With the larger groups, their hands are tied.” While the path for the Manships, the Dispatch Broadcast Groups and the Sarkes- Tarzians of the world will not get easier, and a lack of leverage with the more retrans-hungry networks and MVPDs may ultimately doom the smaller guys, they’re not, for the moment, complaining. With its outsize presence in Oklahoma, David Griffin, chair- man and CEO of Griffin Communications, which owns Oklahoma City leader KWTV and Tulsa power- house station KOTV (and a smaller duopoly partner in both markets), disputes the notion that his group is even small. “Our strategy is, focus on the state of Oklahoma, be the best in Oklahoma,” Griffin says. “I don’t think anyone else has that strategy. If that’s your philosophy, you can have a great business.” Go Big Or Go Home The modern consolidation era started in earnest when groups including Sinclair and Nexstar saw mass acquisitions as key to their strategy around 2011, and became factors in most every group that went on the block. The challenge was clear for other broadcast- ers—if you’re not seeking out a partner for a merger or acquisition, your competition is. Gannett acquired Belo for $2.2 billion and Tribune grabbed Local TV for $2.7 billion in 2013. Media General, fresh off its acquisition of Young Broadcasting, jumped in bed with LIN Media last year in a $1.6 billion deal. Station sales peaked in 2013, when $9.7 billion worth of TV stations changed hands. Last year’s total, $4.6 billion, was still greater than the value of sta- tions sold from 2008 to 2012. The broadcast landscape has been reengineered amidst the mergers and acquisitions. B&C’s annual Top 25 Station Groups list this year saw Media Gen- eral crack the top 10; in 2010, it was No. 24. Five years ago, Tribune weighed in at No. 7, and most recently trailed only Ion Media in terms of U.S. coverage. The acquisitions era has seen major groups such as Belo, Newport and Lo- cal TV absorbed and, at least nominally, dis- appear. Smaller groups executing exit strate- gies from television include NEPSK, which recently sold WAGM in Presque Isle, Maine, to Gray Television; the Spain family, which sold WTVA Tupelo, Miss., to Heartland Me- dia; and ICA Broadcasting, which agreed to sell KOSA Odessa (Texas) to Gray last month. Perry Sook, president and CEO of Nexstar, speaks frequently of the need to scale up to best negotiate with networks, syndicators and MVPDs, to maximize corporate efficien- CoverStory IF ONE COULD SUM UP the past few years in local broadcast in a single word, it’s scale. As in, scale up quickly, or die at the hands of the increasingly bullying 6 BROADCASTING & CABLE JUNE 1, 2015 BROADCASTINGCABLE.COM WHY THIS MATTERS Being a sub-scale station group in the age of con- solidation paradoxically has its perks, execs at smaller broadcasters say. “You’re just going to have to have scale to negotiate with scale. That’s one of the themes that drives Nexstar.” —Perry Sook, Nexstar president and CEO WBNS Columbus investigative reporter Nathan Baca digs deep on behalf of Dispatch and local viewers. Too Small to Fail How gritty TV station groups are surviving—and thriving—among the giants By Michael Malone [email protected] | @BCMikeMalone Stephanie Bertini embedded with a migrant family for south Texas’ KRGV to show viewers what those lives are like. 0601_CoverStory.indd 1 5/29/15 10:50 AM
