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WADL to be sold to Nexstar (through Mission Broadcasting)

Discussion pertaining to Detroit, Ann Arbor, Port Huron, and SW Ontario
Sfpcp
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Re: WADL to be sold to Nexstar (through Mission Broadcasting)

Post by Sfpcp » Mon May 22, 2023 6:02 am

Editorcj wrote:
Wed May 17, 2023 10:08 pm
Perhaps Kevin will buy some more cars for his collection with the money.
Maybe Archie’s Weird Mysteries could come back at 7AM, (reference to an obscure DIC show. If I have to explain it it probably isn’t funny.)



Editorcj
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Re: WADL to be sold to Nexstar (through Mission Broadcasting)

Post by Editorcj » Mon May 22, 2023 11:59 am

Seems like Kevin will be paying his taxes with the proceeds, both his outstanding tax bill and the capital gains from the sale. I'm sure he's trying to negotiate a lesser amount than what is due.



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GREATLAKESVET
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Re: WADL to be sold to Nexstar (through Mission Broadcasting)

Post by GREATLAKESVET » Sat May 27, 2023 10:54 am

Sucks to be 38. Long-timers start looking for new jobs. YOU DON'T WANT TO WORK FOR THESE PARASITES!


Great Lakes Vet

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MWmetalhead
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Re: WADL to be sold to Nexstar (through Mission Broadcasting)

Post by MWmetalhead » Sat May 27, 2023 1:14 pm

I doubt 38's staff is all that large to begin with.



SixPlusOne
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Re: WADL to be sold to Nexstar (through Mission Broadcasting)

Post by SixPlusOne » Wed Jun 21, 2023 2:28 pm

Courtesy: TheDesk.Net

Group Asks FCC To Deny WADL Acquisition By Mission

"On Tuesday, the American Television Alliance (ATVA) said the purchase was almost certainly intended to provide Nexstar Media Group control of WADL (Channel 38). In doing so, the ATVA says Nexstar would be in violation of federal rules that limit the number of broadcast television stations a company may own at any given time."

"Last month, Mission said it had agreed to buy WADL from Adell Broadcasting for $75 million. The Desk reported that the move was likely intended to provide a new home for CW Network programming once WKBD drops its affiliation in September."


https://thedesk.net/2023/06/atva-oppose ... l-detroit/



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MWmetalhead
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Re: WADL to be sold to Nexstar (through Mission Broadcasting)

Post by MWmetalhead » Wed Jun 21, 2023 5:09 pm

The ATVA is almost certainly correct on this point (hence, the $75 million purchase price):
But the ATVA said the FCC shouldn’t be fooled by Mission’s proposed acquisition of WADL, because the deal really gives Nexstar total control of the station. To date, all of Mission’s stations are operated by Nexstar under shared services agreements, which allows Nexstar to operate everything from a local station’s ad sales team to its news department, and even negotiate carriage of Mission-owned stations on cable and satellite platforms.

The ATVA said that last point is particularly problematic, because Nexstar will almost certainly package WADL with dozens of ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox affiliates when it comes time to negotiate new carriage of those stations on cable, satellite and streaming video platforms. In turn, viewers will pay more to watch WADL, the ATVA said.
Right now, cable-sat-streaming providers probably don't pay a penny to WADL. Those providers are obviously concerned that will change moving forward, as Nexstar will probably roll the station into regional or national retransmission agreements.

Whether or not the 39 percent rule is (a) described correctly by the ATVA or (b) even in play here is something I'll leave to subject matter experts to analyze.



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Splouge
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Re: WADL to be sold to Nexstar (through Mission Broadcasting)

Post by Splouge » Wed Jun 21, 2023 5:55 pm

I'm not an expert, but I've been doing some research, so I'll give it my best shot. Right away, I know for a fact that the 39% rule does not apply, since Nexstar won't be the licensee of the station.

As far as I can tell, Nexstar's control of retransmission consent for WADL will be perfectly legal. It would only be prohibited if both of the following apply:
  • If Nexstar outright owned a TV station in the Detroit DMA that was among the top 4 highest-rated TV stations in the area, and
  • If WADL were also among the top 4 highest-rated TV stations in the market area.
Not even one of these apply

EDIT: More specifically, companies are prohibited from handling retrans for more than one top-4-rated-in-DMA TV station, even in markets where said company doesn't own any stations. For example, if WTOL and WTVG hypothetically wanted Nexstar to handle their retrans agreements (for some reason), Nexstar would only be allowed to do so for one of them, unless they outright owned both of them, then they could do so for both.


