Gannett to buy Belo, owner of WCNC (NBC in Charlotte) (Greensboro: sale, buying)
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Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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Quote:
Originally Posted by paulosfm
Wonder if their news partner will be the Observer after the deal is sealed? Gannett and McClatchy, owner of the Observer, are competitors.
There's probably a contract with the Observer. When the contract ends it won't be renewed.
How many other daily papers are in the area?
The Gaston Gazette & Shelby Star are owned by the same company. Both papers, plus the Observer, are sold in Kings Mountain.
I could see Gannett buying the Gazette & turning it into a regional suburban alternative to the Observer. They did that with the biggest daily in South Jersey, decades ago. However, they would have to clear that with the FCC.
Last edited by southbound_295; 06-14-2013 at 09:40 AM..
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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I want this separated from the other post, so will not post this in that post. It's pretty much a separate thought process, but does have links to the other post.
I could see Gannett as a short-term owner for WCNC. I could see Gannett coming in, breaking the tie to the Observer, buying a suburban daily, then selling WCNC to NBC. As the market size increases here, WCNC bumping network programming will become more of an irritation to the network. Networks are allowed to own stations that serve up to a percentage of the national population. I could see NBC getting rid of one or two stations to take on Charlotte, to Gannett, while Gannett grabs one or two papers here.
The FCC can be very fickle about allowing cross ownership of newspaper, radio, &/or TV in a single market. Somehow, I can see Gannett seeing this market as more of a newspaper opportunity.
Prior to the partnership with WCNC, the Observer's 'news partner' was WBTV.
WCNC doesn't interrupt/postpone network programming as much as the other local network affiliates. One of the reasons is because NBC is a lot less tolerant of affiliates not clearing their programming as scheduled.
Programming changes are probably better tolerated in today's age of the DVR, on-demand, and internet programming. As recently as last summer, WNBC in New York (the flagship of the network) preempted network programming in favor of a New York Jets pre-season game.
My uneducated prediction is that CBS or ABC will become an O&O here before NBC. Gannett is the 4th largest affilliate group in the country, way ahead of Raycom or Cox.
I could see Gannett as a short-term owner for WCNC. I could see Gannett coming in, breaking the tie to the Observer, buying a suburban daily, then selling WCNC to NBC. .
But wouldn't they have just bought WCNC if this was their plan? This purchase included 19 other TV stations.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,693,648 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by Barфsa
But wouldn't they have just bought WCNC if this was their plan? This purchase included 19 other TV stations.
Huh?
Gannett is buying the group. They are not tied together permanently. If Gannett gets in here & sees promise in the newspaper end, they could work out a sale or a swap with NBC, or someone else, for that matter.
In my opinion, this is a weaker market for newspapers than TV. It could be too much for Gannett to resist.
In my opinion, this is a weaker market for newspapers than TV. It could be too much for Gannett to resist.
Some people said on the other Charlotte forum that Gannet was looking to move away from news papers and into TV. Newspapers are dying. I hope they make some investments into WCNC. They don't even have HD news.
Charlotte is now a Top 25 market, which makes it attractive to major broadcasters such as FOX recently purchasing WJZY, and now Gannett buying out Belo, which includes WCNC. And newspapers nationwide are now losing money due to the internet and the prevalence of digital devices, so I don't necessarily see a move by Gannett to purchase more regional publications. Here in Greenville, SC, the local Gannett paper is overpriced at $1.00 a day, and mediocre at best. The Observer is a better paper at 75 cents. But Gannett is known for style over substance. In WASH,DC, they fired all of their veteran anchors from WUSA-9 and replaced them with younger faces. Those anchors moved to WJLA-7. And they have allowed WFMY-2 in Greensboro to decline from a leading news product. But Belo has attempted quality journalism at WCNC, so I am concerned with what Gannett will do. But hopefully they will at least finally get WCNC upgraded to high definition for the local news broadcasting. They are inferior to the other stations in that regard, as video quality is not good.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,693,648 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by Barфsa
Some people said on the other Charlotte forum that Gannet was looking to move away from news papers and into TV. Newspapers are dying. I hope they make some investments into WCNC. They don't even have HD news.
I don't know what the other Charlotte board is & don't care what people say on it unless they are or did work in TV or currently work for Gannett.
I was a broadcast tech for 20 years. Several years were spent working for Tribune Broadcasting. Don't bet on Gannett spending big bucks, unless they want to flip the station.
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