KLFY TV-10's parent company, Young Broadcasting Inc., is going up for auction on July 14 in New York, according to an article in The Tennessean. Young operates 10 television stations nationwide, including the local CBS affiliate. The auction comes at secured lenders’ insistence on the heels of mounting financial problems for the company. Its stock has plummeted over the past year and in February, Young filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid steep declines in ad revenue and increased competition. According to court documents, the company has total assets of approximately $574.6 million and total liabilities of about $980.4 million.
KLFY General Manager Mike Barras could not be reached for comment.
... written by PlumpyBoy , July 02, 2009 - 06:34 pm
Would be nice if someone locally would step up and buy Klfy...
... written by wowwee , July 02, 2009 - 08:32 pm
Boy, I wish I could buy it and then I would empty it out and get new talent.
... written by Stray Cat , July 03, 2009 - 02:15 am
LUS should make a bid. Then we can see endless re-runs of the council meetings. Whoooo Haaa!
... written by Danb828 , July 04, 2009 - 04:59 pm
Don't think someone local will buy, the group of stations is probably going to be auctioned off collectivly or re-organized. Besides, anyone in the area have $20-30million, which is what KLFY would sell for. Young has some really great stations, including KLFY. Their stations in Richmond, Knoxville, and Nashville are heavy hitters. All the stations have been undercapitalized to the point that just putting out the HD was a problem. Something to think about...Gannett likes to have papers and tv stations in the same market. Synergy.
... written by wowwee , July 04, 2009 - 06:36 pm
Well, I certainly hope it is not Gannett--they've done a superb job in running The Daily Advertiser into the GROUND! $20-30 million--I thought it would be wayyyyyyyy more than that. I think someone in the area would NOT make the necessary changes to bring this station where it needs to be--too many politics involved. KLFY is good; they have the potential to be GREAT!
... written by TV Man , July 05, 2009 - 12:03 pm
7 to 9x cash flow..I'd estimate revenue at $9 million a year (thats being generous as a station in market size 120 ) Don't know what expense line looks like...but if the net is 5 million..there you go. However, this is an auction. Lots of deals to be had in broadcast land, so I wouldn't be surprised to see the whole of Young Broadcasting go for pennies on the dollar. You have to include KRON in San Fran. The white elepahant that eventually took Young Broadcasting to its knees. What ever happens, as is normally the case, The GM, GSM, NewsDirector, etc will be (most likely) replaced. There are broadcast groups out there, or leveraged investers, that still have the chops left in this economy to pay many millions for this group. Sinclair, Hearst, Local TV, etc. Don't be surprised if someone like Sinclair jumps all over this...David Smith loves a bargin. If a bottom feeder gets its hands on KLFY, say good-by to what you've gotten used to viewing. If one of the larger, more professional groups land Young, then you could see a huge improvement in its content and presentation.
... written by Wowwee , July 05, 2009 - 08:31 pm
If I had the mulah, these are the changes I would make. 1. Scratch the morning show & the mid-afternoon show--no longer needed. Just speculating--I'd love to see the numbers. I haven't watched in YEARS! 2. Create a one hour newscast--5:00- 6:00. This should be sufficient time to DO justice to local stories--not just headlines. 3. 10:00 Rewind--This show would be just to revisit earlier stories. 4. 12:OO a.m.--Replay of 10:00 broadcast 5. Definitely get rid of ALL of the overpaid talent--time for younger, fresher faces. 6. GM, GSM, NewsDirector--GONE! 7. Update website to include interactive components--like blogging, etc. Up to the hour tweets, etc.
... written by ipa , July 06, 2009 - 08:56 pm
Wowwee, I agree with some of your ideas, but there are others that would do more to disadvantage KLFY than help it. Getting rid of PASSE PARTOUT and MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR would eliminate the longest-running local morning show and only daytime news program, giving the competition (KATC and, to an extent, KPLC) more viewers in the process. A 10:00 P.M. rewind would probably send viewers to the other local channels, especially if no breaking news or other exclusive stories were not included in this broadcast. While I like the idea of a one-hour newscast, running it in 5:00 P.M. hour would conflict with the network news, which could put KLFY in the same problem KRON in San Francisco had--bumping heads with the network, thus risking losing network affiliation just as KRON did.
