The Takeover of WPRI’s Parent Company is Approved by Feds and Shifting Political Spending
Monday, January 16, 2017
WPRI-12 is bracing for the impact of their third owner in just over two years. With the final Federal Communication Commission approval of Nexstar’s acquisition of Media General announced this past week, look for the previously announced “synergies” to hit the company over the next few weeks.
As GoLocal has previously reported, when Nexstar acquires assets, they have a strong track record of making very significant cuts to staffing, or in Nexstar vernacular, a predicted “$76 million in synergies" coming in year one.
WRPI-12 was for years the favorite child of TV group LIN Media, but LIN sold to Media General and they got gobbled up by mega-TV group Nexstar. Now, WPRI is a small outlier in the Northeast in the very aggressive cost conscious Nexstar conglomerate.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“Over the last two decades we have grown Nexstar based on our commitment to deliver exceptional service to the local communities where we operate, expansion through accretive acquisitions, enhanced operating results of acquired stations and digital media properties, and an overarching focus on localism,” said Perry Sook, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nexstar in announcing the federal approval of the deal.
Nexstar only owns three other stations in New England - Springfield, MA, Hartford, CT, and Burlington, VT.
Nexstar’s focus is building its impact in bigger markets — the television group owns stations in many of America’s top media markets, including San Francisco, Phoenix, Washington, DC, Portland, Oregon, and Tampa.
Big Worry Locally
The post-merger WPRI is likely to see significant cuts and some staff have already started to leave of their own volition. Historically, WJAR-10 has dominated the ratings for decades and WPRI has worked to close the ratings gap.
Time will tell how deep the cuts will be by Nexstar in Providence — in other markets acquired by Nexstar, such as Las Vegas, the company cut 18 from the newsroom alone. Las Vegas is the 40th ranked TV market and Providence is 52nd. According to sources at the station and former employees, some of WPRI’s top talent have been without a contract as local management has been instructed not to extend contracts until the merger was completed.
Nexstar’s acquisition strategy and cost cutting has made it a darling of Wall Street. The stock closed on Friday at $63.55 a share and just under its 52-week high of $67.65. Nexstar’s 52-week low was $34.65 a share.
Political Spend in 2016 - Big Hit to Radio and Print, Big Win for Digital
A recent report from Borrell Associates reports that political spend in 2016 was up slightly, but where political campaigns spent shifted dramatically.
According to research, “Combining local, state, and nationwide election spending, 2016 elections spent $9.8 billion on advertising media, but broadcast TV lost ground, from a 57.9% share of all political advertising in 2012, to a 44.7% share in 2016. Digital media spending, though, increased nearly eight-fold, going from a 1.7% share in 2012 to a 14.4% share in 2016.”
Related Slideshow: Media Changes in December, 2016
Related Articles
- Acquisition of WPRI-12’s Parent Co. Has New Twists & More Media News
- Dan Doyle Sues WPRI, Former 12 Sportscaster Calls Station’s Actions “Unethical”
- NBC 10 Claims Big Ratings Victory Over WPRI 12
- WPRI-12’s Parent Co. Closer to Mega-Media Takeover - Providence Implications Are Concerning
- Susan Hogan Leaving WPRI, Black Journalists at Brown, New Biz Pub Coming
- Margie O’Brien Takes State House Slot, Chantee Lans Leaves WPRI for Boston
- Former WPRI-12 Sports Anchor Battles Back from Brain Aneurysm
- TV: WJAR Dominates Ratings, Big Loss of Young Viewers, and Kalunian Goes to WPRI
- Top Democratic Leaders Have Paid WPRI Pollster More than $153,000
- WJAR 10 Crushes WPRI 12, Rolling Stone Fallout, and Projo Moving - Moore News
- Mega TV Merger Will Have Big Impact on WJAR-10 and WPRI-12
- WPRI Reporter Calls Out Providence Journal for Plagiarism - 2nd Time in 10 Days
- Listen: Mega TV Merger Will Have Big Impact on WJAR-10 and WPRI-12
- Exclusive: Dan Doyle Threatens to Sue WPRI 12 for Libel
- Will You Trust Projo/ WPRI Polls if Conducted by a Democratic Consultant?
- NEW: Karen Rezendes Named News Director at WPRI