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Splouge
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Re: WADL to be sold to Nexstar (through Mission Broadcasting)

Post by Splouge » Fri Jun 23, 2023 2:42 am

I've been looking at the LMA for WADL and comparing it to the LMAs, JSAs, and SSAs of Mission's other stations, and I see nothing out of the ordinary.

The article says that the ATVA claims that "all of Mission’s stations are operated by Nexstar under shared services agreements, which allows Nexstar to... negotiate carriage of Mission-owned stations on cable and satellite platforms." However, as far as I can tell, Mission, not Nexstar, controls the retransmission agreements for all of the stations that they currently own except for WPIX, which has its retrans controlled by Nexstar. This is perfectly legal, since Nexstar doesn't control the retrans for any other station in the New York DMA. In WADL's LMA, Mission has delegated retrans negotiations to Nexstar. Again, this is perfectly fine, since Nexstar doesn't control the retrans for any other stations in the Detroit DMA. And Mission can even revoke Nexstar's authority to negotiate WADL's retrans at any time. It's also worth mentioning that WADL's LMA says in regards to retrans fees, that Nexstar "shall, upon receipt, remit such fees to Licensee." This means Mission will get WADL's retrans fees.

According to the article, the ATVA also claims that "Mission cannot sell the station to any third parties without Nexstar’s consent" However, this is actually a standard part of many LMAs. In fact, Nexstar can't leave the agreement without Mission's consent either. And the agreement even says "such consent shall not be unreasonably withheld."

It should also be made clear that in WADL's LMA, Mission can enter into contracts as they please, Nexstar can advise them, but Mission has ultimate authority to make the final decision. Mission will also be in charge of WADL's programming, personnel, fees, and operations*. These, once again, are true of many of Mission's other agreements with Nexstar.

Now, looking at the Form of Agreement for the Sale of Commercial Time, it says that Mission will get 70% of WADL's advertising revenues. While the other 30% will be retained by Nexstar as a fee for their advertising-related services, this is not to be confused with the $155,500 monthly service fee. All this is standard for advertising agreements

*UPDATE: In regards to operations, WADL's LMA says that subject to Mission's "direction and control", Nexstar "may carry out master control functions", and "maintain and repair (as needed) the transmission facilities", and I'll say it again, this is typical of LMAs. And in regards to programming, WADL's LMA says that Mission may request that Nexstar "assist... in procuring programming", but Mission will still have the final say in programming matters and Mission will still be responsible for making sure that all programming conforms to FCC regulations. Once again, this is not grounds for a denial, just look at WPIX's agreement, Mission gave Nexstar full control over WPIX's programming, but Mission is still in charge of making sure that the programming on WPIX conforms to FCC regulations, and Mission can refuse to air programming on WPIX.

UPDATE 2: I found the full filing by the ATVA, and it's even more idiotic than I expected. They're concerned about the fact that each month, Mission may choose to give Nexstar a performance bonus, even going as far to call it "highly unusual." I'm beginning to think that they have read very few other LMAs, and that the ones they have read, they probably didn't even read in full, because this is not "highly unusual", it's standard.
Last edited by Splouge on Sun Jun 25, 2023 6:11 pm, edited 5 times in total.


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MWmetalhead
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Re: WADL to be sold to Nexstar (through Mission Broadcasting)

Post by MWmetalhead » Fri Jun 23, 2023 8:05 pm

Good info and analysis, Splouge.



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Splouge
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Re: WADL to be sold to Nexstar (through Mission Broadcasting)

Post by Splouge » Sat Jun 24, 2023 12:24 pm

MWmetalhead wrote:
Fri Jun 23, 2023 8:05 pm
Good info and analysis, Splouge.
Absolutely! I'm still looking thru the agreements, but I think I covered the important points. I've definitely droned on more than enough here! :P

If I find anything else, I'll add it to my previous reply instead of creating a new one


"Wanna watch some syndicated slop with very little budget or entertainment value? You got it buddy!"

-Byron "The Broadcast Butcher" Allen

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