With all of that said, a one-hour newscast would definitely do justice to local stories and issues. KLFY could use the primetime access hour (6:00 P.M.-7:00 P.M. CT) to air this program, thus avoiding the risk of preempting network programming. The discussion then shifts to KLFY's desire to move ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT from the 6:30 slot or to remove it completely from the schedule . A midnight replay of the 10:00 report would help KLFY by allowing viewers that couldn't watch the earlier broadcast for one reason or another to see the program, providing an opportunity to boost ratings of the earlier broadcasts and--as a result--bring in more advertising revenue. This shouldn't be a problem from a programming standpoint considering KLFY preempts THE LATE LATE SHOW by an hour for syndicated fare. An updated website with the interactive components you mention would also be a nice investment for the station.
I don't want to speculate on whether or not someone will lose his/her job, but chances are that the new ownership--no matter who it is--will make changes. I wouldn't be shocked to see an immediate shake-up in the news department, but any kind of major, immediate "house cleaning" would be somewhat surprising.
... written by wowwee , July 07, 2009 - 01:51 am
ipa, Thanks for the discourse. Passe Partout and MYN may be the longest running shows, but you would have to admit that they are cumbered with weak talent and an overall staleness--KATC is much better here--imho.
I don't think there would be much conflict if the CBS evening news would be at the 6:00 time slot and Entertainment tonight would fall in at the 6:30 slot--where's the tension here?
As far as the personnel changes are concerned, I hope my earlier post wasn't too harsh--asking for people to lose their job is certainly not on my agenda. However, the media landscape has changed so much that one only has to wonder, what does it take to get it done? TMZ has become a giant overnight and their newsroom is scant to none--VJs all over the place.
Lastly, I hope that it's not some bottom feeder as stated in an earlier post; I've seen what they've done to some B stations; if they get their hands on KLFY--I shutter to think!
... written by Palm Frite , July 07, 2009 - 02:41 am
I would put old horror movies on at midnight Saturday. That's the ticket. A topless news would be good but I doubt it will happen.
... written by ipa , July 07, 2009 - 08:02 pm
Wowwee,
I certainly agree with you that the talent on GOOD MORNING ACADIANA is stronger than that on PASSE PARTOUT and MYN. Frankly, the talent at KATC is, on the whole, stronger than KLFY with a couple exceptions (Darla Montgomery being one of them). As for conflict with bumping the CBS EVENING NEWS to 6:00 in favor of an hour-long 5:00 report: I'm not sure what the affiliation contract between CBS and KLFY requires them to broadcast. Considering that KLFY airs the LATE LATE SHOW an hour later than the slot the network gave it and that other CBS affiliates air other non-primetime shows outside of their standard slots, it's possible that the Katie Couric broadcast could be run on tape delay in Lafayette.
I've heard rumors on a message board that Raycom is one of the companies interested in purchasing KLFY. Raycom owns KPLC and WAFB, among other stations in the southern U. S., and devotes a great deal of attention to their stations' news operations. If Raycom does wind up with KLFY, expect to see changes and improvements in the Channel 10 news department. I'd be surprised if a "bottom feeder" picks up KLFY, but if that does happen, we might have to hold a TV 10 memorial service à la Michael Jackson's.
--
Palm Frite,
I'll drink to your suggestion of old horror movies on late Saturday nights. That and/or local pro wrestling would capture an audience. The topless newscast suggestion caused me spit out my tea and got some of the other guys in the office to start a poll about who they would most like to see in the role of anchor.
... written by erpud914 , July 07, 2009 - 08:13 pm
Danb828 needs to get his facts straight regarding Young's station "in Nashville" being a "heavy hitter." WKRN has been a weak #3 behind WSMV and WTVF for many, many years and remains so.
... written by wowwee , July 07, 2009 - 11:47 pm
erpud914, You're right--I thought WKRN had taken a nose dive as well. About the topless newscast suggestion--KLFY caters to an older demographic--enough said. About talent: I would count many within the KLFY newsroom to be talented, Darla is ONE, she's not the ONLY one--she's certainly the most popular, which goes VERY far these days! I'd love to see her & Hoyt co-anchor again........anyway......just dreaming!
... written by wowwee , July 21, 2009 - 12:55 am
KLFY was purchased by a group of banks...um....less than a year after they were bailed out.....makes sense?
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